Sweden! - International Federation of Agricultural Journalists

SOLUTIONS FOR A GREEN FUTURE 33
A vista, which also greets representatives
from the International Federation of Agricultural
Journalists (IFAJ) Sweden when
Håkan and Teri Lee give them a tour of
the farm as newly-declared environmental
heroes.
A very visible sign of Wiggeby’s attitude
of sustainability is the compost of horse
manure steaming on that cold November
day just a short way down the road from
the main farm buildings.
Manure comes from farms on the islands
and around Stockholm. Some are among
the twenty or so farms that buy Wiggeby’s
haylage for horse feed.
“We want to be a strong local supplier.
Horse feed otherwise has a tendency to
travel by truck, very long distances,” says
Håkan.
Some of the phosphorus devoured by the
forage crops returns to Wiggeby as horse
manure.
“In time, we hope to attain about 50% of
our total phosphorus needs this way and
then recycle it.”
Today the farm has reduced the leeching
of nitrogen from its conventional farm to
the surrounding aquatic environment by
50 percent.
Håkan and Teri Lee have implemented
a series of measures that benefit both the
environment and the economy of the
farm: from growing a lot of grass in the
crop rotation cycle to the construction of a
phosphorus sediment pond.
In 2004, the Erikssons invested in an N-
Sensor, a device that measures how much
nitrogen a crop needs and regulates the
application of fertilizer – a large technological
leap regarding nitrogen utilization.
Tree stumps are the primary fuel in 4