Cattle and sheep grazing practices survey

[Brid @ ADAS]

If you have grazing cattle or sheep on your farm, we would be really grateful if you could spend 10 minutes to complete this online survey on grazing practices.
Link to survey: https://adas-survey.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/cattle-and-sheep-grazing-practices-survey-final
The survey is being carried out by ADAS on behalf of Defra. The survey outputs will help us characterise different grazing systems and understand barriers and enablers to uptake of rotational/paddock grazing systems. We want to hear from farmers with a wide range of grazing systems to understand current practices in the UK.
As a thank you for your time, ADAS will donate £2 to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), registered charity number 208858, for the completion of each online survey (up to a maximum of £500).

 

[delilah]

This survey is being carried out by ADAS on behalf of Defra. The survey outputs will help us characterise different grazing systems and understand barriers and enablers to uptake of rotational/paddock grazing systems.

Could you expand on this ? Am intrigued as to what interest Defra have in how we graze our stock, specifically whether we practice rotational/ paddock systems. Of what relevance is this to Defra ? Thanks.

 

[Brid @ ADAS]

This survey is being carried out by ADAS on behalf of Defra. The survey outputs will help us characterise different grazing systems and understand barriers and enablers to uptake of rotational/paddock grazing systems.

Could you expand on this ? Am intrigued as to what interest Defra have in how we graze our stock, specifically whether we practice rotational/ paddock systems. Of what relevance is this to Defra ? Thanks.

Hi @delilah this survey is part of a larger Defra funded project looking at grazing systems. We hope to publish a bit more information about the project very soon but in the meantime, Lizzie Sagoo is the project lead [email protected] and would be happy to answer any questions

 

[yellowbelly]

Well DEFRA, basically it works like this....

...we leave 'em there while the've eaten up and when there's nowt left we move 'em on. We keep repeating this until we've no grass left.

Then we either take 'em bales or shut 'em in a shed.

Nowt to it really - any silly bu66er can be a farmer. Even Clarkson can do it

 

[neilo]

This survey is being carried out by ADAS on behalf of Defra. The survey outputs will help us characterise different grazing systems and understand barriers and enablers to uptake of rotational/paddock grazing systems.

Could you expand on this ? Am intrigued as to what interest Defra have in how we graze our stock, specifically whether we practice rotational/ paddock systems. Of what relevance is this to Defra ? Thanks.

Maybe working on the theory that rotational grazing grows up to 30% more grass, thus absorbing more Carbon?
My fields of DD grass that I rotationally graze is to receive double funding.

I just hope nobody tells them how rotational grazing also changes sward composition quite drastically by favouring productive grass species at the expense of weeds like wild flowers. I guess it will be a different department that will be looking at species diversity.

 

[delilah]

My fields of DD grass that I rotationally graze is to receive double funding.

Yup, we both see exactly where this is going.
Will email the project leader and ask for more detail, without shooting the messenger.

 

[Happy]

Well DEFRA, basically it works like this....

...we leave 'em there while the've eaten up and when there's nowt left we move 'em on. We keep repeating this until we've no grass left.

Then we either take 'em bales or shut 'em in a shed.

Nowt to it really - any silly bu66er can be a farmer. Even Clarkson can do it

Whatever any of us do currently I’m sure the results of the survey will be spun and skewed to whatever agenda Carrie, Zac and Tony have already decided is to be imposed upon us.

 

[Guiggs]

Nope, I won't be answering anymore questions for government departments.

 

[Hilly]

No , I only tell the government what I have to legally .

 

[Lizzie Sagoo]

Hi, I'm working on this project. Just to give a bit more background. The survey is part of a larger Defra funded project looking at grazing systems – specifically mob grazing systems. Well planned and managed rotational “mob” grazing may have the potential to offer productivity and environmental benefits, but relatively little research has been done on the practice in the UK. The project aims to understand the impacts of mob grazing compared to other grazing systems and includes a literature review, a survey, and field work, and is looking at a wide range of impacts including productivity/profitability (including grass growth/quality and livestock performance), animal health and welfare, soil quality, nutrient losses and biodiversity.
The survey part of the project aims to understand uptake of mob grazing in the context of other grazing systems – so we want to hear from as many farmers with grazing livestock as possible – it is not just a mob grazing survey. We want to understand how farms manage their grazing, why those systems work for them and whether there any barriers to them changing grazing practice. If you have grazing livestock, it would be great if you could take the time to fill out the survey – we’d appreciate your time and input. Survey data is stored anonymously by ADAS in accordance with GDPR – we will report summary data to Defra, but we won’t share any raw data.
We’ve just started field work at 9 sites across the country and hope the results will be valuable and of interest to farmers.
I hope that answers your questions, but feel free to get in touch [email protected]

 

[delilah]

There will be as much public good in Defra attempting to micro-manage how we graze our cows, as there will be in attempting to micro-manage how we grow our crops. No public good whatsoever.

