Categories: Earth and Leaf

Grazing Pressure

Grazing pressure has transformed our world and it must be used again to transform it once more. The Sahara was created by grazing pressure and is expanding as a consequence. The same applies to the American dust bowl. The Highland clearances combined with the removal of predators like Lynx and Wolves have devastated Scotland. That perceived magnificent scenery is man made.

The Lake District should be covered in Atlantic rain forest. Samuel Johnson once complained bitterly that his beloved “Peak District had been ruined by cutting down all the trees and building thousands of miles of hideous dry stone walls”.

Grazing Pressure in the UK

There are hundreds of thousands of acres like this in Wales. This was taken in early spring just before lambing. What is wrong here?

The grazed fields are a wildlife desert and the hedges are not far behind. The hedges are browsed by the sheep and their under storey stripped by the sheep. They are managed badly, functioning simply as field boundaries and are overcut by the farmer.

Although the title of this post is simply titled “grazing pressure” I am include grazing of plants other than grasses here. That includes tree leaves, seedlings and even water plants. this is more accurately called browsing. It is not just cows sheep and rabbits that do the damage. So do goats, deer and other small mammals. Our insatiable demand in the west for meat has changed our world. We have also hunted other large predators almost to extinction.

What is the Grazing Pressure Problem?

In an open field on an intensive grazed farm you do not see saplings, brambles or shrubs. Every environmental pressure is stacked against them. The number of grass species will be very low. The sward will (or should be) mostly Ryegrass, possibly with some clover and there may be a few other grasses in there too.

It is almost a monoculture, fuelled by pretty hefty applications of nitrogenous fertiliser and slurry and maybe other manures too. Additionally there is a great deal of footfall, possibly mowing or topping (just another form of grazing) chain harrowing and rolling. Mamals and birds have no hope of making a home there.

Lets Have a Look at the Various Habitats Affected by Grazing Pressure

You will often see belts of trees maybe at field margins or on steeper slopes. Farmers often call these shelterbelts which I always find quite amusing because they are not. They are unfenced and characterised by having no understorey whatsoever except maybe some patchy grass. They are as much use to wildlife as a chocolate fireguard. If they are remnants of ancient woodland then fence the livestock out immediately with a good margin from the trees, say a minimum of six metres. There may be in early spring some ancient woodland indicators such as remnants of species such as Wood Sorrel, Bluebells, Primroses and Dogs Mercury.

The vast majority of UK woodland is degraded. Much has been replanted with monocultures.

The vast majority of UK woodland is degraded. Much has been replanted with monocultures. Deer are a major problem in most woodlands. In Scotland Red Deer are devastating landscapes. Wht are we not eating them?

Grazing pressure also applies to rough grazing, the uplands and hills, heathland and marshes and importantly to all woodland. Here are some comments on the current state of the UK countryside.

Iain Dunn

Founder of Earth and Leaf Community Interest Company. Lifelong career and education in agriculture. Now researcher and writer and sustainability campaigner.