Shropshire Farming Talk: A busy time for the British Grassland Society

The annual rotation of the BGS presidential team took place with Graham Parks taking over as President.

We also welcomed Dr Christina Marley (IBERS) as BGS President Elect and James White (Barenbrug) as a National Council Member.

BGS would like to thank Past President Dr Elizabeth Stockdale (NIAB) and National Council Member Mhairi Dawson (NFUS) for their valuable contributions as they step down.

Following the AGM members were given a tour of some of the research projects that are being carried out at North Wyke.

This included cell grazing (TechnoGrazing), a form of managed rotational grazing that has the potential to promote more productive beef farming and meet socio-economic targets through improved environmental and regenerative impacts.

The cell grazing system demonstrated higher productivity compared to a set stock system along with indications of improvements in soil carbon and forage quality.

Our thanks go to Dr Jordana Rivero, Dr Jane Hawkins and Melanie Wright for organising the tour and discussing the research work with us.

The competition to find the BGS Grassland Farmer of the Year 2024 is in full swing. The competition, sponsored by Germinal, Nufarm and Yara aims to find the UK’s top grassland farmers and recognise their ability and reward them for their achievements.

The judging team met on Thursday, August 1 to select the three national finalists. The judging team will be visiting the finalists in August and

September. The winner will be announced at an Awards Evening on 23 October at The Park Hotel, Peebles, Scotland.

Tom Goatman, The British Grassland Society