Upland Grazing Systems: Maximising Productivity in Challenging Environments

The Challenge

Nearly half of the UK’s agricultural land is classified as upland—areas with nutrient-poor soils, steep slopes, and harsh climatic conditions. These natural handicaps often limit farming options to grassland-based livestock production, as the land is unsuitable for arable crops.

Despite these challenges, upland livestock farming offers clear advantages. It supports food security while avoiding competition for land that could be used to grow crops for direct human consumption.

The Research

At the Pwllperian Upland Research Centre within IBERS, our team of upland farming specialists investigates how to make the most of these challenging landscapes. A major focus is improving nutrient-use efficiency in grazing systems to boost productivity without additional feed or fertiliser inputs—a win for both farmers and the environment.

One key finding is that grazing sheep alongside cattle improves sheep performance compared to sheep-only systems. This leads to a higher total output per unit area. The reason lies in the animals’ physiology and grazing behaviour:

• Cattle are less selective grazers, eating taller, stemmier plants that sheep avoid.
• This leaves behind more nutritious plants, such as clover, for sheep to eat.

The result?

• Better pasture use efficiency
• Higher lamb growth rates
• Lower methane emissions per unit of meat produced

Importantly, these benefits occur whether sheep and cattle are mixed grazed (in the same field) or rotationally grazed (sheep follow cattle).

Environmental Benefits

Beyond productivity, cattle grazing helps manage vegetation. By reducing the dominance of highly competitive hill grass species, cattle create conditions that improve the habitat value of heathland ecosystems—many of which are of international conservation concern.

The Impact

IBERS research on upland grazing systems has informed:

• Agricultural policy
• Agri-environment scheme development
• Levy body and industry guidance to farmers

By combining scientific insight with practical application, we are helping farmers maximise the productivity and ecological value of the UK’s uplands.

Download our full IBERS Impact Case Stories Booklet here: Innovations for a Changing World Case Story Booklet