FARMING - Sponsored by NFU Mutual
IN THE NEXT
ISSUE...
We take a look at
Dunsbury Farm, Brook.
Farming the countryside
By Tony Ridd
Being a landowner brings many
responsibilities. One of these is for the
management of the countryside and
wildlife that it supports. There are
many legislations and laws governing
what you can and cannot do on your
own land and these seem to be
increasing weekly with new
Government Policies that appear to
discourage farmers from farming their
own land!
In my opinion we have a rich and
diverse countryside because of the way
it has been managed by farmers and
landowners. For many it is a labour of
love and quality of life as opposed to
rich rewards.
ELS and HLS are two of the latest
schemes from DEFRA encouraging
farmers to be more environmentally
friendly towards wildlife. These will
have many benefits not only for birds,
wildlife and insects but will also benefit
walkers, horse riders and other
countryside users with their increased
activity.
Some of the changes that you will see
include; more over wintering of stubble
that provides important food source for
seed-eating birds, habitats for brown
hares and breeding sites for ground
nesting birds such as lapwing and
curlew: Buffer strips and field margins,
that will protect habitats from
fertilisers and pesticides: Beetle banks
to create new habitats for insects,
grasses and wildlife corridors. ‘Wild
bird seed mixtures’ and ‘Pollen and
nectar flowers mixtures’ will increase
food for farmland birds and benefit
insects such as butterflies and bees.
Above: A good
example of a Field
Margin
Left: A lone field
mouse
Right: Curlew, quite
rare, found in the
West Wight.
Bottom Left: Brown
Hare.
Bottom Right: Field
Pansies.
Farming is changing and with it the
landscape of our Island. Whether this
is the best for our wildlife, time will
tell. I only know that the countryside
takes a lot of looking after, it doesn’t
just happen naturally.
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Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net