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Guided TOUR: Visiting farmers join a tour of the farm

THE Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) Otter Trophy Competition was celebrated in style at Travellers Rest Farm, Durweston, with a fascinating guided tour led by the 2007 winners George and Dougal Hosford.

It was a chance for the 25 interested farmers who attended the event to discuss with them their 711 hectares of arable crops, producing around 4000 tonnes of wheat, barley and beans a year. They also grow some more unusual crops such as borage, which ends up as star flower oil, a source of Omega-6 and sold as a health supplement.

One hundred hectares of permanent grassland, including an area of spectacular downland, provides food for about 350 ewes and their lambs as well as a herd of beef cattle, making up the 810 hectares of land over three farms, that is rented from the Crown Estate.

George and Dougal said: "Until 1998 we kept 1200 ewes at Travellers Rest Farm, which were farmed intensively. Due to the lack of profitability this flock was sold and replaced with low cost sheep. We also have a herd of 110 beef cattle. The stock are more widely spread now, and very little fertiliser is used on the grass." Much of the farm lies within the South Wessex Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). This provides a payment for farming the land less intensively, particularly the grassland. The aim is to encourage more varied grass swards and wild flowers. In 2006 the couple resigned from the ESA so they could enter the whole farm into the Entry Level Stewardship Scheme to ease the paperwork burden and improve returns for environmentally beneficial activity on the farm.

The Hosfords impressed the judges in 2007 with their ethos, approach and understanding of incorporating conservation into their farming system, having paid close attention to each habitat on the farm in order to improve its biodiversity.

The NFU, Symonds and Sampson and the Duchy of Cornwall sponsored the 2007 Award. Anyone interested in entering the Otter Trophy can contact FWAG on 01305 251742

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