The agriculture policy team at the lodge spend much of their time in meetings in Defra offices, sat at our desks, or on trains to Brussels. So the opportunity to get out on farms and talk to farmers is something we all relish. So it was that when Stephen and Lynn Briggs asked us to come and visit Whitehall Farm in Peterborough we jumped at the chance to pack our sandwiches and head off on a field trip on a sunny day.
The team works on a number of farming and environment issues, including agri-environment, ways to support more sustainable agriculture, reform of the CAP and livestock issues. We often hear through our advisors and through letters from farmers how much many of them support or rely on agri-environment schemes, and it is wonderful to get the opportunity to see policy being put into practice, and farmers embracing the concept of agri-environment and delivering public benefits alongside their farming operation.
Whitehall farm is a fascinating site. A commercial organic operation, it is unique in the region in its use of agro-forestry. Compared to the views we are more used to seeing on travels around the fens, rows of young apple trees bordered on both sides with pollen and nectar strips, with a 24m 'field' left between rows for the rotational crops were quite a sight to see. The concept is that the fruit trees will provide an additional valuable crop each year, from the same area of land used for cropping. The crop and the trees require resources at different times of the year, as they have different growing cycles (and different harvest times). Could this approach become a more common farmland view in future? We look forward to hearing how the system performs at Whitehall farm.
Of great interest to our team is the farm's HLS agreement, granted largely for the farm's farmland bird interest. The farm provides not only the pollen and nectar strips to provide insects in spring time, but also wild bird seed mixtures to provide farmland birds with over winter food. The farm boasts a wide variety of farmland birds which are declining in the wider countryside.
We had a great day, which resulted in a lot of food for thought for the team as we returned once more to our desks. Our thanks go to our kind hosts for taking time to show us around and explain their novel ideas. Hopefully the next visit to a farm delivering environmental benefits alongside their commercial operation won't be too far in the future.