Track 3-05: Effective Pathways for Industry Use of Grasslands Technology
Description
A pilot project was set up whereby mid-performing livestock producers could access knowledge from other farmers in order to produce more milk and meat from grass. In the United Kingdom grass utilisation on pasture that is grazed, is low - generally no better than 50%on dairy units, and even less on beef and sheep farms. The BGS Grazing Partners scheme was devised by the British Grassland Society (BGS) in 2009 by council member Sara Gregson, after completing a Nuffield Farming Scholarship. Eighteen experienced and successful grassland farmers were trained in mentoring skills. Farmer-to-farmer mentoring helps producers, who are too shy to join a discussion group, do not have time to attend meetings, or find searching for printed information and applying it to their own situation, difficult. The conversation between mentor and mentee is completely relevant to the latter’s farm, so uptake of new technology is more likely than for example, visiting a demonstration farmor reading a press article. Sixty-five mentoring partnerships were formed. Feedback from mentees was all positive. They saved money on inputs and increased grass and animal productivity as a result of their mentor’s input. BGS Grazing Partners gave mid-performing operators knowledge and confidence to make practical changes to their grassland management. This allowed them to reduce their costs of production and improve profitability. It also taps into a previously unused knowledge resource – namely farmers, at a time when grassland experts are scarce, yet the need for grassland knowledge transfer is high.
Included in
Farmer-to-Farmer Mentoring–Delivering Real Change in Practice on UK Livestock Farms
A pilot project was set up whereby mid-performing livestock producers could access knowledge from other farmers in order to produce more milk and meat from grass. In the United Kingdom grass utilisation on pasture that is grazed, is low - generally no better than 50%on dairy units, and even less on beef and sheep farms. The BGS Grazing Partners scheme was devised by the British Grassland Society (BGS) in 2009 by council member Sara Gregson, after completing a Nuffield Farming Scholarship. Eighteen experienced and successful grassland farmers were trained in mentoring skills. Farmer-to-farmer mentoring helps producers, who are too shy to join a discussion group, do not have time to attend meetings, or find searching for printed information and applying it to their own situation, difficult. The conversation between mentor and mentee is completely relevant to the latter’s farm, so uptake of new technology is more likely than for example, visiting a demonstration farmor reading a press article. Sixty-five mentoring partnerships were formed. Feedback from mentees was all positive. They saved money on inputs and increased grass and animal productivity as a result of their mentor’s input. BGS Grazing Partners gave mid-performing operators knowledge and confidence to make practical changes to their grassland management. This allowed them to reduce their costs of production and improve profitability. It also taps into a previously unused knowledge resource – namely farmers, at a time when grassland experts are scarce, yet the need for grassland knowledge transfer is high.
