Just how important are dung beetles in our livestock systems and what are they doing beyond removing dung? We generally don’t think of the tiny insect communities based around the dung piles in our fields and these include our native dung beetles. But what if we loose these beetles? What effect would it have on our livestock, pastures, soil and farm biodiversity? By gaining an understanding of dung beetles we can implement small changes in our management decisions that could have much wider benefits for biodiversity in general, the environment & livestock health including sustainable parasite plans to minimise chemical dependence.
We’ll begin the day by introducing our native dung beetles with a presentation and a selection of specimens. The presentation will highlight the ecosystem functions of these economically important pastoral insects, their ecology, their threats and the potential practical changes in management required for their conservation.
After the presentation there will be a practical session enabling the opportunity for a dung dive out in the field. This will demonstrate how to identify and monitor the dung beetle populations by a simple surveying methodology enabling you to try for yourself on your own farm.
About the speaker
Sally-Ann Spence FRES FLS is a scientist, presenter, farmer, entomologist & general polymath, a Fellow of both the Royal Entomological Society and the Linnean Society.
She founded the UK Dung Beetle Mapping Project to accumulate previously unknown species data. Her work with the project has seen her surveying field sites all over the UK including many outlying islands enabling her to study a multitude of grazing systems.
This practical experience has been translated into collaborative projects working on sustainable land management plans within the farming community to promote dung beetles as important bio-indicators for soil, pasture and livestock health.
Sally-Ann was awarded the British Entomological and Natural History Society’s gold medal for over two decades of promoting dung beetle awareness and her research into dung beetles and the livestock sector. A founding member of Dung Beetles for Farmers, which was formed to continue the awareness of this insect group and highlight their conservation, she provides dung beetle workshops, training days, surveys and advisory services.
Sally-Ann owns and runs an educational research centre ‘Berrycroft Hub’ based on her family farm where she has her own livestock and manages all the grazing.
As a passionate advocate of British agriculture and biodiversity, Sally-Ann does a great deal of scientific public outreach both at her centre on the farm, over on the continent and on all media platforms including television.
https://www.farm-ed.co.uk/events/162/dung-beetles-with-sally-ann-spence
Suitable for
Event type
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Registration
Please book in advance on our website to ensure we can cater for everyone
Cost
Different ticket prices are available, to ensure all are able to attend.
Location
FarmED, Honeydale Farm
Shipton-under-Wychwood
Chipping Norton
Oxfordshire
OX7 6BJ
United Kingdom
Accessibility
FarmED Accessibility Statement
FarmED is committed to providing an experience that is accessible, both physically and virtually, to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance or ability.
Getting Here
FarmED, Honeydale Farm, Station Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood, OX7 6BJ
Public Transport
Kingham and Charlbury train stations are located a few miles from FarmED. Direct trains run regularly from London Paddington and Oxford, and from Worcester and Hereford, with links to all major cities. We are happy to pick you up and return you to the station, please arrange this with us in advance.
Taxi
Kingham Taxis - 07565 521833
Charlbury Taxis - 07855 806102
Driving
FarmED is located roughly halfway between Chipping Norton and Shipton-under-Wychwood on the A361.
For those who wish to arrive on foot, the ancient Oxfordshire Way passes directly across the top of the farm. There is plenty of room on-site to securely store bikes for cyclists.
Arrival
The farm drive is suitable for all vehicles, including minibuses and coaches. Visitors can park within a short walking distance from the buildings. For larger events, visitors may be asked to park slightly further from the entrance. There are two designated disabled parking spaces adjacent to the main building entrance.
Flooring
The FarmED buildings are fitted with polished concrete flooring inside and are surrounded by hardstanding paving slabs. The courtyard between the buildings is grass with a connecting paved pathway. The entrance ways have a large doormat flush to the floor to absorb any water when wet, and the toilet floors are linoleum. Wide side doors can be opened to assist wheelchair access. There are no steps in or around any of the buildings. There is a small, wheelchair friendly ramp up onto the speakers stage in the Conference Barn.
Emergency Lighting
The FarmED buildings are fitted with emergency lighting in all areas which will allow visitors to safely exit the buildings in the event of a power outage.
Toilets and Shower
There are two accessible toilets on site, one in each building, plus a walk in shower room. There are baby changing facilities on site.
The Farm
The majority of the surfaces around the farm itself are uneven and sloped underfoot, which can become slippery and icy under certain weather conditions. FarmED has created designated pathways around the farm which try to offer the most comfortable route possible to explore the farm. In addition to this, the FarmED team can provide motorised transport between fields and points of interest. In certain circumstances movement around the farm may not be possible, therefore we have ensured that many features can be viewed and ‘virtually’ toured from the warmth of the FarmED buildings or online.
Dogs
Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the buildings and around the farm. Water bowls are provided. As we have livestock on the farm we ask that dogs are kept on leads at all times.
Biosecurity
We have boot wash and dip facilities near the Conference Barn and farm yard.
Pre-existing medical condition
Our staff are not medically qualified and so are not in a position to assess the capacity of visitors to undertake a visit. It remains your responsibility to undertake such an assessment prior to the visit.
However, we reserve the right to refuse you areas of FarmED if we feel it is a risk to your own safety.
Health and wellbeing
In the unlikely event, you or anyone in your group feels unwell or has any symptoms, for example is sick or has diarrhoea within 2 weeks of visiting the farmED site, contact your GP or call NHS 111 as soon as possible. If you or anyone in your group, particularly a young child, has bloody diarrhoea, seek immediate emergency medical attention.
Anyone who has experienced sickness or diarrhoea after visiting farmED could pass the illness on to others, so they should not attend work, school or nursery until they have been free of symptoms for at least 2 days. However, with infections from some bugs, extra tests may be needed to ensure they have fully recovered and will not pass on the infection to others before starting back at work, school or nursery. People who handle food, children under 5 years and those who work closely with people who may be vulnerable to infections should discuss with their GP or local health protection team before returning to work, school or nursery.
Website Accessibility
FarmED is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Whilst FarmED strives to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website. We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.
The FarmED Bursary
We want everyone, including the most disadvantaged in our community, to feel welcome and to engage with our programme of events, courses and learning activities.
If funding is a real barrier to you, please get in touch. We have a small bursary pot which we can use to help fund or part fund core fees and other expenses for those that will benefit most.
To apply for financial help please complete the FarmED Bursary form providing as much detail as possible. If you are struggling with the form you can also phone us for help. Your details will be held confidentially following GDPR guidelines.
We will consider each approach for financial help without prejudice. Bursaries may be in the form of free or discounted places/tickets for an event or course, and/or a cash award to help with expenses (travel, accommodation etc).
Website
https://www.farm-ed.co.uk/events/162/dung-beetles-with-sally-ann-spence
Socials
Contact
Alex Dye
[email protected]
01993 402403