Pasture for Life

📺 Available to watch: Catch Up on Our Winter Webinar Series 📺 Whether you're looking to: 👉improve profitability, 👉 find new markets,👉 optimise your grazing systems, our series of over 40 webinars with world renowned experts is full of insights and practical advice. Just a few of the topics we have covered: 🧀 Direct Dairy Sales – “We boost profitability and productivity by keeping cows out 365 days a year.” 🍇 Grazing Sheep in Vineyards – “Sheep do the work of tractors, equipment, and herbicides - and do it all for free” 🧶 Maximising Wool Sales– “At farmers' markets I’m selling lamb, beef… and knitwear. My customers care about traceability in everything they buy.” 🌍 Managing Pasture-Based Systems in Canada 📈 Improving Business Margins 🐑 Mob Grazing with Sheep 🧪 Soil Health Monitoring 🐛 Dealing with Parasites 🦋 Conservation Grazing 🐖 Pasture-Raised Pigs 💩 The Ecology of Dung 🥩 Meat and Health 👨👩👧 Succession Planning …and much more. 📩 Email us at membership@pastureforlife.org to find out more and join us as a member to start watching the recordings.

Our Skills Development Programme (Scotland) Traineeship 2025 is now open for applications! This fully funded 6-month traineeship offers valuable training in regenerative farming, from soil biology to pasture management. Work with industry experts and receive mentoring to build your skills. Ideal for young farmers, new entrants, or those from non-traditional farming backgrounds. We particularly welcome applicants from non-farming backgrounds. Apply or nominate today: https://lnkd.in/eDk3VkRh

Rothamsted Research highlights that many broad assumptions about livestock farming’s sustainability don’t always reflect the reality. Their studies show that in the right context pastoral beef and sheep farming can: ✅ Make the most efficient use of land unsuited to crops ✅ Produce highly nutrient-dense food ✅ Improve animal welfare through outdoor grazing systems ✅ Methods such as mob grazing increase productivity while having a positive impact on soil, wildlife, and the wider environment ✅ Lower carbon footprint than some grain-fed systems 🔬🌱 But to properly evaluate the benefits of pastoral systems in the UK, we need a new research funding model - one that supports long-term projects, co-designed and co-delivered by scientists and farmers as partners. 📌 https://t.co/2lMpGK2tCN Photo: Old Hall Farm, Norfolk

🏆 Congratulations to Lilliput Farm Kitchen in Gloucestershire, a new PfL Approved restaurant! They serve a seasonal menu built around their own 100% PfL certified Traditional Hereford beef. Based in countryside between Bristol and Bath, their cattle graze uplands in the summer and valley pastures in autumn and winter. They cut hay later than usual, in July, as part of a longstanding Countryside Stewardship agreement with Natural England, to encourage wildflower seeding and local nature. They believe in keeping this traditional way of farming going, especially as archeological digs have revealed cattle and sheep have been farmed here for millennia. https://t.co/QYl83kTWdV Find out more about PfL certification and approval - https://lnkd.in/eHFpwEUM or email us at certification@pastureforlife.org #farming #foodie Great British Food Awards, The Good Food Guide, The MICHELIN Guide, Guild of Fine Food

The absolute highlight of my work are days like these 🪲 🌱 🐂 ☀️ As a fashion student, the question “Who and where are the people and places behind this piece of leather?” occupied my mind so much that I ended up buying a sheep (if you read Field, Fork, Fashion—that’ll make more sense!) Now, through our work with British Pasture Leather, we have the chance to pull back the curtain—and be both amazed and humbled—while answering that very question. As feedback from past attendees shows, nothing beats the real-life experience of being in the field with passionate experts. Getting in among the cow pats and beetles sparks genuine inspiration and mindsets shift. “…a multi-sensory learning experience that leaves a deep and lasting impression.” “…it extends beyond theoretical knowledge and fosters a sense of appreciation for the interconnectedness of nature, agriculture, and the fashion industry.” We believe this kind of learning is fundamental to reconnecting the dots between our food and fibre systems—and essential for imagining new paths of collaboration and conversation... ...fancy joining us? Follow the link below for more details, or get in touch! https://lnkd.in/eWhTb2m6 Pasture for Life Nikki Yoxall Sara Grady Groundswell Agriculture

