Grazing is an important part of our farming industry and, for many, management of livestock is more than an occupation: it is a way of life. In this guest post, Rob Cooke, Director of the Greener Farming and Fisheries Programme in Natural England explains the relationship between grazing and environmental outcomes.
In this guest post, Dr. Julia Wrathall shares her views on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Julia is an expert in farm welfare and served as the RSPCA's Chief Scientific Officer. She helped to shape species-specific priorities through co-design.
Cholderton is a 1000-hectare estate on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border. It participated in one of Defra's environmental land management test and trials to develop a model land management plan based on the exemplary principles adopted by the estate. In this guest post, Merrick Denton-Thompson shares his view.
If you want to encourage more of the right wild plants and insects on a group of farms, what parts of your farm should you target to get the best results? This is the question conservation scientist Dr Robert Hawkes explored with colleagues from the University of East Anglia, the Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network and Defra.
In this guest post, Jonathan Statham introduces the Annual Health and Welfare Review, a fully-funded vet visit which farmers will receive each year of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Jonathan is a cattle vet and chair-elect for England’s Animal Health and Welfare Board.
Farmers can play a critical role in tackling the nature and climate crises, but do they also have an important role in assessing the health of the natural environment too? This is the question the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) posed as part of a Defra-funded test and trial.