| East of England
Grazing Forum The decline in the livestock industry
in the East of England has lead to concerns that grassland in the
region is becoming under-grazed. This is a particular issue on sites
that require grazing for ecological and landscape reasons.
The Rural Development Service (RDS) began a programme
of activities in the region to address undergrazing in 2003. The RDS
was then joined by six organisations with an interest in this issue,
to form the undergrazing project partnership.
The East of England Grazing Forum was
therefore established to act as a permanent 'home' for grazing issues
in the region, drawing together representatives from Industry and
conservation bodies, livestock production, marketing, retail and
development organisations.
The Grazing Forum is dedicated to generating actions
that support the livestock industry in the region and is working to
ensure correct management of the region’s grassland.
The project is currently administered from the
Natural England offices in Cambridge under the direction of Victoria
Perry -
East of England Grazing Exchange/Grazing Forum
Click here for more
information on the Grazing Forum members
Objectives
- To provide an overview of the grassland in the
region, its status and condition and its potential for management by
grazing.
- To share information and best practice from
within and outside the region.
- To raise the profile of grazing management and
the availability and needs of conservation grazing. In particular
the need for infrastructure within the red meat industry.
- To support the development of sustainable,
market-driven solutions to the issue of under grazing.
- To act as a focus for local grazing schemes set
up at sub-regional level.
- To input to policy and advocate changes to
improve the viability of conservation grazing.
- To encourage tourism organisations and websites
to include links to places where people can see grazing animals.
- To improve the communication between farmers,
land managers and graziers leading to a higher proportion of sites
in active management.
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