Conservation grazing: Bringing farmers and biodiversity organisations together

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At a time when nature and farming are often pitched against each other, conservation grazers demonstrate how food production and protecting biodiversity can go hand in hand. Two NFFN farmers share why they chose this approach for their careers.

Discussions around land use and food production frequently frame nature conservation and farming as opposing forces. However, at the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), we believe this is neither accurate nor constructive. Instead, we champion land management systems that support both profitable farms and flourishing nature.

Conservation grazing involves carefully managing animals to achieve specific benefits for the flora and fauna of a landscape. Success relies on close collaboration and strong working relationships between graziers and landowners. When done well, it allows habitats to flourish while farm businesses continue to produce high-quality, nutrient-dense food.

Bill and Cath Grayson, who run the Morecambe Bay Conservation Grazing Company in the Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape near the Lancashire-Cumbria border, were early adopters of the approach. Trained as ecologists, they spent a decade as National Trust tenants before establishing their own business. Bill explains that by the late 1980s, conservationists had begun to recognise that removing livestock from unimproved grassland had negatively impacted some key species, highlighting the need to reintroduce a grazing regime.

The company currently manages 77 native breed Red Poll cattle, alongside 18 sheep. Bill grazes dozens of sites around Morecambe Bay for organisations such as the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and Natural England, as well as private landowners.

His livestock help maintain a range of important habitats, including saltmarshes which are vital for bird life, and limestone grasslands and hay meadows that support rare plant species. Bill’s grazing system typically sees the cattle spending winter on sites with access to woodland for shelter and browse, before moving to the saltmarshes in summer, while sheep are used to manage smaller sites. Bill suggests this may mirror traditional grazing patterns in the region.

Ensuring each site achieves the desirable outcomes involves ongoing discussions between Bill and the landowners, with the conservation organisations having the final say. For Bill, this collaborative approach rarely presents major problems. “Most of the time, it’s fairly straightforward because we need each other,” he says. “It’s in no one’s interest to upset the applecart. Where differences arise, they can usually be resolved through flexibility and co-operation.”

While Bill has been practicing conservation grazing for decades, Amelia and Jason Greenway are still in the early stages of their journey. They established their business, Springwater Farm, in 2018 and became National Trust tenants in Devon, where their Highland cattle and Mangalitsa pigs graze a diverse mix of parkland, woodland, floodplain and wetland habitats. Like Bill, they move their livestock seasonally, with the animals spending winter in the woods and grazing more open landscapes in summer. Amelia is also set to introduce no-fence collars, enabling rotational grazing without the visual or physical intrusion of electric fences in a heritage landscape.

For Amelia, who grew up on an organic farm, conservation grazing provided a viable route into the industry as a new entrant. “It was a way for us to access land at an affordable rent,” she says. “It wouldn’t work for all farmers, particularly those who’ve previously had different tenancy arrangements, but it’s a partnership that works well for both us and our landlords.”

Both the Morecambe Bay company and Springwater Farm both keep cattle at very low densities, ranging between 0.1 to 0.3 animals per hectare - significantly lower than the typical stocking rate of around 1 per hectare. For Amelia, one of the key attractions of conservation grazing is witnessing the animals display natural behaviours.

“The Highlands love using their horns to bash through bramble and bracken”, she explains, “When I check on them first thing in the morning, they’re usually foraging in the trees and shrubs, rather than looking for lush pasture. They’ve still got that primal instinct.”

Bill acknowledges that conservation grazing has not made as many inroads into conventional agriculture as he has hoped, with most of his company’s apprentices and learners coming from ecological backgrounds. Amelia credits her upbringing on an organic farm, where she learned the value of raising and eating pasture-fed meat, for her openness to the idea. However, she admits that even with this foundation, transitioning to a fully extensive conservation grazing system has been an emotional journey for her and husband, bringing a mix of excitement at new approaches and the challenge of placing their trust in nature.

Bill recalls that in the early days of his company, many conservation organisations believed volunteer scrub-bashing would be enough to maintain nature reserves. However, aerial photography revealed that, despite people’s best efforts, unwanted vegetation was spreading faster than expected, paving the way for the return of grazing animals.

For Amelia, meanwhile, the benefits of conservation grazing for both nature and livestock are now clearly visible on her farm. “Since making the transition, our farm is now home to a breeding pair of cirl buntings in one of our wood pasture blocks, a sight that has not been recorded in the community for decades. Through our partnerships with the National Trust and the Bat Conservation Trust, we regularly survey our fields to help monitor this beautiful regeneration.”

Both Bill and Amelia are keen to emphasise the financial viability of conservation grazing for a farm business. Bill explains that his company has thrived through several payment regimes, with farm support and stewardship payments being split between him and his landlords. He views the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMS) as ‘the new reality’, where the public purse rewards farmers only for delivering public goods. However, he stresses that positive relationships between graziers and landlords will be key to making this system work.

Amelia also highlights the lower costs of farming in this way compared to more conventional livestock systems, especially once the 150 acres of silvopasture she has planted are fully integrated into her farming system. “We’re hoping the only time we will need to bring the animals in will be for TB testing, thanks to our no-fence collars, which allows us to rotate the cattle’s grazing. Allowing our animals to self-medicate through the tree forage, increasing yields, reducing heat and cold stress, and stimulating extra grass growth beneath the trees: this will all be essential for lowering our input costs. As new entrants, we didn’t have the capital for many conventional farming inputs like fertilisers or pesticides anyway.”

Looking to the future, Bill admits he is concerned about conservation organisations facing increasing criticism from their members who hold negative views of cattle due to methane emissions. “They tend to favour animals like horses or pigs, but they just don’t do the same job as ruminants. We’ve had several carbon audits of our system, and they suggest we are an ongoing carbon sink.”

Bill also hopes for greater recognition of the nutrient-dense, pasture-fed meat produced by conservation grazing animals as a valuable product in its own right. He has been raising awareness of its benefits through a local food group and is keen to share the stories behind his animals and their meat more widely.

Amelia has also been sharing her experiences with the public, welcoming more than 500 visitors to Springwater Farm last year, including community groups, schools, colleges and universities. She is particularly encouraged by the enthusiasm of teachers for more sustainable farming approaches, as well as the keen interest shown by younger children and students studying rural land regeneration.

Amelia is also certain that conservation grazing is the right path for her as she builds her farming career. “I wouldn’t want to farm any other way,” she says. “Nature has everything sussed. It knows what it’s doing. It’s often when we start interfering that we create huge problems. Every year, we see our environment becoming home to more and more plant and animal species. Why would I want to destroy that?”

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