 

[topground]

Hi, I'm working on this project. Just to give a bit more background. The survey is part of a larger Defra funded project looking at grazing systems – specifically mob grazing systems. Well planned and managed rotational “mob” grazing may have the potential to offer productivity and environmental benefits, but relatively little research has been done on the practice in the UK. The project aims to understand the impacts of mob grazing compared to other grazing systems and includes a literature review, a survey, and field work, and is looking at a wide range of impacts including productivity/profitability (including grass growth/quality and livestock performance), animal health and welfare, soil quality, nutrient losses and biodiversity.
The survey part of the project aims to understand uptake of mob grazing in the context of other grazing systems – so we want to hear from as many farmers with grazing livestock as possible – it is not just a mob grazing survey. We want to understand how farms manage their grazing, why those systems work for them and whether there any barriers to them changing grazing practice. If you have grazing livestock, it would be great if you could take the time to fill out the survey – we’d appreciate your time and input. Survey data is stored anonymously by ADAS in accordance with GDPR – we will report summary data to Defra, but we won’t share any raw data.
We’ve just started field work at 9 sites across the country and hope the results will be valuable and of interest to farmers.
I hope that answers your questions, but feel free to get in touch [email protected]

Difficult to see why public money is being spent on this project other than to keep civil servants in work. Each season is different, each farm is different and what might stsrt as an intention to graze in a certain pattern might vary according to the weather.
How will the deadhand of DEFRA civil servants will find a way to interfere with how graziers conduct their business?
Discuss!

 

[delilah]

The project aims to understand the impacts of mob grazing compared to other grazing systems and includes a literature review, a survey, and field work, and is looking at a wide range of impacts including productivity/profitability (including grass growth/quality and livestock performance), animal health and welfare, soil quality, nutrient losses and biodiversity.

That would be under the remit of AHDB, so either
a) Defra are taking the work of AHDB in house in preparation for closure of AHDB.
or,
b) It's not about productivity, or animal health, or welfare. It's about ELMS trying to interfere in the best practice developed for particular farms over many generations.

 

[egbert]

If you have grazing cattle or sheep on your farm, we would be really grateful if you could spend 10 minutes to complete this online survey on grazing practices.
Link to survey: https://adas-survey.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/cattle-and-sheep-grazing-practices-survey-final
The survey is being carried out by ADAS on behalf of Defra. The survey outputs will help us characterise different grazing systems and understand barriers and enablers to uptake of rotational/paddock grazing systems. We want to hear from farmers with a wide range of grazing systems to understand current practices in the UK.
As a thank you for your time, ADAS will donate £2 to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), registered charity number 208858, for the completion of each online survey (up to a maximum of £500).

I tried, got 3/4 the way through before i accidently pressed a wrong button and lost everything.
I found it very wooden, and much wasn't applicable to my operation at all, so i won't be staring again..

Even if I'd finished, I would hate for you to think that the results you get from this survey would be representative of how I farm uplands.
(on 700 hectares plus common grazing - for which there was no box)

 

[egbert]

No , I only tell the government what I have to legally .

someone i knew - and he may well have sired me- used to take great delight in fabricating answers to agri-census', and such things.
I suspect it was an inheritable trait

 

[egbert]

Hi, I'm working on this project. Just to give a bit more background. The survey is part of a larger Defra funded project looking at grazing systems – specifically mob grazing systems. Well planned and managed rotational “mob” grazing may have the potential to offer productivity and environmental benefits, but relatively little research has been done on the practice in the UK. The project aims to understand the impacts of mob grazing compared to other grazing systems and includes a literature review, a survey, and field work, and is looking at a wide range of impacts including productivity/profitability (including grass growth/quality and livestock performance), animal health and welfare, soil quality, nutrient losses and biodiversity.
The survey part of the project aims to understand uptake of mob grazing in the context of other grazing systems – so we want to hear from as many farmers with grazing livestock as possible – it is not just a mob grazing survey. We want to understand how farms manage their grazing, why those systems work for them and whether there any barriers to them changing grazing practice. If you have grazing livestock, it would be great if you could take the time to fill out the survey – we’d appreciate your time and input. Survey data is stored anonymously by ADAS in accordance with GDPR – we will report summary data to Defra, but we won’t share any raw data.
We’ve just started field work at 9 sites across the country and hope the results will be valuable and of interest to farmers.
I hope that answers your questions, but feel free to get in touch [email protected]

