British Grassland Society – Spring Farm Walk

Robert Thornhill, and Darren Spibey will be hosting a Farm Walk on Wednesday 22nd April 2026.

The 129ha (320 acre) farm in the Peak District has transitioned from a high input, 130 cow Holstein all year round calving system in 2000 to the current spring calving pasture based system, with 250 crossbred cows. This shift has produced a highly fertile, smaller cow better suited for a spring-calving system, which aligns peak lactation with the seasonal growth of high-quality spring grass.

The walk will cover the following topics:

1. Business background and history of the farm
2. Structure and future development of the farm business
3. Cows - Feeding & farm infrastructure
4. Cows - Breeding
5. Herbal leys and conservation work

The farm tour will start at 11 am prompt, and will be followed by a light lunch at 1 pm.

The event is open to all.

To secure lunch, full BGS members and local society members have access to a special discounted ticket rate.

• Full BGS Members & BGS Affiliated Local Grassland Society Members - £6.00 Incl VAT
• Non-members - £12.00 Incl VAT
• Students - Free (Please bring proof to the event, this will be checked during registration)

N.B. The postcode will take you to the general area, but to reach the farm please use the what3words app and enter enveloped.examiner.traps

*You must be an individual BGS member, or a member of a BGS Affiliated Local Grassland Society to select the member ticket rate.

Book tickets here