Hundreds of cows to replace lawn mowers on Parks Trust land in Milton Keynes

Cattle are to arrive in some parks and green spaces around MK from this week.

The Parks Trust, which cares for 6,000 acres of parks, woodlands and lakes across the city, has a herd of up to 500 cattle that make superb bovine lawn mowers.

From early spring to autumn the cows will be moved around different locations to ensure they have sufficient grass to eat.

A spokesman for The Parks Trust said: “Without grazing livestock we would need to use heavy machinery more regularly to mow the grass and then remove the cuttings.

"If the cut grass is not removed, the nutrients enrich the soil, promoting strong grasses that would outcompete the wildflowers.

“Grazing with cattle is also more sustainable and cost effective than cutting the grass as it means that we do not need to use machinery as frequently.”

The cows also help to maintain wildlife habitats, creating better conditions for a great variety of wild flowers - which in turn attract many pollinating insects such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies as well as larger animals and birds.

The spokesman said: "The cattle provide us with a connection to our farming heritage. Until relatively recently Milton Keynes was largely fields used for farming. We continue this cultural heritage and believe that having cattle in our parks brings delight, understanding and connection to animals and farming.

During winter the cows are taken to a farm and housed in barns.

The breeds in the herd have been chosen for their general calmness of breeds. The Parks Trust has warned that some of the cattle are “young and inquisitive” so they may come towards visitors.

“If you are unsure as to how the cattle may react, one action we suggest is that you stay just inside the field by the gate for a short time, where the cattle can observe you and you can then see how they react. If you really feel uncomfortable about going into a field, then you may be best to find an alternative route,” said the spokesman.

Dog owners are urged to keep their pets on leads around the cows.

“We have plenty of parks where dogs can be off leads and roam, but we ask all dog owners to ensure their dogs are on a lead when they are entering fields used for grazing. Cattle can be disturbed by dogs and their behaviour can then change quickly.”

The Trust’s objective to to carry out ethical farming and produce food for the food chain "rather than livestock being reared and kept by highly commercial methods such as intensive beef units”

The spokesman said: “ In such intensive farming cattle are kept and fattened in industrial-scale units, where livestock have little or no access to pasture and are fed grass alternatives. Our objective is to manage the land in a balanced way, that helps develop the ecology of the fields.. using traditional grazing and farming methods.

“MK is unique in many ways, but having livestock in the parks is one of the town’s most unusual and treasured features.”