This last winter has been an interesting one at Hope Farm to see how farm management, the weather, and the interactions between these factors impact farmland birds. Last summer was a hard one for growing spring cereals with the dry weather, and we predicted that it would make for a harder winter on the birds that relied on cereal seed in winter bird seed mixes as their main food source. With that in mind, and looking…

Record high temperatures in late February have led to countryside fires in a number of areas right across the UK. Fiery images have made media headlines and led, especially at the time of year when managed burning is allowed, to heated discussion about the role of fire as a countryside management tool. Dry peatlands with a heavy fuel load, such as heather, are clearly a fire risk – so wouldn’t wetland management for moss…

Guest post from Anna Brand, Land Use Policy Officer for RSPB Scotland, explains more about an important opportunity for Scottish producers to engage with a new consultation from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government are currently asking for views on proposed new laws for a Good Food Nation, ‘where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook…

If you have woodland on the farm, managing it for wildlife is now easier thanks to the Woodland Wildlife Toolkit, a new web-based support tool for woodland managers, agents and advisers across Great Britain. Find out more

Launch of the Nature of Scotland Awards 2019 Are you a farmer or food business owner who’s committed to committed to nature conservation and environmental sustainability Scotland? RSPB Scotland will for a fourth year celebrate the significant contribution of the food and farming sector towards nature conservation in Scotland through the prestigious Nature of Scotland Awards.

Guest post by Rhys Evans, Policy Officer, RSPB Cymru

Work is underway in Wales to restore an endangered section of our countryside - the Celtic rainforest.

The Celtic Rainforests are regarded as the ‘temperate rainforests’ of Europe, owing to their open woodland structure, mild and humid conditions, and rich plant assemblages. These wet and humid forests - typically dominated by sessile oak, downy birch, ash and hazel…

Sophie Mott, Research intern at Hope Farm, provides an overview of the 2018 Autumn visits.

January on the farm is a little quieter than the busy autumn preceding it. Which makes it a good time to reflect on autumnal visits to the farm, where organisations and individuals stretching from other sides of the globe have come to learn about wildlife friendly farming here, and why our principles are core to future farming in…

Post from Georgie Bray, Hope Farm manager

Tune into Countryfile this Sunday to find out how Hope Farm uses simple solutions to tackle a landscape scale problem for winter farmland bird survival... you don't want to miss it!

Combatting the cold

At this time of year, food availability (or lack of it) is the largest pressure on farmland bird populations as they require so much more energy in the colder months. Fortunately…

A new era starts at Hope Farm, with a new Farm Manager in place to oversee our continuing commitment to testing, trialling and demonstrating wildlife-friendly farming practices. Georgie Bray looks back over the progress on the farm in recent years, and her new role in taking it forward.

The Gwent Levels in South East Wales is one of the largest areas of reclaimed grassland in the UK and the largest in Wales. The creation and management of this landscape over hundreds of years has resulted in a unique landscape where nature has thrived alongside a variety of land uses including farming. This landscape is important for biodiversity, recreation, ecosystem services such as flood alleviation and carbon storage…

Twite are unique in that they only eat seeds, and rear their young on seed alone (many birds feed insects to their chicks). A good supply of small seeds of meadow plants such as dandelion, hawkbit and sorrel is critical to their survival. RSPB has been working in partnership with the National Trust, as well as other conservation partners and farmers to encourage the flowering and seeding of meadow plants to provide food…

If you live in Scotland it is more than likely you will come across at least one species of wader when you are travelling around the countryside. Scotland holds a significant proportion of the UK population of curlews, redshanks, lapwings, oystercatchers and snipe. Whilst still relatively common, compared to other countries in the United Kingdom the numbers of many of these waders have declined significantly over the…

Georgie Bray, Assistant Manager at the RSPB's Hope Farm shares her experience of joining with other nature-friendly farmers at an event in Westminster to show that Nature Means Business

Currently, the Ag Bill is being discussed amongst MP’s in the House of Commons, underlying one of the most changeable times in agricultural policy in the last half century. With discussions amongst MPs about the future of policy, comes…

Guest post from Tom Lancaster, Principal Policy Officer in the RSPB's Land Use Policy team

The Agriculture Bill presents a once in a generation opportunity to secure a better future for wildlife, in a way that also secures the future of farming andproduction of more sustainable food. Tabled on 12 September, and now deep into the “Committee Stage” of the Parliamentary process, the Bill and the policy statement that…

Guest blog by Seán Woods, RSPB NI’s east County Down Conservation Advisor working with over 70 farmers and landowners in and around Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland.

