Animal Health is Linked to Soil Health

“All flesh is grass” said the prophet Isiah but Anuschka Marsman, a veterinarian from west Wales, would disagree: she asserts that “All flesh is ultimately linked to the soil.”

Anuschka, a veterinarian who has, until recently, been working in farm practice, has been studying various aspects of soil science for several years.  “ And it is changing my thinking about animal health.” she adds.

Anuschka is not alone in believing that soil and nutrition are cornerstones of good animal health but is concerned that some modern dairy farming systems have become rather narrow, focusing more on volumes of monocultures of plant species like ryegrass and maize, and less diet diversity.

“In west Wales I see cut after cut of monoculture silage being made, the production of which relies on regular applications of nitrogenous fertiliser and slurry. I also see maize harvested in the autumn and barren fields facing winter storms with massive run off issues.”

Soil needs to be covered with green plants as much as possible all year round to keep photosynthesis going and feed the soil microbes which I will explain. The green plant makes sugars through photosynthesis. The sugars (liquid carbon) produced are for a large part pumped out of the plant roots into the soil to feed the soil microbiome, this is also known as the liquid carbon pathway. Ultimately this will lead to more humus in the soil. For every 1% rise in sequestered carbon in the soil, the soil can hold an additional 144,000L water per hectare. The more carbon in the soil, the more the soil will work like a sponge. This is part of the solution to prevent drought and flash floods.

In return for the sugars, the soil microbiome will give the plant water and all the plant-available-nutrients that the soil contains, even the ones that are supposedly locked up. 

The soil microbiome is essential for building and maintaining soil structure. Different plant families have different root depths and each seed carries its own microbiome. More diversity in plants therefore means more diversity in the soil microbiome which in turn will lead to more resilience and is better for animal health as the forage will be more nutrient dense. Diversity in the ley is also key to maximising photosynthesis. 

“I also believe that cows are supposed to graze, spending as much time as possible at pasture with access to browse a wide source of plant material. But many clients locally are moving towards housing 365 days of the year, providing a standard diet of grass and maize silage and supplements.

Fresh dung attracts a sequence of invertebrates that all contribute to the ecosystem. Slurry doesn't do this. By having animals out (for longer) there is also less slurry and the whole system can be far less dependent on fossil fuels. Slurry is anaerobic whereas the soil is aerobic. Too much slurry isn’t good for the soil. 

And she can speak with some authority on these matters because as well as her extensive veterinary experience, she is a keen gardener and farmer herself, running a small farm with her husband and family.

Over the last three years Anuschka has studied Soil. In 2023 she completed the Soil Health Foundation courses online with Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils, followed by the foundation courses of Dr Elaine Ingham¹’s Soil Food Web School in 2024 and the Introduction to Ecological Restoration. She became a Certified Lab Technician in 2025 and currently is on stage 3 of the journey to become a Certified Soil Food Web Consultant.

As a result of this study, she now has a much better understanding of the complexities and interactions of the various constituents of the living organism that is soil and is “seeing animal health in a totally different light.” 

She explained some of her learnings to me, including the relationships between bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and fungi, each of which contain and excrete differing ratios of carbon and nitrogen, and interact in a complex network. Ultimately, in healthy soil, this leads to a steady release of nitrogen, amongst other plant nutrients. 

“Plants are intimately connected with soil and our animals eat plants,” she says. “ I believe we need to provide a greater diversity of plants, which ruminants were designed to digest. Ruminants contain a complex microbiome, which we ignore at our peril. It is not hard to imagine that a more varied diet will lead to a more diversity in the rumen microbiome as well.  

She admits that this assertion is anecdotal but is planning some trial work on her own and neighbouring properties which, she hopes will add evidence to her assertion that healthy soils, growing a wide variety of healthy plants, will enhance animal health and reduce production limiting problems. Other work supports her views including a trial feeding willow to lambs which was shown to improve vitamin B12 levels.

She cites recent research from Aberystwyth University which linked the distribution of Galba (formerly Lymnea) truncatula, the intermediate host of liver fluke(Fasciola hepatica)  with soil parameters such as pH and organic matter. Humus rich soils harboured lower snail populations and reduced the liver fluke challenge; and liver fluke is a major economic problem on many farms, including most Welsh farms.

Anuschka is about to embark on a new consultancy career which, she hopes, will allow her to draw on her veterinary and growing knowledge of healthy soils to improve animal health for her farms. Her initiative has already attracted considerable attention and she looks forward to working with farmers, vets and dairy companies.