Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2014 | Page 61

COUNTRY LIFE

Stuck behind a
tractor…thank you
As part of their ‘Back British
Farming’ campaign, the National
Farmers’ Union hopes that
stickers applied to the bodywork
of farm vehicles including
trailers, tractors and combine
harvesters, help motorists
understand why slow-moving
farm vehicles are on the roads
during harvest time, and
encourage them to be patient.
NFU South East crops board
chairman Laurence Matthews
said: “Farmers are doing a vital

job, gathering in the nation’s
food. We know that motorists get
very frustrated by slow moving
farm vehicles, a problem that gets
worse during harvest.
However, we believe these
NFU stickers will help motorists
connect the farm vehicles they
see with the food on their plates.
Hopefully drivers will perhaps
be more patient as these stickers
thank people for backing British
farming.”

Red Squirrels wanted!
Squirrel numbers are down again this year, reports
Helen Butler of the Wight Squirrel Project (WSP).
Parkhurst has been particularly worrying as regular
walkers and people with ‘garden squirrels’ from
Parkhurst have reported a severe decline. The number
of road kills has gone down to its lowest since 1999,
although sad, another indication of falling numbers
as fewer are looking for new habitats. Also worrying,
is the possible new threat to our Island’s population,
the wood mouse. Householders are advised to
wash their bird and squirrel feeders regularly with
anti-bacterial fluid, or warm soapy wa