The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) will be rolling out six discussion groups across the country to delve into the topic of best practice in grassland management, and is looking for 15 members for each group.

The groups form part of AHDB’s Grass campaign, a programme for farmers and industry partners in the ruminant sectors. The programme aims to improve the cost-effective use of grazed grass to build profitable and sustainable systems, achieving greater profits and growth potential.

The Grazing groups will be delivered across the following locations, near to an AHDB Beef and Lamb Farm Excellence Programme farm:

  • North Cumbria – delivered by 5 Agri;
  • West Cumbria ­ –  delivered by 5 Agri;
  • North East – delivered by Liz Genever;
  • East Midlands – delivered by Liz Genever;
  • Cambridge/Essex – delivered by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB);
  • Somerset – delivered by NIAB.

The groups will run their first meetings in December and January. There will be an opportunity for each group to meet up to ten times over the next eleven months.

Georgina Key, environmental scientist at AHDB, said: “We have made some great progress with the AHDB Grass campaign and we feel these farmer-led grazing discussion groups are a great way to share and pass on best practice in grassland management.

“We are running them alongside grazing consultants, so the groups will benefit from a range of expertise in grassland knowledge.”