Our Way 1
MENHAMMAR FARM GAME AND LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION AR
E ALL ABOUT CREATING GOOD CONDITIONS, SO THAT BIODIVERSITY CAN INCREASE own woodland to heat Menhammar and Yttersta – these are just a couple of examples of the sustainability efforts of which we are proud. The enormous commitment to the farm and agricultural business that we feel on the part of the family allows us to implement sustainable solutions throughout the business,” says Segerström. As with any other large farm, farming also performs a service function for other operations at the farm. In addition to responsibility for the farm’s crop production and livestock, the job also involves property management of the various buildings and operation of the farm’s boiler, which is powered in equal proportions by horse manure and wood chips. AS OPERATIONS manager at the farm, Segerström always works closely with game warden Markus Nilsson, responsible for wildlife and forestry management at the farm. Forestry operations are currently conducted on some 870 hectares of productive woodland. “The objective of forestry at Menhammar is the long-term maintenance and development of forest value – maximising the financial return is not always the primary motivation. Large areas of woodland contribute to other higher priority value in forms such as biodiversity, game and care for the landscape,” explains Nilsson, who has been working with nature management at Menhammar since 2006. In addition to forestry, Nilsson is also responsible for landscape conservation, game, fishing and certain land leases. “Game and landscape conservation are all about providing birds, game, insects and plants with good conditions, so that biodiversity can increase the cultural heritage of the landscape. This work is always intertwined with forestry operations. The aim is to create biodiversity in the forest. Even in purely productive forests we set aside space for fruit-bearing trees and bushes such as oak, rowan, crabapple, blackthorn and dog rose.” A CLOSE COLLABORATION between agriculture and nature management is a prerequisite for successfully creating biodiversity and environmentally sustainable working methods. Among other things, gamekeeper Nilsson lays a grid of corridors for game around and through the arable land. He also creates forest edges and strips that act as channels between woodland and cultivated land to increase biodiversity by encouraging environments suitable to plants, insects and game alike. “In these strips we see to it that there is both food and shelter for pheasants, hares and deer, as well as for bumblebees, honey bees and ladybirds. During the summer it was teeming with pollinating insects such as bees, which also benefits other parts of the farm such as the apple orchard,” says Nilsson. “At Menhammar, we set aside arable land for joint measures, which provides positive One important task for game warden Markus Nilsson is to care for the nature management at Menhammar. Operations manager Ulf Segerström’s tasks vary from big to small. Here Ulf is checking the quality of the autumn wheat on one of Menhammar’s tilled fields. 18 OUR WAY MENHAMMAR PHOTO: SAMUEL UNÉUS PHOTO: KARIN RÖSE