Sustainable economic and ecological grazing systems - learning from innovative practitioners

在英国，主导农业景观的草地系统在很大程度上经济上没有生产力，生态退化，由单一草种主导，有机碳贫乏，严重依赖投入来维持生产力。系统的影响往往超出农田边界，集约化作业产生的泥浆和磷、氮污染渗入水体，影响营养状况和物种多样性。通过创新转变为可持续的系统可以依赖于来自自然环境的线索。支持大量放牧牲畜的自然生产系统为获得终身牧场认证的生产者提供了灵感，以采用模仿这些系统的牧场管理做法。方法包括“草本牧场和不同牧场”和“聚众放牧”等方法，这些方法可能延长放牧季节，同时在健康和生产力方面提供环境、经济和牲畜效益。这项拟议的研究旨在评估牧场饲养牲畜放牧管理方法的生态、农学和社会影响，及其作为可持续GB系统的基础的潜力。为了实现这一目标，一个经验丰富的跨学科研究团队设计了一个项目，该项目将通过一套综合的社会科学和自然科学研究方法，对牧场饲喂牲畜协会(PFLA)成员的农学、社会生态、可持续性和复原力方面进行正式评估，以评估牧场系统及其所处的社会制度(包括行业机构和公民-消费者)。该小组将与生产者及其支持组织(包括PFLA)密切合作，评估涵盖60家PLFA企业的可持续发展标准，并评估具体的管理做法，如在较少数量(15-20家)获得生命草场(PfL)认证的企业上进行“暴民放牧”。这项工作将寻求确定使用这些方法的农业创新者的动机、知识和学习方式。它还将调查农场周围的治理结构的作用，并考虑其农学和生态影响。评价将包括在当前草原/放牧管理做法的背景下对全氟辛烷磺酸企业进行评估。它将调查PFLA农场提供的广泛公共产品-从动物产品本身到耕作做法对美学价值和碳固存的影响。该项目的结果将提供急需的证据，证明牧场饲养牲畜的方法对那些饲养放牧牲畜的人、PfL产品的消费者和更广泛的公众是有好处的。这些证据对畜牧业生产者(包括那些已经从事这种做法的人)以及政府和农业机构，如有权影响农民决策的农业和园艺发展委员会(AHDB)来说将是有价值的。这项研究将确定影响“农业创新者”大胆采取新的管理做法的关键因素，并提供有关在其企业中支持他们的可能机制的信息。如果这类系统确实提供了显著的生态、农学和社会效益，该项目可能有助于改造一些绿色沙漠，这些沙漠目前构成了英国大部分农业用地。对于农民、政府和更广泛的公众来说，具有弹性、农业生产力、储存碳、保护水质和增强生物多样性的草原景观的前景是令人信服的。

Grassland systems dominating the agricultural landscape in GB are largely economically unproductive, ecologically degraded, dominated by a single grass species, organic carbon poor and heavily reliant on inputs to maintain productivity. System impacts are often felt beyond field boundaries with slurry and P and N pollution from intensive practices leaking into water bodies and impacting on nutrient status and species diversity. Changing to sustainable systems through innovation can rely on cues from the natural environment. Naturally productive systems which support large numbers of grazing livestock have provided inspiration for Pasture for Life (PfL) certified producers to adopt pasture management practices which mimic those systems. Methods include approaches such as 'herbal leys and diverse swards' and 'mob grazing' which can potentially extend the grazing season whilst providing environmental, economic and livestock benefits in terms of health and productivity. The proposed research aims to evaluate the ecological, agronomic and social impacts of the pasture fed livestock approach to grazing management and its potential as the basis of a sustainable GB-wide system. To achieve this, an experienced interdisciplinary research team has designed a project that will deliver a formal assessment of the agronomic, socio-ecological and sustainability and resilience aspects of Pasture Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) members farm systems and the social systems in which they are embedded (including industry bodies and citizen-consumers) through a combined set of social and natural science research methodologies. The team will work closely with producers and their supporting organisations (including the PFLA) to assess sustainability criteria covering a broad spectrum of sixty PLFA enterprises and to assess specific management practices, like 'mob grazing' on a smaller number of (15-20) Pasture for Life (PfL) certified enterprises. The work will seek to identify the motivations, knowledges and ways of learning of the agricultural innovators employing these approaches. It will also investigate the role of governance structures surrounding farms as well as considering their agronomic and ecological impacts. The evaluation will include an assessment of PFLA enterprises within the context of current grassland/grazing management practices. It will investigate the broad range of public goods delivered by PFLA farms - from the animal products themselves to the impacts of the farming practices on aesthetic values and carbon sequestration. The results of the project will provide much needed evidence about the benefits of pasture fed livestock approaches for those farming grazing livestock, consumers of PfL products and wider publics. Such evidence will be valuable for livestock producers (including those already engaged in the practices) and for government and farming bodies, like the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) with the power to influence farmer decision making. The research will identify key factors which influence 'agricultural innovators' to take bold steps towards novel management practices and provide information on possible mechanisms for supporting them in their enterprises. If such systems do prove to provide significant ecological, agronomic and social benefits the project may help to transform some of the green deserts which currently form much of the agricultural land area in GB. The prospect of a resilient, agriculturally productive, grassland landscape which is storing carbon, preserving water quality and enhancing biodiversity is a compelling one for farmers, governments and wider publics.