Lizzie, I don't wish you ill in any way at all.
But be careful you don't join the huge and expanding club of people who think they can tell me how to do my job better than me.
I've seen plenty of hotshots come steaming past me, as I trundle along in lifes slow lane, and I notice that i often pass em again soon thereafter, either crashed into the barriers, or boiled over on the hard shoulder.

'mob grazing' is a buzz word for something farmers did for centuries, using tiny fields and boundaries.
I consider it's massively labour intensive (although the practitioners will be along shortly to say otherwise), and since livestock is now worth relatively nothing* in comparison to everything I wouldn't give it a lot of thought.

*When an old pal of mine and his Dad bought a lowland farm in the 1950's for the equivalent of 5 fat lambs to the acre - or £2k each in todays values.
When I was leaving school in 1980, an over-mature Charolais bullock could fetch £1k, ...more than the value of the acre of pasture it stood on.
The world is different now.

Each to his own, but don't think anyone has re-invented the wheel.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Hi, I'm working on this project. Just to give a bit more background. The survey is part of a larger Defra funded project looking at grazing systems – specifically mob grazing systems. Well planned and managed rotational “mob” grazing may have the potential to offer productivity and environmental benefits, but relatively little research has been done on the practice in the UK. The project aims to understand the impacts of mob grazing compared to other grazing systems and includes a literature review, a survey, and field work, and is looking at a wide range of impacts including productivity/profitability (including grass growth/quality and livestock performance), animal health and welfare, soil quality, nutrient losses and biodiversity.
The survey part of the project aims to understand uptake of mob grazing in the context of other grazing systems – so we want to hear from as many farmers with grazing livestock as possible – it is not just a mob grazing survey. We want to understand how farms manage their grazing, why those systems work for them and whether there any barriers to them changing grazing practice. If you have grazing livestock, it would be great if you could take the time to fill out the survey – we’d appreciate your time and input. Survey data is stored anonymously by ADAS in accordance with GDPR – we will report summary data to Defra, but we won’t share any raw data.
We’ve just started field work at 9 sites across the country and hope the results will be valuable and of interest to farmers.
I hope that answers your questions, but feel free to get in touch [email protected]

did you go to Groundswell then? Demo on mob grazing and herbal leys

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I tried, got 3/4 the way through before i accidently pressed a wrong button and lost everything.
I found it very wooden, and much wasn't applicable to my operation at all, so i won't be staring again..

Even if I'd finished, I would hate for you to think that the results you get from this survey would be representative of how I farm uplands.
(on 700 hectares plus common grazing - for which there was no box)

if you are the only grazier on your mountain, you can rotationally graze it with virtual fencing, son said, after the talk at Groundswell that if we hadn't put in all electric fencing he would have wanted us to do virtual fencing (with electric collars), but just spent thousands on fencing so we have made our decision. Still have to put the same water infrastructure in if it is paddocks in polywire or virtual fencing. I liked the ideas of moving paddocks with a swipe on the app.

 

[egbert]

if you are the only grazier on your mountain, you can rotationally graze it with virtual fencing, son said, after the talk at Groundswell that if we hadn't put in all electric fencing he would have wanted us to do virtual fencing (with electric collars), but just spent thousands on fencing so we have made our decision. Still have to put the same water infrastructure in if it is paddocks in polywire or virtual fencing. I liked the ideas of moving paddocks with a swipe on the app.

One lad is trying the collars here...several watching.
I'm a long way off considering them myself. I've a very well hefted lot of stock.
(one one of mebbe 60 graziers on 10k hectares)

 

[Ffermer Bach]

One lad is trying the collars here...several watching.
I'm a long way off considering them myself. I've a very well hefted lot of stock.
(one one of mebbe 60 graziers on 10k hectares)

I don't think you could use collars on a common, as, as soon as your stock moved, everyone else's would nip over and graze your bit, it would only work on a fenced open hill or if every grazier used collars I suppose, and I could never see that happening! Before it was in the wind farm habitat area next door farm had a 70 acre hill, that would have been ideal for it, if the water pipes were set up.