Tour D1, 2 July: Tour leaders: Egon Kjøller, journalist, North Jutland newspapers 1971-2016 Henrik Lomholt Rasmussen, freelance journalist The interface between nature and agriculture, sustainability, biodiversity and food production 61per cent of the Danish terrestrial area is cultivated farmland, which is a European record. 12 per cent is “nature” (excluding forests). But there are a lot of “in betweens”, i.e. types of nature, which depend on some kind of agricultural usage, such as meadows, heathland and scrubs. Here, cattle play an important role in farming and culture as well as in nature protection and management. This tour brings you to a part of Denmark where farmers have lived and worked for generations, sometimes in collaboration with nature, sometimes 24 against it: Skjern River Valley and Borris Heath. Now, farmers and their land might also play a crucial role in the Danish political strategies against global warming. Flooding of up to 100,000 hectares of river valleys and meadows are important tools in the plan. Skjern River is the largest in Denmark in terms of volume. For decades, the river valley was drained farmland, but since the completion of a compre - hensive restoration project in 2002, the river once again meanders through the flat West Jutland landscape, surrounded by natural meadows with rich birdlife, wild salmon and varied plant life – biodiversity, in other words. Farmers are expected to adapt to new conditions with regard to climate politics, national park plans, etc. We shall meet one of them. His 350 head of cattle graze publicly owned floodplains along the river, while 150 horses serve as “nature managers” in the largest remaining part of the old heath landscape of Jutland, the military training area Borris Firing Range. Skjern Enge, an important place for farmers, anglers, tourists, and nature lovers. Photo: Thomas Høyrup Christensen/ Visit Vestkysten
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