The Ulster Grassland Society

Northern Ireland is a grass-growing region. Grassland accounts for 92% of the area farmed (excluding hill land). So the great majority of farm businesses in the Province are, at least partly, dependent on grass as a source of ruminant feed and grassland farming makes a major impact on the environment and landscape of the Province. The Ulster Grassland Society was formed in response to a realisation that grass should be treated as a crop in its own right with potential to produce high output in higher rainfall areas which include Northern Ireland. Although there had been informal meetings held since the 1940s on grassland improvement, the inaugural meeting of the Society was held in 1960. Membership was drawn from farming, extension, industry and farmers\u27 organisations, education, research and administration, and this continues to reflect the composition of the current membership. At its inception, the UGS became affiliated to the British Grassland Society (BGS) and has grown to become the largest grassland society affiliated to the BGS with about 600 members