By Mark Vercoe, Volunteer & Farmer Alliance Project Officer, Wales
A visit to Penlan Farm in Carmarthenshire is a real treat – this family run business takes a holistic approach to running a strong commercial enterprise that also actively supports the environment, their staff, and the community. It’s an approach that has netted them Wales Winner in this year’s RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award.
John Burns, a qualified vet, founded Burns Pet Nutrition in 1993, and as many of the ingredients as possible are produced on Penlan Farm. Anything they cannot grow is bought from ethical, sustainable sources. And I have to say, if the pet food tastes half as good as the lunch I had at Penlan, then they are lucky pets indeed!
Penlan farm is managed by Richard Gough, Rowan Flindall and Roger Mathias, who all strongly believe that commercial farming and conservation can coexist.
These farming and wildlife ambassadors have worked hard to increase the variety of habitats on the farm, and they now enjoy large winter flocks of finches, as well as yellowhammer and whitethroat.
They have worked with Butterfly Conservation to encourage the elusive brown hairstreak, and in conjunction with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust they have established a flower rich meadow. Rare arable plants are flourishing under their management, and the farm supports a wide range of invertebrates, amphibians, birds and mammals.
Penlan Farm is a key component in a larger business enterprise that is continually increasing its infrastructure and customer base. The conservation elements of the farming system are done so without Government subsidies, and unique ways are found to make wildlife friendly farming commercially viable
An example of their ingenuity is planting lupins around the carrot crop to mask the carrot smell and provide a physical barrier to carrot fly who fly low and locate the carrots by smell. This means they can substantially reduce the need for insecticides on the carrots, while also providing a pollen and nectar source. It looks pretty good too....
Whilst all of the Welsh entrants were of a high standard, two other farms were, we felt, deserved of the highly commended award.
Troedrhiwdrain in the Elan Valley is a 580ha upland sheep farm with a variety of habitats, notably the superb upland hay meadows. The traditional management on these fields has maintained its species richness and Butterfly Orchids, Fragrant Orchids, Common Spotted Orchids, Upright Vetch, Eyebrights, and Globeflower are scattered throughout the sward.
Glyn-Coch Craft Centre in Carmarthenshire is a small farm utilising the abundant wildlife and produce from the farm in craft activities to maintain a viable business. Work done on the farm is often done by hand and efforts to save the remaining Whorled Carraway (Carmarthenshire’s County plant) are ongoing.
All of these farmers are shining examples of farming for the 21st century. Show your support for them all, and vote for the overall UK winner of this year’s Nature of Farming Award – voting opens this Friday (20th July) at www.rspb.org.uk/farmvote
The EU LIFE+ Programme funds RSPB work which supports wildlife-friendly farming that furthers sustainable development in the European Union.