CATTLE

From the spring until the autumn, Mill Meadows is home to a herd of gentle Red Poll cattle who graze on the reserve. By keeping the grass short, they help to encourage wildflowers to grow.

The cows are docile and unfazed by visitors, but like all wildlife, we ask that they are treated with respect and that dogs are kept under control around them. If you’d like to find out where the cows are currently grazing, use our Cattle Tracker to see where they are!

Grazing is an essential part of the management of Mill Meadows and the Red Poll cattle are ideally suited to this task as they are a hardy breed and not fussy about what they graze. Grazing has other benefits for wildlife. The cattle hooves cause an uneven terrain which leaves clumps and hiding holes for insects and small mammals and the dung provides feeding and breeding ground for the insects at the bottom of the food chain..

In a typical year the Red Poll will be introduced to the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in April to graze the grass down then removed to the other fields from May to August to allow the wildflowers to flourish.

The cattle are returned into the SSSI in late summer to graze the sward (an expanse of short grass) to around 5 centimetres (2 inches), which is a condition that must be met to qualify for the environment payment scheme that is paid to conserve the grazing meadows.

However, Natural England carried out a SSSI condition assessment in the summer of 2022. The results came back that insufficient management had been taking place in the SSSI meadows and it was to be downgraded from “unfavourable recovering” to “unfavourable”.

This started a conversation between Natural England and Basildon Borough Council about how best to approach the future management of the SSSI meadows, and to improve their condition. The main problems were the percentage of scrub present in the meadows and the amount of rank grass outcompeting native grasses and flower species.

A new grazing plan has been drawn up to graze the Meadows harder over the coming years. There will be a more intensive graze in the spring, from March/April in the SSSI and some cattle should remain on the SSSI all summer to try and reduce the level of scrub and rank grass. More details can be found in the attached pdf

In late April 2023 the cattle were divided in to 2 groups to reduce the number grazing the SSSI fields. However, the herd instinct of cows then became evident and some cattle became distressed at being separated by a fence from the rest of the herd; one cow found its way back into the SSSI. Subsequently, all the cows were re-united in the non-SSSI fields, and the grazing plan reviewed.

The Red Poll will remain in the non-SSSI fields for 3 to 4 weeks, then moved to the SSSI for a short period to reduce the sward height, then moved back to the non-SSSI fields. This rotation may be repeated during June and July, dependent on the growth of the pasture.