Quality grass is the foundation of the Welsh lamb and beef industry.
The fact that animals are reared on natural pasture in Wales’s outstanding rural environment is a key factor behind the positive reputation that the country enjoys for the quality and sustainability of its meat.
This means that managing grassland effectively is vital to Welsh farmers. Several have signed up to be part of a major research project supported by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) to look at new grassland technologies and techniques.
GrasscheckGB aims to improve grassland productivity and pasture utilisation on beef and sheep farms through a new grassland performance monitoring network. 27 pilot beef and sheep farms, including nine in Wales, have been chosen alongside 23 dairy farms, representing a wide range of geographical areas and farm systems.
Pilot farmers will measure grass each week throughout the growing season and take grass samples. They will also have an automatic weather station installed on their farm to record data such as temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours.
The information gathered will enable researchers to make predictions of future growth and report this to the industry on a weekly basis, while also supporting novel grassland research.
This project is a collaboration between HCC, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) together with the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) and researchers at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and Rothamsted Research, as well as industry sponsors Germinal, Waitrose & Partners, Sciantec Analytical and Handley Enterprises Ltd. CIEL is supporting the purchase of equipment on farms through funds from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency.
