Grazing Exchange
The number of sheep and cattle in
the East of England region has declined by around 30% since 1990 in
response to various factors, including the decreasing profitability of
livestock production, increasing costs, disease outbreaks and the
general trend from mixed farming to pure arable, as smaller herds and
flocks become less economically viable. In addition to this, the loss
of livestock markets has meant that there are fewer connections within
the industry, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for landowners
without stock to find someone to graze their grassland.
Similarly, graziers may not be aware of grazing
opportunities within their local area, and lack of suitable land may
prevent them from expanding their stock numbers.
The online grazing exchange aims to provide a quick
and easy way for landowners and graziers to locate stock and grassland
in their local area. The service is completely free of charge and open
to everyone, from commercial producers to conservation graziers,
intensive grassland to heathland, continentals to rare breeds, cattle
to alpacas.
To search for land or stock in your area simply
click on the county links provided. These take you a list of grazing
opportunities in your county. For further information on these,
including contact details, click on ‘View’. This is a national
database maintained by
SheepKeep,
giving you the opportunity to search for entries anywhere in the
country using the ‘UK’ link or Advanced Search option.
Graziers and landowners can post details of
available stock and land for free by clicking on the ‘signup’ links
provided. These take you to a simple online form which is submitted to
SheepKeep for uploading onto the database.
Once you have found a suitable match you can either
get your details hidden from the public view or removed completely by
e-mailing tony@sheepkeep.co.uk
or calling 01993 886567. Alternatively, you can leave your details on
the site for as long as you like, to see if any other opportunities
arise.
Please tell us if you have been successful in
finding land or stock by using the Contact Us
link. We are always interested in hearing about your experiences of
using this site.
For further information about the economic,
environmental and social impacts of the decline in grazing livestock
in the East of England please see the research report commissioned by
Natural England’s Grazing, Landscape and Food Project at
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/east/docs/GrazingReport1.pdf |