🌱 We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Local Food Growth Plan: a collaborative plan for action, produced by The Landworkers' Alliance, Pasture for Life, Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, Sustainable Food Trust and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, in consultation with over 160 food and farming organisations, producers and enterprises. This report presents a comprehensive pathway for growing the UK’s local food sector, outlining key actions for local and combined authorities, UK and devolved nation governments, as well as food and farming organisations, to enable the growth of local food supply chains. A more resilient food system must be grounded in local supply chains which benefit farmers, nature and the general public. In the report, we identify 7️⃣ key priorities for action that are crucial to achieving our shared vision – scroll through this post to find out what they are 👉 Visit https://lnkd.in/evw2MpKg to read the full Plan. #LocalFoodPlan #LocalFoodGrowthPlan #LocalFood

Despite its potential, there are several problems with #ecolabelling. According to a new report by CLEAR The Consortium for Labelling for the Environment, Animal Welfare and Regenerative Farming, the disparate methodologies used to develop different schemes creates an incomplete picture. Plus, an overreliance on #modelleddata and second-hand data means that the #sustainability picture painted by eco-labels isn’t always accurate, and labels often overlook key facets such as #biodiversity. In short, they’re not fit for purpose. Dr John Tzilivakis, one of the report’s authors, explores the challenges facing eco-labelling, alongside Oona B. and Lee Holdstock of the Soil Association, Jimmy Woodrow of Pasture for Life, Nicola Organ of EIT Food, Sarah Haynes from IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution) and Fabia Bromovsky from the Sustainable Food Trust.

🌾🐂 Carefully planned bale grazing can offer livestock farmers a variety of benefits including labour and cost savings, animal and soil health. PfL members Claire Beaumont of Gowbarrow Hall Farm Cumbria, and Stuart Mitchell of Whitriggs Farm Roxburghshire, discuss bale grazing and the practicalities of setting it up on the Farmers Guardian podcast. 🎧 https://t.co/z2Ov29W5Gy 📸 Whitriggs Farm, Roxburghshire #balegrazing #farming Lake District National Park, AHDB - Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, AgriWebb, The Farming Forum, Innovation for Agriculture

Thanks to all the farmers and scientists whose insights have helped inform this Rothamsted Research and Pasture for Life policy brief. As well as highlighting Rothamsted's extensive research on sustainable grazing livestock systems, the brief calls for more UK research funding for farmer-scientists collaborative research at the farm-level. In particular the brief calls for a funding model that: ✅ prioritises relationship-based research funding to foster stronger partnerships and more effective, timely research ✅ recognises farmers as equal status research partners, allowing them to be listed as co-researchers and to be fairly compensated for the expert contributions ✅ prioritises research which deploys a co-design, co-delivery approach across the whole research process starting from identification of the research problem and design of the research project. Nikki Yoxall Steven Emery CRPR University of Exeter https://lnkd.in/esTTXxRg

🚨 56,000 hectares of farmland have been lost since 2010! That’s an area the size of Leeds lost from the edges of our towns and cities. These peri-urban farms provide food, protect nature, and support local economies, yet they’re disappearing at an alarming rate. Our latest report highlights: 🔥 More than 1,700 peri-urban farms have been lost to development 🌾 Peri-urban farms are key for producing up to 20% of key crops like wheat, oats & potatoes 💰 These farms contribute £3.3 billion annually to the UK economy ⚠️ As Sustainable Farming Incentive is paused, farmers have been left with no support for environmental stewardship We can have a countryside that works for everyone, with homes for people, space for nature, and productive farmland. But to make this a reality, the government must prioritise a working land use framework and commit to a brownfield-first approach to housebuilding. Read more - https://lnkd.in/dAe8UQeb