Amazing grazing

Amazing grazing will bring new knowledge on how sheep rangeland grazing systems can be part of sustainable food and fiber systems.

Meat and wool from Norwegian sheep are from farms managing a diversity of rangeland grazing resources, and thus use different management strategies. In this project, we will study sheep farming systems, consumer understanding of products from these systems, and how national frameworks affect the way farmers and consumers comply. How can Norwegian sheep rangeland grazing systems be improved, and how can the consumer gain more knowledge and closeness to what these grazing systems contribute with?

One aim is to strengthening value creation for meat and wool both for sheep farmers, but also for those who process and sell these products. Communicating complicated assessments in an easy-to-grasp way, promoting a better understanding of grazing animals' important function for eco-services such as climate, biological diversity and good resource utilization - is central to the project's success. Can Norwegian sheep farming contribute to achieving some of UN's sustainability goals?

This 4-year project is funded by Research Funds for Agriculture and the Food Industry (FFL / JA) and more than 30 different actors in the value chain for meat and wool will participate. Research and international networks that the project's partners have access to will play a major role. Actors in the value chain and sheep farmers with different farming practices, together with researchers from Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Consumption Research Norway at OsloMet (SIFO) and the Norwegian Center for Organic Agriculture (NORSØK) will increase knowledge on sustainable food and fiber. The project is led by NIBIO Tingvoll. The broad participation from actors in all parts of the value chain will ensure that knowledge is shared, and can provide transfer-value to other grazing animals and their products.