Image: (c) Claire Barnett, RSPB

The east County Down landscape is home to a large proportion of arable farmers with approximately 40% of farms being mixed or arable, compared to an average of 10% across Northern Ireland.

…

Sophie Mott, Research intern at Hope Farm, provides the 2018 results of the butterfly and bee monitoring season.

As you may have seen in an earlier post, the extreme weather of spring and summer 2018 meant a tough year for farmers and wildlife alike, notably for our birds. Territory holdings and breeding success suffered for many species across the farm and now we can only hope to support as many birds as possible through…

Richard Archer, Senior Conservation Officer, explains more about protecting breeding curlews on the Somerset Levels

The national decline in breeding curlews has been well publicised, especially on the upland moors, where most of the breeding pairs are. People are less aware that curlew still breed on lowland farmland, especially in damp, traditionally-managed hay meadows. Lowland England for example has over 260 breeding…

Tom Lancaster, Principal Policy Officer, provides an update on the Agriculture Bill

This week, the Government’s new Agriculture Bill will get its second reading in the Commons. As the first opportunity for MPs to debate the Bill, and all that it means for farming, food and the environment, this is a crucial milestone.
 
With our partners in Greener UK and Wildlife and Countryside Link, we have published a briefing…

By Tom Lancaster - Principal Policy Officer, Agriculture for the RSPB

As conservationists, we’re sometimes accused of being hyperbolic, evoking the threat of ecosystem collapse in every tweet, blog or magazine article.

With recent studies suggesting a collapse in insects, and the threat that we’re heading toward a ‘hothouse Earth’, coming on top of years of warnings from reports such as State…

A Scottish Government consultation on a transition to a new rural policy closed last week. The theme was ‘Stability and Simplicity’, setting out plans to make the next few years as smooth as possible for land managers and rural businesses as we transition to a new system post-Brexit.

According to the Scottish Government, the aim of the transition is to ‘enhance [farmers and crofters’] role as stewards of…

Blog post by Derek Gruar, Senior Research Assistant, RSPB Centre for Conservation Science and Georgie Bray, Hope Farm's Assistant Manager.

Farming is a rewarding but very challenging test of resilience for many reasons. This year has been particularly testing, and really hammered home to us that we, like the wildlife around us, are at mercy to the almighty clouds, rain and sun from above. Whilst ensuring profitable…

At this time of year, as the nation’s attention shifts to summer holidays and farmers across the country are busy with harvest, it’s hard to keep focused on forthcoming pieces of legislation and parliamentary procedure – but we must.

The Secretary of State Michael Gove was right when earlier this year he wrote, ‘Leaving the European Union (EU) provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform agriculture…

We have advisors who speak to hundreds of land managers every year, supporting them in managing their land sympathetically. But did you know that there is also a wide range of land management handbooks available from the RSPB?

These comprehensive guides have proved incredibly popular over the years, benefitting a wide range of species. If you're already managing for wildlife alongside your agricultural interests or you're…

Guest blog by Gethin Davies (RSPB Senior agricultural adviser)

A group of Welsh dairy farmers have recently started a project working with conservation organisations to find out how they can do more for wildlife on their farms.

The Calon wen organic dairy farmers cooperative have developed the ‘Pasture for Pollinators’ project with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and the RSPB to identify practical ways…

Posted on behalf of Derek Gruar, Senior Research Assistant at Hope Farm

Starlings are often described as a “marmite” bird you either “love them or hate them”. I’m very much the former and find them endlessly fascinating. Lately the profile of starlings has increased markedly with natural history programmes and even TV commercials using the allure of murmurations where thousands of starlings perform breath-taking pre…