Janet Dwyer has been working with CCRI Associate, Allan Butler, from the Royal Agricultural University, to provide an economic analysis and project evaluation of the ‘Molland Graze the Moor’ project in Exmoor for the Heather Trust.
The Graze the Moor project seeks to monitor the impact of changes to the grazing regime, that includes the re-introduction of winter grazing on the moor by cattle. The aim is to test whether keeping hardy cattle on the moor over winter can bring benefits to biodiversity and be economically viable as a farm enterprise. The main project ran from 2016 to 2019 with the final report being published in February 2020. The report is available via the Exmoor National Park website.
Although the main component of the project has been completed, with support from the Exmoor National Park Authority, CCRI will continue to collect and tabulate the economic performance figures from the farm. In parallel, a range of surveys will also continue, conducted by a range of stakeholders. This will result in a comprehensive data which will fully detail the long-term impacts of the initiative.
