Thursday 2 August 2012

RSPB proves you can farm for wildlife


RSPB farm proves ‘you can have your cake and your skylarks too’
August 2012. Profitable farming and increasing the populations of threatened wildlife can go hand-in-hand, says the RSPB. The Society has shared its 12 years of experience of managing an arable farm, where crop yields have stayed competitive and, against the national trend, numbers of farmland birds have tripled.
Hope Farm managed by the RSPB
The RSPB took over the management of Hope Farm, near Cambridge, in 2000. To celebrate the anniversary it has published a report looking at some of the achievements and lessons learnt from over a decade of wildlife-friendly farming.
Martin Harper is the RSPB’s conservation director. He said: “It is clear that agricultural production and environmental challenges remain inextricably linked, but Hope Farm – and other wildlife-friendly farms across the country – are living proof it’s possible to boost one while addressing the other.
Wheat yields and skylarks both up
“By applying good farming practice underpinned by wildlife-friendly payments available to every arable farmer, we have been able to increase our skylark population while increasing our wheat yields: you can have your cake and skylarks too.”
Poul Christensen is the Chair of Natural England – the government's advisor on the natural environment. Visiting the farm to see the RSPB’s work first hand, he said: “Hope Farm shows what can be done with support from entry level Environmental Stewardship. Farmland birds are returning and the local environment is in great shape - water courses are full of life and the field margins are buzzing.”
Ian Dillon is the RSPB’s Hope Farm manager. Commenting on the RSPB report, he said: “Through careful consideration of the quantity and positioning of habitats on the farm, we have seen an incredible increase in bird numbers. If such increases were replicated elsewhere, they would reverse many of the declines in farmland wildlife that have occurred.


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