What role does society expect farmers to play in caring for the countryside- and are farmers in the mood to be custodians of our wildlife?

What role does society expect farmers to play in caring for the countryside-and are farmers in the mood to be the custodians of our wildlife?

I am worried that all the efforts of those in the farming community to help address declines in wildlife in the farmed landscape are going to get ‘drowned out’ by the row over the badger cull.  I am a bit of an observer on the sidelines, as Defra’s plans don’t affect Scotland, and just as importantly we are thankfully free of the bovine TB in Scotland.  The RSPB’s views on the badger cull are set out here. We don’t consider the science justifies what is proposed.

But the stance adopted by the Government in England is a worry.  Serious evidence and rational views promoted by well regarded scientists are being ignored, or in some cases traduced by some of the sillier statements from the NFU.  It’s also noteworthy that you don’t see these farm leaders making rousing speeches exhorting farmers to do more for wildlife on their farms – instead lots of good people quietly get on with it below the radar – the RSPB actively celebrates them through the popular Nature of Farming Award, sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and run with our partners in Plantlife et al.

The big risk is that the approach adopted over the badger cull will create division between people who should work together, and equally worryingly some of the farmers who go the extra mile for wildlife may feel discouraged or isolated. The media will make this a farmer vs. animal lobby debate.

I think we are going through an odd time at the moment. Some farmers seem to be increasingly intolerant of the bits of nature they cannot bend to their will.  And rather than work on the basis of evidence, science and pragmatic compromise politicians are selling wildlife short.  This applies in Scotland as much as England.

Recently through some parliamentary questions from Alison Johnstone MSP we discovered that the Scottish Government and SNH were licensing the culling of some 600 ravens annually.  It is permitted to licence the killing of ravens to prevent serious losses to crops, livestock and property.  And don’t get me wrong ravens can attack young lambs.  But 600 ravens out of a population estimated to be between 2,500-6,000 pairs (but more post breeding) is a fair percentage.   It’s fair to ask what steps the farmers who suffer the losses are taking to minimise such impacts before reaching for the gun.  And are some sporting estates controlling ravens under the cover of preventing loss or damage to sheep rearing interests-but really trying to rid themselves of another wild predator of red grouse - something not permitted by the legislation (or warranted)?

The publication Scottish Farmer is full of letters and comment based on anecdote often showing an implacable hatred of raptors, ravens and now geese.  A recent letter stated that tolerance of Sparrowhawks by SNH had driven blackbirds to local extinction .  In fact breeding blackbird numbers in Scotland are up 24% in the last 15 years.  In Dumfries and Galloway a small population of red kites are reportedly decimating sand martin numbers – again the data shows sand martins are actually increasing all across the UK.

I am afraid farmers cannot divorce themselves from nature and control the wildlife they have on their land to suit these prejudices.  The law, EU policies and the public think differently. And the public do have a say as they give their money very generously to farmers.  Farmers should also be aware that serious declines in many of the bird species (and lots of bees, butterflies, plants and so on) found on farmland – started in the early 1970’s (and perhaps earlier but the data are scant) well before the recovery in numbers of buzzards, sparrowhawks or red kites. And although what has happened to some birds is stark-it is no less so for other groups of once common creatures.

Photo: Mike Edwards

No bird of prey has destroyed the great yellow bumble bee – once found in many parts of the UK, but now confined to Orkney, along the Caithness coast and parts of the Hebrides.(see map from NBN below).  It was farming changes that caused it to decline.  Detailed scientific investigations by bodies such as the BTO, RSPB, GWCT and NERC/ITE have produced copious evidence that changes to farming practice – often quite subtle changes, have had a huge impact on wildlife in the countryside all over the UK.

 Great Yellow bumblebee records: 1900-1990 (yellow) and 1990-2010 (red). Data from NBN

The loss of stubbles as farmers adopted winter sown crops was one of the biggest changes.  The drainage of wet areas, the loss of flower filled hay meadows to green silage fields and the switch away from mixed farming have all played a part.  Specialisation, bigger machinery, pesticides and fertilisers have boosted production but have combined to leave less space for wildlife-not just birds. But rather than be implacably opposed to each other-many farmers/crofters and bodies like the RSPB recognise that we need farmers skills to help solve these problems-without them it’s simply not possible. So we must find sensible ways to do this-and lobby jointly for the policies, such as a well funded agri-environment schemes, to make it happen.

Let’s finish on geese.  Geese graze grasses, and salt marsh and bog plants. Scotland is famous for its wonderful flocks of wintering geese.  As farmers improved fields for agriculture, including wetlands and Merse where geese were always found – the geese soon learnt that these more productive swards were not just good for cattle and sheep, they were more nutritious for them too.  Better nutrition means more survive the winter and return to their high arctic winter grounds in good condition.  Breeding productivity increases..more return.  So the geese are taking advantage of the farmland intensification that has been driven by production orientated Government subsidies, latterly via the CAP.  Farmers now find that geese are damaging these intensively managed fields of grass.  They want goose populations reduced, and the Government (ie you the taxpayer) to pay for this and compensate them for their losses.  Geese have always been a part of the landscape – arriving every winter from the high Arctic.  We have a legal and moral duty to care for them. We must also recognise that some farming systems in Scotland are highly valuable for wildlife. Big numbers of geese can cause farmers to change these beneficial practises so that areas which support corncrakes and corn buntings are lost. We need to explore all options so that wild goose populations and high nature value farming can coexist – that will need flexibility from all sides and a calm evidence based approach-with farmers playing their part as the custodians of the countryside and our wildlife. I for one am happy to lead RSPB Scotland down that path-who is joining me on the journey?