Program
EGF2026 - Working Group Grazing
Date: April 12, 2026
Overall theme: Resilience in grazing systems
Understanding how grazing and grazing-based systems can contribute to overall sustainability in Europe requires urgent attention. Grazing livestock play an important role and impact the ecosystem services that grasslands provide. Most of those ecosystem services will be lost if grazing livestock are removed from our grasslands. Grazing and grassland systems are intrinsically linked to climate change, weather, input costs, etc. Key challenges for grazing and grassland systems include coping with extended droughts and poor grass growth, managing larger herds without compromising grazing efficiency, safeguarding animal welfare, and addressing the cost barriers of smart grazing technologies. Grassland and grazing innovations are increasingly important, as are social aspects. The WG Grazing will explore the risks and mitigation strategies for grazing-based livestock systems, as well as the positive contributions of grazing to resilience under three sub-themes:
- Role of livestock
- Innovations
- Lessons from history
We invite participants to share experiences, research, and practical strategies to strengthen the resilience of grazing systems across Europe. If you are interested in presenting at the EGF Working Group Grazing on Sunday 12th April please contact Deirdre Hennessy (deirdrehennessy@ucc.ie).
