Focus on grazing, pastures and animals

Grazing

Leaflets:

Grazing licence example - provided by BCNP Wildlife Trust. We recommend that a grazing licence or approved agreement is issued between the land owner/manager and the grazier for the period requiring grazing.
BCNP Wildlife Trust’s leaflet on conservation grazing

Match making service

Grazing and land matchmaking service is provided by this website. If you are in need of land for your grazing animals or vice versa, please click here.

Animals

Animal breeds

Breed profile handbook available from the Grazing advice Partnership (GAP) website
Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust website
Riggit Gallaway society website
Rushmere Alpacas website

Identification, movement and tracing of animals

Business Link provide detailed but easy to follow guides on their website. These guides are recommended if you are new to keeping farm animals and or not sure exactly what you are expected to do to meet the regulations.
Defra provide information about livestock movements, identification and tracing for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, deer and horses on their website.
Information about electronic Identification (EID) for sheep can be found on Defra’s website.
Information about cattle identification and movement can be found on Defra’s website.

Movement forms and movement record keeping

Trading Standards are responsible for the enforcement of a wide range of legislation relating to agricultural holdings and the keeping of livestock. This work includes animal movement and record keeping. For more information, for example, about what this means, how to get copies of the licence forms and movement record book, contact details for your local trading standard office, click here.

Farmed animal welfare during transportation

Business Link provide detailed but easy to follow guides on their website.

Animal diseases

Business Link provide detailed but easy to follow guides on controlling animal diseases, disease prevention, disease notification and restrictions, dealing with animal by-products and fallen stock on their website.
Defra provide a list of animal diseases and how to spot them. This includes information about Bluetongue, BSE, Equine Infectious Anaemia, Foot and Mouth, Scapie and Tuberculosis on their website.

Horses

Leaflet produced by BCN Wildlife Trust on ‘pasture management for horses and wildlife.’
'Paddocks for ponies and biodiversity' leaflet produced by Flora Locale -available on their website
Leaflet produced by the Chilterns Conservation Board on land management for horse owners
The Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre (AVMC) website has information on pasture Management (horses and Ponies), poisonous and unfriendly plants, herbs for pasturelands and much more on their website. This website is produced by Chris Day, a veterinary surgeon, based in Oxfordshire.
British Horse Society website.
Book - Managing Grass for Horses: The Responsible Owner's Guide by Elizabeth O’Beirne Ranelagh.

Pasture management

Leaflets and handbooks

BCN Wildlife Trust’s leaflet on lowland meadows
BCN Wildlife Trust’s leaflet on lowland calcareous grasslands
BCN Wildlife Trust’s leaflet on conservation grazing
The Lowland Grassland Management Handbook - a joint initiative between The Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage. The handbook covers topics such as grazing, mowing, scrub management, grassland creation, weed control and management for specific species assemblages. It is divided up into 17 chapters which can be viewed individually on Natural England’s website.
Natural England have produced 'The Scrub Management Handbook: Guidance on the management of scrub on nature conservation sites'
For information about control of weeds, please see the weed management page.

Match making service

Grazing and land matchmaking service is provided by this website. If you are in need of grazing animals to graze your land or vice versa click here.

Useful websites

Business Link - www.businesslink.gov.uk/farming

East of England Grazing Forum - www.grazingforum.co.uk/

Defra - www.defra.gov.uk

English Beef and Lamb Executive (Eblex) - www.eblex.org.uk/

EU's Rural Development Policy - www.ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm

Floodplain Meadows Partnership - http://www.floodplainmeadows.org.uk/

Go Grazing - www.go-grazing.com

Grazing Advice Project (GAP) - www.grazinganimalsproject.org.uk

National Farmers’ Union (NFU) - www.nfuonline.com

National Sheep Association (NSA) - www.nationalsheep.org.uk

Natural England - www.naturalengland.org.uk