Getting More From Grazing

A workshop exploring how observation, adaptability and intentional livestock management can be applied to grazing livestock systems.

This practical on-farm session, hosted at Balbirnie Farm by Johnnie Balfour and facilitated by Pasture for Life and Forth Rivers Trust, will explore fundamental principles and benefits of practicing adaptive grazing. Designed for a small cohort of farmers connected through the Leven Catchment Farmer Network, the session will provide a working example of how observation, adaptability and intentional livestock management can be applied to grazing livestock systems.

The day will begin with an overview of fundamental grazing principles and strategies in a workshop-style format, to establish a baseline of grazing knowledge present in the cohort before presenting the cohort with principles and strategies specific to low-input grazing, as well as low-input soil and pasture management; grazing to improve soil, livestock and habitat health.

Participants will then discuss practicality and implemntation of adaptive grazing in their own businesses before heading out on a farm walk to see how this approach is implemented in practice at Balbirnie, utilising planning and infrastructure before returning for lunch. After a shared lunch, the group will reconvene for discussion, reflection, and questions before closing the session.

Upscaling Agroecology

We are delighted to be one of the six projects to have received funding from The Scottish Government Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF).

Our new SAP collaborative project: Upscaling Agroecology, led by Soil Association Scotland and delivered across Scotland by the SAP partners, will promote agroecological and organic farming practices through:

• On-farm workshops
• Online webinars and resources
• A national Agroecology conference
• A brand-new podcast mini-series.
• Check out our upcoming events!

Many farmers tell us they are looking for ways to build resilience and sustainability, but don’t always know where to start or how approaches could be implemented on their own farms.

This new programme will showcase what agroecological and organic systems can look like in practice, explore the principles behind them and provide opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and support.

The project will aim to use a joined-up approach to delivery and dissemination, and build lasting peer networks to support the adoption of sustainable farming systems.

This project is funded by The Scottish Government through the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) which supports projects that promote skills development or deliver improvements in business practice, resource efficiency, environmental performance and sustainability.

SAP is a collaboration of organisations rapidly becoming the voice for agroecology in Scotland which aims to ‘make agroecology central to farming, crofting and growing in Scotland’.