THE livestock farming sector has been boosted by the latest findings from a major industry project which shows Wales is well-placed to lead the way in sustainable pasture-based production.

The GrassCheckGB project, a collaborative venture across the red meat and dairy sectors in Wales, England and Scotland, has been collecting grass growth and weather data from fifty farms across the country for three years.

The latest data, at the close of the 2021 season, shows that grass growth in Wales was even higher than Scotland and England, averaging a remarkable 10.2 tonnes of dry matter (DM) per hectare.

Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is one of the partners in the research. HCC’s industry development and relations manager John Richards explained that effective use of grass was vital to environmentally-sustainable lamb and beef production.

“Britain is one of the best places to grow grass in the world, which means we can rear livestock largely using pasture and rainwater, rather than making heavy use of imported feed,” said Mr Richards.

“The great news is that the GrassCheckGB project is showing us that through good grassland management we can make even better use of our natural resources, and that Wales has been top of this table in the last two years!”

John added that sustainable farming was the key theme of HCC’s presence at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair on 29-30 November, the first time the Welsh food and farming sector had met collectively since the Covid pandemic.

“We launched our practical guide to sustainability – Perfecting the Welsh Way – last month,” said John. “This document highlighted how farmers could make already effective livestock systems even more sustainable, though maximising aspects such as grassland management.”

He added, “Our stand at the Winter Fair shows how industry projects such as the Red Meat Development Programme and collaborative work such as GrassCheckGB are driving the sector towards greater sustainability.”

GrassCheckGB is a collaboration between Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) together with CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) and researchers at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and Rothamsted Research, as well as industry sponsors Germinal, Waitrose & Partners, Sciantec Analytical, Datamars Livestock and Handley Enterprises Ltd. CIEL is supporting the purchase of equipment on farms through funds from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency.