East Anglia has a new kind of dating agency - one that pairs up farmers looking for new grazing land for their livestock with land owners who need help managing their meadows and grasslands.
The Grazing Exchange website is the brainchild of Natural England, Easton College and the Grazing Forum and provides a free service to support graziers, landowners and conservation organisations alike.
The number of grazing animals in the region has been in steady decline in recent years as farmers have moved away from mixed farming to purely arable. This trend has important consequences for the distinctive East Anglian landscape which for centuries has been maintained by grazing sheep and cattle. At the same time, those farmers who are committed to livestock husbandry can struggle to find the good quality grazing land they need.
Enterprising young farmers like Growing Business Award winner Dameon Layt are keen to take advantage of this new matchmaking service. He has built up a successful operation serving his own Salhouse-farmed lamburgers from his portable catering outfit, The Shepherd’s Hut. Dameon said: "Ever since I was 14 it’s been my dream to have some sheep. I chose pedigree Norfolk Horns that do well on this land and now the business is established I want to be able to expand - but that’s impossible without high quality grazing land. This scheme is really important as it brings together graziers and land owners completely free of charge."
And it’s not just pedigree sheep that will be able to find the grazing land of their dreams. Using this scheme, farmers can place everything from continentals to rare breeds, cattle to alpacas.
Natural England’s Bill Nickson said: "This is a dating agency with a difference - a fantastic opportunity to link up livestock owners who need grazing land with people who have land but need stock for proper management. A lot of this land is important for wildlife habitats as well as livestock. We especially hope that Grazing Exchange will reach the ’harder to graze’ parts of the region, including many valuable wildlife sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and help the livestock sector to restore the essential grazing management needed to bring these sites into the best condition."
The Grazing Exchange launches today (31 March) with backing from a range of partners in addition to Natural England, including Easton College, the National Farmers’ Union, and the Country Land and Business Association. Lady Caroline Cranbrook, Chairman of the Eastern Region Grazing Forum, said: "The Grazing Exchange is there to help livestock owners but it will also benefit the wider population. At a time of impending food scarcity and rising concern about distances travelled by animals from farm to plate, a secure supply of local meat will become increasingly important, as will the need to maintain our beautiful grazed landscape and wildlife reserves, to the benefit of all."
