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Competition to find Britain’s favourite wildlife farmer
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| The contest rewards farmers for managing their land in such a way that wild plants thrive providing food for wildlife and safe breeding sites are easy to find |
FOUR farmers have been shortlisted for the first public poll to reveal the farmer doing most to help Britain's farmland wildlife.
The quartet, chosen from an entry of more than 300, has been selected by the RSPB and BBC Countryfile magazine as finalists in the RSPB Nature of Farming Award, a competition backed by Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife.
The competition rewards farmers for managing their land in such a way that wild plants thrive providing food for wildlife and safe breeding sites are easy to find.
The four shortlisted farmers are Henry Edmunds, who owns a mixed organic farm in Wiltshire; Michael Poland, who farms livestock on the Isle of Wight; Patrick Bowden-Smith, who has a mixed farm in Fife, and Peter Davies, whose mixed organic farm is in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Voting is possible both online at www.rspb.org.uk/farmvote and by post with every voter being entered into a draw for three superb prizes.
The winning farmer will receive a cheque for £1,000 to be presented at a gala event in January. All eight regional champions will receive their £200 prizes at local events soon.
Skylarks, lapwings, yellowhammers and corn buntings are amongst popular farmland birds to have suffered serious declines. Many farmers have joined green farming schemes and are putting in place simple measures to help these birds and other wildlife. Dr Darren Moorcroft, Head of Conservation Advice at the RSPB, said: "This award is showcasing the very best farms and championing the vital conservation role farming can play.
"Farmers are at the frontline of conservation and voters will be looking at how they are adapting their land, not only to produce food but to show it is possible to make their farms wildlife havens too".
Victoria Chester, Chief Executive of Plantlife, said: "Plants are the very foundation of farmland diversity. This award celebrates farmers working in harmony with native plants, and encourages a greater understanding of their importance".
Dr Martin Warren, Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation, said: "Farmland is the main habitat for over three-quarters of British butterflies. We are hugely impressed with the efforts of the contestants and their commitment to encouraging butterflies and other wildlife on their farms".
Cavan Scott, Editor of BBC Countryfile, said: "The Nature of Farming Award is a fantastic way for BBC Countryfile readers to acknowledge the contribution farming makes to maintaining our countryside's landscape and wildlife."
The shortlisted farmers include Henry Edmunds on the Hampshire/Wiltshire Border, South West England.
A visit to this organic mixed farm is a lesson in biodiversity, with more than 100 species from the UK's Biodiversity Action Plan recorded last year.
Henry has dedicated much of the last 20 years to improving wildlife habitat on his land, undertaking much of the work himself. Under Henry's management, 12,800 m of cultivated arable margins have been created, 50 ha (125 acres) of winter seed is provided for birds and 220 ha (550 acres) of chalk downland has been restored.
Hedges are kept tall and thick, providing nesting habitat for turtle doves and Henry is immensely proud that whitethroats are now nesting in hedgerows that he planted.
More than 8,000 hazel, goat willow, ash, alder, wild pear and oak trees have been planted. More mature areas of hazel woodland are coppiced as suitable habitat for dog violets and associated butterflies, including purple emperors and fritillaries. The creation of fallow plots support good numbers of breeding lapwings.
Henry's sensitive management provides a fantastic mix of habitat for rare arable plants, and meadow clary flourishes here. The restoration of chalk downland has boosted numbers of grizzled and dingy skipper butterflies, and shows the health of the grass sward, while adonis and chalkhill blue butterflies and 18 species of bumble bees have been seen. Henry is committed to a long-term programme of improvements.
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