Grazing Management

• The grazing history of Molland Moor was established through discussion with local, retired farmers whose personal memories went back to the early 1950s. 
• The moor was more heavily stocked in the past, with up to 3,000 sheep being turned out in July and August. 
• Before the project, under the terms of an agreement with Natural England, winter grazing by sheep was allowed (1 ewe/ha) but winter grazing by cattle was not permitted. Exmoor ponies and Red deer grazed the moor all year. 
• Through the project, traditional, hill livestock – predominantly Black Galloway cattle and Welsh Mountain sheep – were introduced and 60 head of cattle were allowed to remain on the moor during the winter. 
• The swaling (burning) programme across the moor has served to spread the grazing pressure and avoid some local over-grazing problems, although there are still some areas where over-grazing but also under-grazing is apparent. 

Table 1 - Grazing Levels

• The cattle tested positive for Bovine TB in the final year of the project and this prevented any sales of stock for 12 months. 
• Supplementary feeding was given to the cattle over the winter months to supplement their diet, but also to move then around the moor to prevent localised over-grazing, and encourage them to graze areas where they provided benefit.

Conclusions 

• The cattle and sheep have thrived on Molland Moor. 
• The output from the livestock enterprises has not been as high as from other systems but in compensation the inputs have reduced. 
• Indications at the end of the project are that the production of the livestock enterprises is equivalent to ‘Less Favoured Area Sheep and Beef’ farms 

Further Information 

• The Graze the Moor Project Final Report – sections 12-15.
• Full grazing records, and summary charts are available in the Project Report Folder.