Initiated by the Federation of Cumbria Commoners, the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association, and West Lakeland CIC, following local concerns about changes to stocking levels in Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) rollover agreements from 2020 onwards.
Farmers and commoners understood that some of these changes were being shaped by Natural England’s 2020 report, Grazing Regimes for Nature Recovery, and wanted to better understand the evidence being used to negotiate stocking rates on the high fells.
This final review is the first phase of the project ‘Grazing for Good’ and has now been completed by an independent scientific panel and can be read here – Grazing-for-Good-Report-2026