Radnorshire Wildlife Trust represent a community of nature lovers committed to nature’s recovery and tackling climate change. We purchased Gilfach in 1988 shortly after the organisation’s establishment, and over the last 35 years the site has been managed with nature’s restoration as its core objective. Gilfach is now our main flagship site, where wildlife flourishes in a broad variety of habitats including the high moorland of the valley sides and hill, and enclosed meadows in the valley floor. 

We have a 20 year vision for Gilfach, which sees it sitting within a wider landscape, where nature is  well managed and economic and community benefits are delivered through our work at the site. We want Gilfach to exhibit innovative methods for nature and climate, which are also economically viable under the forthcoming agricultural payments and that can be adopted to support the future of the rural economy in mid-Wales, with particular focus on sustainable food production methods that meet both Welsh and UK targets for nature’s recovery and action on climate.    

The Radnorshire Wildlife Trust seeks a partner who will embrace the ethos and strategy of our work at Gilfach, and collaborate with the Trust within the parameters of the grazing agreement. We are prepared to enter into joint marketing and branding agreements for any produce and will seek to build a food story for Gilfach, encompassing, and embracing new technologies with the use of GPS collars; we are excited to be showcasing this at the site.

Gilfach is well loved by RWT members and supporters, as well as the wider public, and has received extensive press and media coverage – it was voted one of the nation’s favourite nature reserves in a newspaper poll. There will be media and promotional opportunities should any grazier wish to engage in such activities, indeed this would be encouraged, however this is not a material consideration in the tender and the grazier is very welcome to remain anonymous.  

The right candidate will have an interest in the goals of Gilfach’s management and its broader impact on nature’s recovery, and work alongside the Trust in adapting our approach as we learn to ensure the remit of nature first is continually at the heart of all actions on site.

We wish to introduce a herd of native, hardy cattle to extensively graze Gilfach’s 130 hectares of meadow and open hill, year-round at 0.3 LSU, following an “open gate”  extensive and naturalistic grazing ethos, with some occasional focussed grazing as the need arises on particular habitat areas. The NoFence GPS collars are a valuable tool in aiding the practicality of such a system, a method we have successfully adopted at other RWT sites. There is also the opportunity to diversify grazing of the site as we would encourage the introduction of ponies alongside cattle. Gilfach offers good provision of grazing infrastructure, with two livestock handling areas (one equipped with a cattle crush), and well maintained fences and water troughs throughout. We intend to charge a £2000 rental for the licence agreement. 

Please make your application by email, phone or post, explaining why you feel you are the right person / persons to be awarded the tender for the grazing at Gilfach Nature Reserve, St Harmon.

The successful applicant will be selected following an informal meeting on site.

Date applications close: 5pm, Thursday 29th February, 2024

Grazing agreement: 31st March 2024 – 31st March 2025

Please make applications to: Robert Hall, 07990 913227, or robert@rwtwales.org or you can write to us at the address on the letterhead.