NSA Breakfast Club - Pushing production or prioritising the environment: an early morning debate on balancing the role of permanent pasture

Below is a report on the contents of this webinar. To watch the webinar on demand please visit www.nationalsheep.org.uk/webinars/.

Opening in its new monthly slot on the first Wednesday of the month, April’s NSA Breakfast Club webinar generated an informative discussion on a very important subject to the sheep industry. This is an area of significant debate at the moment and the content was thought provoking, educational and covered a number of key topics.

Grass feeding benefits the health of grazing animals; the health of people who eat products from these animals; and the health of the environment. However, there are a very wide range of permanent pastures and it is wrong to assume they are all delivering the same values. So what is the best way forward?

John Lloyd, from the NSA Cymru / Wales committee and the Welsh representative on the NSA's Policy and Technical Committee, chaired the session, welcoming the speakers and panellists and leading the Q&A session.

Firstly Liz Genever, an independent sheep and beef consultant, opened with her thoughts on the benefits of permanent pasture and also highlighted some areas where, in her words “it doesn’t do so well”. Reminding the audience that c. 40% of UK pasture is permanent, with a disproportionate amount in areas focused on sheep and beef production, how it is an important part of those production systems. Liz went on to highlight, the beneficial winter carrying capacity, that the soil structure has more resilience, providing satisfactory yields when well-managed. Additionally the importance of the sward species, such as Perennial Rye grass, Timothy & white clover and of the pH range when looking for good nutrient management. Investment in permanent pasture is less than in a reseed, i.e. it is “a cheap field”, however investment is necessary in terms of nutrients and infrastructure (hedges, fence lines) to allow optimum yield. Another factor to bear in mind is the impact that either over-grazing or under-grazing (quite common in sheep systems) can have on composition, and by knowing the species mix helps to understand the capability of that field and any investment made.

On the downside, certain permanent pastures are not good for finishing stock, due to factors such as spring nutrient management, parasite load and later season quality, amongst others. This has been seen to affect ewe body condition score and hence the benefit of “zoning” the farm to know where more productive pasture might be or the need to introduce supplementary feed. Where parasite contamination may be challenging, follow the appropriate SCOPS guidelines to reduce the risk from those pastures. Fields that are not good for finishing stock might be considered for low input environmental schemes, another benefit of zoning and know the capabilities of each field.

Dr Lisa Norton, an ecologist, with an interest in how permanent pasture can be beneficially managed from both an ecological and agricultural aspect, followed by again reminding how grasslands are a key part of our landscape and have been for many years.

Lisa continued by stressing how soils in pastures play an important role, in absorbing & filtering water, improving water quality and reducing flooding, as well as cycling nutrients and storing carbon on a large scale. Further how they provide habitats and nutrients for a wide range of animals that contribute to the biodiversity, not just at the field scale but also at landscape scale, and how the different topographies across the UK result in great variability allowing diverse production systems to be supported. She goes on to categorise grassland, such as improved (i.e. agriculturally) or not-improved, and that 20% of the UK is covered by managed improved grassland, having far less species than natural grassland; also amongst others, neutral grassland being much less managed, not semi-natural and species-rich, but not necessarily dominated by ryegrass and also the extensive areas of acid grassland in the upland regions. Lisa went on to describe how the highest soil carbon is in acid grassland, about 30% more than in neutral grassland, which will have 20% more than in average improved grassland – so there are advantages to carbon storage of grassland being less-improved.

Lisa then summarised recent research and ongoing studies, including some work with the Pasture Fed Livestock Association, that demonstrated the wider benefits in productivity and in ecology, that came from more species-rich grassland composition, being allowed to grow for longer, with a taller grass length, accompanied by the related increased plant and animal biodiversity. In addition that positive relationships were shown with carbon concentrations in the grassland and the more diverse the vegetation the higher the carbon in the soil.

Professor Robin Pakeman (James Hutton Institute) shared his thoughts “Biodiversity is a short word that represents something multidimensional and complex – for any change in management there will be winners and losers within “biodiversity”.

Dr. Prysor Williams (Bangor University) highlighted the likely direction of future agricultural environmental schemes, with farmers being rewarded for providing public goods; offering opportunities with the appropriate management of permanent pastures, to marry productivity with biodiversity to support the sheep farming sector’s transition from the Basic Payment Scheme.

Dr. Aurelie Aubry (AFBI NI) underlined the need to look on the whole farm level to enable both pushing production and prioritising the environment, by targeting activity within the farming system. Adding that research had demonstrated the benefits of a rotational system in terms of grass production; she also reminded that further work is required on the necessary tools to show the requisite environmental benefits of the differing production systems.

A discussion followed, chaired by John, based on questions posed to the group by the attendees. These questions covered a number of the points raised by the panel, from optimal methods for reseeding permanent pasture to carbon management, nutrient management and to the relative benefits of Agroforestry.

During the discussion, it was agreed that any soil disturbance should be treated with care, understanding exactly why it was required and to recognise the relative impact on soil structure, at the same time ensuring that the carbon storage was being protected, that healthy root systems were maintained and that using different species can be beneficial when over-seeding.

A number of questions were focused on grazing management and how future environment schemes might affect decisions. The panel agreed that using a combination and mix of approaches would probably be the best approach, but recognised that often it will be farm dependent and could change from year to year

On carbon management it was highlighted that a lot of work is currently ongoing, that it is a long-term issue, where there is a need to be able to obtain and assimilate robust data. This is an important area for NSA, who will continue to raise awareness and ensure the voice of the sheep industry is heard.

Addressing the current debate on grassland versus trees, the panel all agreed that the right approach is Agroforestry, and the right tree in the right place is beneficial to sheep farming. Hedgerows and those with trees are beneficial in terms of carbon management and also provide shelter for sheep to reduce the amount of energy they expend from trying to keep warm or cool depending on the weather.

The webinar addressed a key point for the future of livestock farming, that is the optimal use of grassland, which continues to be a key focus for NSA policy teams.