The Regen Soils Series aims to highlight the power of observation as a valuable tool that deepens understanding of your context, and allows you to make truly informed on-farm decisions. In this first episode of the series, Abby Rose interviews David Cooil, who farms on the Isle of Man. Together they discuss the vital role of making simple observations to support a shift towards regenerative farming approaches.
The Ballagawne Farm Journey
David Cooil manages Ballagawne Farm, a 600 acre dairy and beef operation on the Isle of Man. David describes his previous approach as a high-input, ‘New Zealand-type system’ that was in some ways very successful, but reliant on high nitrogen use, routine spraying of weeds, and routine use of fly and worm treatments. David felt he was “running around like a headless chicken” to keep on top of his farm tasks.
A pivotal shift occurred when David forgot to do a routine fly spray or wormer application, and began to notice his cowpats were breaking down, where previously they had been piling up in the field. He turned over a cowpat to find a dung beetle, a single observation that led him down a path of curiosity about these beetles’ benefits and, crucially, what was harming them: the routine use of veterinary wormers, insect treatments and heavy nitrogen applications.
A Shift to Responsive Management
The dung beetle discovery was a catalyst for David to change his farm’s management, which began to shift from working routinely by the farming calendar to being more responsive and observation-driven:
- Animal Health – David swapped out routine worming for fecal egg counting and observing animals for signs of poor health. Grazing rotations are stretched and varied to break worm cycles naturally, reducing worming requirements to the benefit of dung beetles.
- Weeds as Indicators – David’s mindset on weeds has changed; he no longer stresses over docks and thistles spotted, or rushes to spray every one off. He now sees them as indicators of underlying soil health issues like low calcium or compaction, which he can address over a longer time scale. He doesn’t let his farm become overrun with weeds, but often, when he does see weeds in the field, he leaves them to ‘have a good crack at doing his job for him’.
- Soil Monitoring – David increased his focus on digging holes; he began to observe rooting depth, the location of compaction pan layers, and other soil health tests. David now looks to use plants to break compaction before resorting to machinery, and reduces fertiliser costs by spreading his farm’s manure on the fields.
- Introducing diversity – After noticing challenges with rye grass and clover leys underperforming in dry and wet weather, David worked to increase plant and root diversity in the sward, in order to improve resilience to extreme weather events. He’s also noticed an ‘explosion’ in bird and bat life in his new system!
- Enjoyment – David spends more time out observing on his farm these days, because he finds himself distracted by observing the soil, worm castings, and dung beetle activity. David notices that he finds field walks more enjoyable now, accompanied by bird song and wildlife. Now, David doesn’t feel as though he is ‘chasing his own tail’ as much anymore, but rather spending his time differently, learning and observing rather than trying to keep up with endless tasks.
Improved farm profitability
David has found that since implementing a more responsive, observation-based mindset, that his farm has become more profitable. Even though his yields have decreased, they’re not spending as much on inputs, ‘we still buy fertiliser but our spend is way down on what it used to be’.
Understanding Improvements with Data
David has been using Soilmentor to record and track his observations and photos, to monitor his progress over time. He’s found monitoring these observations valuable not only for his own learning, but also for demonstrating soil improvements to the Isle of Man government as part of their Soil Health Initiative.
