Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Grassland Manager of the Year finalists

These mixed farming enterprises, and finalists for the Farmers Weekly Grassland Manager of the Year Award, are using grassland strategically to produce high-quality meat and improve arable soils.

They are using multispecies swards and grazing techniques to improve biodiversity and reduce reliance on inputs, making their systems more resilient.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Beef Farmer of the Year finalists

---

The finalists:

Ian Boyd
Whittington Lodge Farm, Gloucestershire

Peter Lord
Hinton Farm, Somerset

---

The judges:

Mark Housby
Last year’s winner

Hayley Chapman
Livestock reporter

Emily Grant
Independent sheep and beef consultant

---

Ian Boyd

Whittington Lodge Farm, Gloucestershire

The conventional arable unit that Ian Boyd was farming 18 years ago would be unrecognisable today.

Whittington Lodge Farm, which he runs in partnership with his daughter, Steph Ackrill, is now run organically with grassland management key to the business.

The 280ha (692 acres) produces malting barley and runs a 45-head herd of pedigree Hereford cattle producing beef that is sold directly to consumers.

Ian, who is also a wildlife photographer, has two key aims for the farm: first, with multiple families to support, to be commercially viable, and second, to show that farmers can be part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis.

Grazing platform management

The farm’s total grassland is made up of 65ha (161 acres) of wildflower meadows, 35ha (86 acres) of permanent pasture and 70ha (173 acres) of herbal leys on shallow, Cotswold brash soils.

All of the grass types are split into paddocks using mains electric-powered fences, which can be controlled remotely.

Cattle are mob-grazed, with daily moves following the principle of “graze one-third, trample one-third and leave one-third”.

Rest periods for pasture between grazing could be two to three months to allow for flowering and seed setting.

Cows and calves are already outwintered, but, at present, 50% of the herbal leys are cut for haylage to feed housed youngstock during winter.

Late-cut hay is made from the wildflower meadows, which is fed to cows at grass and has been a good way of distributing wildflower seed across different areas of the farm.

Ian is currently looking into whether stockpile grazing, where cattle graze mature grass deliberately left untouched from the autumn, will reduce the demand for conserved feed.

Multispecies leys

Two legume- and herb-rich seed mixes are used within the arable rotation – one for grazing, which contains chicory, and one without chicory for baling, because the chicory stalks can puncture the plastic wrap.

Each mix includes 15 different species and is scattered with a grass harrow before being rolled at least twice.

Undersowing the multispecies mix in a barley crop has proved to be the most reliable method of establishment.

Since abandoning fertiliser use, thistles, nettles and docks, which used to require controlling by topping, are no longer a problem.

Measuring cover and residuals is not a regular practice on the farm. Rotations are planned using the holistic grazing value of animal days a hectare, and Google Sheets are used to record plans for ease of access from any device.

Meat from forage

Ian says the emphasis of his grazing management is managing the vegetation for the soils, not the cattle.

He is sceptical about some of the methods for measuring soil organic matter, because there can be so many variable factors, but he believes levels are increasing year on year.

He uses the visual evaluation of soil structure technique to monitor soil health and the Soilmentor app for recording.

Having undergone a farm carbon assessment, the farm is already at net zero, potentially sequestering more carbon than the cattle produce.

Under the brand of Cotswold Beef, all meat is sold directly to consumers and the customer base now exceeds 2,000 individuals.

Ian credits the 100% grass-based diet for the unique flavour of the beef, and the nature-friendly style of farming at Whittington is a key marketing message for the business.

What the judges say

Ian has a clear vision for the future, producing low-cost beef from forage, with the grazing of diverse grassland and wildflower meadows the backbone of the system.

Peter Lord

Hinton Farm, Somerset

With 1,480ha (3,656 acres) to manage, spread over an 18-mile radius, and the city of Bath in the middle, Peter Lord has to keep all grassland management well-planned.

The young mixed farming business, established in 2016 as part of Dyson Farming, incorporates livestock into the arable system to help control weeds and costs, and minimise tillage.

A key part of this is using multispecies leys within the arable rotation to give drought tolerance and lengthen the grazing season, while also making optimum use of other grassland types.

The grazing platform is made up of a mix of parkland, improved permanent pasture and multispecies leys across a variety of soils ranging from sands to heavy clay.

Grazing platform management

While the permanent pasture and temporary leys are paddock-grazed, parkland is set-stocked with sheep. The aim is for a stocking rate low enough to allow good rest periods on the pasture.

Priority grazing on a mix of permanent pasture and multispecies leys is given to the 300-head Stabiliser suckler herd and their calves.

Sheep are grazed on a variety of pastures and are also brought in to clear up residues in autumn as cattle move to winter crops or housing.

Early in the season, when growth is strong, electric fencing is used to set up cells of 1-1.5ha (2.5-3.7 acres) each.

On the paddock system, Peter aims to put stock in at 2,600kg dry matter (DM)/ha and leave a residual of 1,600kg DM/ha, allowing for rest periods of 20-40 days, depending on grass growth.

Multispecies leys

All paddocks are measured using a plate meter. Currently, Agriwebb is used for all farm recording, but the business is in the process of transferring to Farmax, which should allow more detailed feed budgeting.

As the business has expanded, newly purchased permanent pasture has been improved by adding ryegrass and clover.

In 2017, the farm took part in an AHDB trial looking at the impact of grazing cattle on blackgrass control in arable rotations. Since then, Peter has been planting a variety of species within leys.

Some swards consist of a mixture of intermediate and late-heading ryegrass varieties and white clover. Timothy and festulolium are also included to boost durability under foot and lengthen the grazing season.

Some leys also include red clover, chicory, yarrow and bird’s-foot trefoil, although the latter two have proved tricky to establish.

Peter says he would prefer to graze grass to encourage it to grow but uses fertiliser where necessary on fields cut for conserving.

Typically, this would entail an initial application of 80kg N/ha and a follow-up application of 55kg N/ha if needed for second cut.

Meat from forage

Peter is passionate about making good-quality silage that feeds well. He aims for a metabolisable energy (ME) of 11MJ/kg DM or over and protein at 14%.

Improving quality has increased palatability and means bulls can now be finished on a forage-based diet at 12.5-14.5 months at an average carcass weight of 320kg, with heifers finishing at 15 months and weighing 300kg.

He believes the forage-based ration improves eating quality by increasing intramuscular fat and fat depth.

This is important given that his two main goals on the livestock side of the business are to produce more cows from grass and to sell 100% of meat produced directly to customers.

What the judges say

Peter is managing a big business with a large team, so simple grazing systems are key. A clear emphasis on forage quality and phasing out purchased feed is driving performance and profitability.