A full version of this article appears in the magazine.

 

AGAP is a partnership between PONT (Pori Nature a Treftadaeth), CCW, The National Trust, RSPB, North Wales Wildlife Trust, FWAG and the Sustainable Development fund. The coordinator is supported by the Esmee Fairbairn foundation through PONT.

 

I am the AGAP local grazing scheme coordinator and am a third of the way through a three year mission - to boldly graze where no one has grazed before (or not for many years anyway!). I’ve come into the job from a background of conservation-friendly farming and countryside contracting, so I hope to be able to bridge the gap between the farming and conservation interests on the island to bring a minimum of 300 hectares of land, on 30 sites, under sustainable grazing management.

 

The ruminant browsing animal evolved and flourished originally in those regions of the world where scrubland, heath and wild grazings were then to be found.

(Progressive Farming by R Alun Roberts, Ed. J.A Hanley 1949.)

 

This farming manual goes on to discuss how, although science advocates re-seeding and sowing with newly developed hybrid pasture mixes:

 

By virtue of the various miscellaneous weeds and herbs that are usually found in old swards providing some mineral, or else some other virtue hitherto unknown to us, and not found within the narrow range of species present in the ley sward, the old sward has the power of turning unthrifty beasts and conditioning them anew.

 

Grazing animals are invaluable in maintaining or increasing biodiversity in a variety of habitats. Cattle are often the best choice for conservation grazing management: they leave a more variable, taller sward that sustains more invertebrates than sheep or ponies. They eat a wide range of coarse vegetation so they spread the effects of grazing evenly and open the sward for colonisation by a variety of plant species. They are useful in eating the growing shoots of Nardus or mat grass, and purple moor grass and browsing scrub. They produce copious amounts of dung – up to four tonnes per cow a year – which nurtures an annual insect population a quarter of the cow’s own body weight. Their hoof prints and the edges of the paths they create provide niche environments for small plants and creatures such as marsh fritillary caterpillar.

 

Traditional breeds

We encourage graziers to use slower growing, traditional breeds of cattle. Sure-footed light Dexters, which are very fond of scrub, are grazing an area of limestone and browsing regrowth and rank grass. Quiet Herefords, with a healthy dislike of unruly dogs, are protecting their pony companions and managing an area of coastal heath for chough, whilst hardy, double coated Belted Galloway and hairy Welsh Blacks have spent the winter browsing on the Anglesey fens and the dunes of Newborough Warren. Thrifty, agile and placid Shorthorns, which can gain weight on coarse, poor quality grazing, will be roaming some well-used headland at Porth Dafarch.

 

Breakwater Quarry

I was invited to Anglesey Council’s Breakwater Country Park in Holyhead in September 2008, to look at a two acre area with a view to grazing it lightly as part of a heathland restoration project. We looked out at the rocky coast and decided not to stop at two acres but to see if it would be possible to graze the whole area. Working together over the next six months we found that it was. It had not been grazed since the horses, working on the quarry and Breakwater in the late 1800s, were pastured there at night. The heath is in generally good condition but would benefit from some scrub control and heather regeneration; we felt that ponies would be the best animals to graze the area.

 

Having researched the history of grazing in the area we held a public information day at the visitor centre, giving locals an opportunity to voice any concerns about the proposed grazing.

 

My cooking came in useful - gingerbread butterflies and ponies were handed out to visitors with the question ‘Are you hungry enough to eat a horse?’ The North Wales Wildlife Trust volunteers manned the cafe, the grazier brought some ponies to meet the public, and the press, television and radio all gave us coverage. The response from those who came was positive once a few concerns were answered, so we were able to go ahead with drawing up the fencing specifications and appointing the contractor. Funding was secured through grants from CCW and PONT, kissing gates for the footpath supplied by Anglesey Coastal Footpath team and we obtained licences and permissions for work on the SSSI and near the badger sets we found.

 

We have now discussed the management options with the RSPB and CCW, written a grazing policy so that anyone working at the Park can get all the information they need, and found both a pony breeder with suitable semi-feral Section A Welsh Mountain and Carneddau ponies, and a grazier who tendered for the land and the opportunity to manage them. I will continue to work with the grazier and the wardens to manage the grazing and have my eye on another area for the team to expand into in the coming year.

 

Working in a team in this way seems to result in the whole being greater than the sum of its parts and, where this can happen, the rewards are well worthwhile.

 

Other sites

Practical tasks which need to be tackled include sorting fencing, which is usually in need of repair or replacement; providing water-scrapes, dew ponds, bowsers or troughs across sites to encourage stock to graze evenly instead of always congregating in the same place; gorse and bramble cutting to provide escape lines for animals; and discreet safety fencing at pinch points where stock could be pushed near cliff edges. On a recent visit to a coastal site where all the above had been arranged by AGAP, it was very exciting to see a pair of choughs feeding on the excavated scrape edges and courting on the grassland amongst the dung of contented cattle and ponies.

 

I’m really enjoying my work – every day is different, I meet lots of interesting people, get to spend quality time with cattle and am privileged to work in so many beautiful and inspiring places.

 

Grazing management is reaping conservation benefits but is not sustainable unless the livestock are able to provide a decent income for farmers. So as AGAP moves into its second year the other targets need to be addressed – forming a farmer’s cooperative to market produce from conservation land, spreading the word about grazing, and building on what we have achieved to date. I hope to be able to rise to the challenge, live long and prosper!

 

Hilary Kehoe with husband Andy have run an upland sheep and suckler farm for 25 years and also graze mixed livestock on Morfa Madryn, one of the most important lapwing sites in Wales: they were selected as RSPB agri-environment heroes this year for their work there.