AgriSearch is investing more than £400,000 in GrassCheck over the next three years. Following a competitive recruitment process, 53 farmers have been selected for the 2026 season, including 22 new participants, strengthening both the geographical spread and the balance across dairy, beef and sheep enterprises.
These farmers will measure, monitor and manage grass growth throughout the grazing season, contributing to a robust dataset that supports industry-wide benchmarking and informs decision‑making at both farm and policy level.
Commenting on the new cohort, John Morrow, Agriculture Manager at AgriSearch, said: “GrassCheck has been instrumental in helping farmers make more informed decisions about grazing management. This refreshed network will build on that success by combining real‑world data with practical training and expert support, ensuring farmers have the tools and knowledge to maximise performance from grass.”
The first GrassCheck Bulletin of 2026 will be published next week. The bulletin has been redesigned to include additional information, such as AFBI developed county-level grass growth predictions and more insights from participating farms. Alongside the bulletin published in the farming press, a more detailed weekly email bulletin will be issued. Farmers can subscribe via the GrassCheck section of the AgriSearch website.
In response to farmer feedback—and recognising the difficulty of applying a single Maintenance Plus (M+) figure across farms due to differences in grass quality, intake, cow size and milk composition—a new online calculator is being developed by the Grasscheck consortium. This tool will allow farmers to generate an M+ figure tailored to their own circumstances and will be launched before the end of April.
David Patterson, AFBI grassland specialist, commenting on GrassCheck 2026 restarting. “Achieving consistent grass yield and quality remains a major challenge for grassland farmers, particularly as increasingly variable weather continues to influence grass growth. Yields in 2025 for both fertilised grass‑only swards and grass–white clover swards were excellent. Throughout 2026 we will continue to monitor these contrasting sward types to give farmers clear, practical insights, regardless of the system they operate. This year, within the GrassCheck newsletter, we are also introducing a fertiliser indicator for periods when more extreme weather is predicted. This new tool will help farmers assess whether fertiliser application is likely to be worthwhile at critical points in the season.”
To learn more about the GrassCheck programme and signup for the email bulletin, visit the GrassCheck section of the AgriSearch website.