The Resilient Smallholding: Planning for Extreme Weather & Other Setbacks

The recent decade has seen one form of extreme weather after another, making life challenging for those working on the land – and weather patters are predicted to become ‘stuck’ more often, making both flood and drought more likely. The concept of ‘resilience’ – the capacity to ‘bounce-back’ and thrive after negative events – has emerged as a means of planning for and dealing with adverse weather and a changing climate, as well as other potential setbacks (such as a financial crisis or ‘oil-shock’/resource shortages). Resilience-building includes small-scale solutions and larger/long-term designs, ranging from planting hardy and multi-use crops to digging swales and setting aside a 'sacrificial paddock'. The course will comprise taught sessions that set out practical solutions relevant to smallholdings as set out in recent publications as well as traditional and newly-developing practice (including on the tutor’s own smallholding).

The following areas will be covered:

why the need for ‘resilience’ and what does it mean?
choosing and managing livestock for resilience
choosing crops and cropping methods for resilience
managing land for resilience
managing water and fertility for resilience
managing other smallholding inputs and outputs for resilience
dealing with the outside world: community involvement and marketing for resilience

The course is suitable for smallholders, aspiring-smallholders, or anyone interested in how smallholding may be made more resilient; it will include content related to both livestock and horticulture – though will be of limited relevance for large scale/intensive farms.