A summary of the 1st Webinar in Hope Farm's 20th Anniversary series, by Sophie Mott, RSPB’s Conservation Advisor for Cambridgeshire
In celebration of Hope farm’s 20th anniversary we are doing something a little different, with the launch of a series of five webinars. The webinars welcome anybody interested in nature-based solutions on farmland and touch on a few lessons we’ve learnt over the last 20 years. As well as our experience we are bringing together a range of speakers from other environmental NGOs, to Agri companies, to farmers, all sharing their own experiences and advice on nature friendly farming techniques.
The first of these webinars: A tried and tested plan for wildlife-friendly and productive arable farming, took place on the 28th October. Featuring some captivating talks from the RSPB, Butterfly conservation and Fair to Nature. Did you miss it? Not to worry, you can read about it here.
The webinar began with an introduction by Hope farm manager, Georgina Bray. In which she spoke about the 20-year journey of Hope farm from a typical conventional farm of the area to the nature friendly demonstration and research farm that it is today. Georgie mentioned the increases in breeding birds by around 130% and wintering birds by 1500%, and how if one farm could make such a difference, imagine what we all could do together. With collaboration in mind, it was noted that much of the work demonstrated at Hope farm was not pioneered there, but instead has resulted from knowledge sharing between other organisations and farmers who are running their own nature-friendly farms. As such, it seems only fitting that the 20th anniversary celebration is not just about Hope farm, but about sharing knowledge, experience, and advice from other voices that have aided us along the way.
Amazing conservation stories from farmers and the Farm Wildlife partnership – Richard Winspear
That brings me to the first speaker of the night, Richard Winspear, Head of RSPB Agricultural Advice. In this webinar Richard focused on the Farm Wildlife Partnership, which he instigated in 2014. The Farm Wildlife partnership has become key for us to talk about wildlife-friendly farming, particularly as Hope farm sits as an arable demonstrator site of the Farm Wildlife plan.
30 years ago, Richard worked on the Stone Curlew project advising farmers on the best management techniques to support this one species. It occurred to him that other advisors from other organisations were doing the same for their focus species of the area, and that the advice given from all these streams sometimes contradicted. Yet, needs of wildlife everywhere often have more in common than they differ. The Stone Curlew plots his farmers were implementing also became home to rare arable plants and were havens for many invertebrates. What was the lesson to be learnt there? Though there may be tweaks needed for rare species, one species shouldn’t dictate the overall plan. A whole system approach encompasses far more species.
Farm Wildlife was created to give a one stop shop for clear and concise guidance provided by a huge collaboration of experts including those of agriculture and conservation. The resulting six actions cover the widest range of needs for nature. These actions include;
Richard then used three case studies to illustrate some of the six-point plan. The first of which took us to Fraser Hugill at Throstle Nest farm in North Yorkshire. Fraser’s case study looks at the challenges of extending the rotation of hedgerows. We all know the benefits of extending the gap between trimming of hedgerows in terms of flower and berry resources. Fraser has adopted a twin approach, using an excavator mounted finger bar to cut through three to four year growth, each time cutting outwards from the previous cut so the hedge keeps getting bigger and a tree shear on a much longer rotation to return the hedgerow back to baseline from which he can grow it out again. His management has resulted in large, heathy hedgerows providing their best for nature.
The next case study is from Carl Sayer from University College London looking at ghost pond restoration. Ghost ponds are previous farm ponds which at some point in history have been filled in. The team found that these wet features had a remarkable speed of recovery, as the sediment retains the ability to restore the previous plant species. Once located the ponds can be excavated down to the silty substrate of the previous pond. The area of the substrate will also help to indicate the previous, width, breadth and depth of the pond. It is important to retain as much of the substrate as possible, as the substrate will give you the best plant regeneration. Once extracted, it can then be left to it’s own devices, as long as it hasn’t been drained in which case they may need to be blocked. Within a year the pond will regenerate. You can get rare or locally extinct plants reappearing after up to 150 years. This is one of the reasons why it is very important to use natural regeneration where possible.
The third case study was of Hope farm contractor Martin Lines. Martin is a conventional arable farmer in Cambridgeshire who has been insecticide free for 6 years, whilst at least maintaining profits. Martin’s journey began when he missed a black bean aphid spray window and later realised the crop had grown just fine. His crop was filled with ladybirds and aphid numbers dropped. This got him thinking, about the efficacy of insecticides and the harm they also do to the beneficials that could do the work for him. Since then, he has taken an integrated pest management approach which has allowed him to build a resilience in his business that he is now confident will overcome any pests. Martin will be speaking about his experiences in a later webinar so join in to hear more from him.
For more information on the Farm Wildlife six point plan and these case studies please visit https://farmwildlife.info/
A recipe for saving Butterflies on Farmland – Chris Corrigan
The next speaker was Chris Corrigan, Policy Co-ordinator at the Butterfly Conservation Trust. The Butterfly conservation trust provides on the ground experience, working with farmers and land managers to save threatened species. They collate data and conduct research to influence and inform policy and engage and inspire the public. Farmland is the main habitat for over 75% of UK butterflies, therefore farmland management has big impact on population trends, currently about two thirds of butterfly species are declining.
When we consider how to manage land for butterflies, they can be can be split broadly into two groups; rare, threatened species with specific needs, and generalist species that benefit from general measures like wildflower margins.
The key to protecting rare specialists is working with farmers to implement measures that are specific to the site and farm set up. For example, the marsh fritillary is one of the fastest declining butterflies in Europe. In the UK it has declined by around 80% since 1970, disappearing from previous strongholds. We know that these declines can be halted and reversed. This is a butterfly typical of damp grasslands containing tussock forming grasses and rushes, with plenty of Devil’s-bit scabious. The Devil’s-bit scabious is vitally important as it is the food plant of the caterpillar, so without this Marsh fritillaries cannot complete the life cycle and sustain populations. For other specialist species too, it’s about finding key parts to the species’ ecology that needs managing to assist recovery.
Most farms won’t have any specialist rare species, though, but lots of generalist species, that require wildflower margins, and who are also in decline.
Unlike other pollinators, butterflies have an added complication of requiring not only nectar producing plants for adults but also specific food plants for the caterpillars. Due to this, variation in a margin is key!
If we look at Hope farm as a case study, the measures put in place as part of the Wild pollinator and Farm wildlife package from Countryside Stewardship have allowed the input of 3.2ha of Legume based pollen and nectar margins (1.7% of farmed area), and 6.8ha of wildflower margin (3.8% farmed area). This relatively small amount of land managed sympathetically for pollinators has a disproportionately large affect on butterfly populations. Hope farm butterfly numbers have been monitored for 20 years, and though there are population fluctuations due to poor weather years, the populations at Hope farm are still significantly higher overall and bounce back quicker after poor weather years than the national index.
Butterflies are important but so are many moths, in the UK we have 59 species of butterfly but over 2500 species of moth. They are somewhat harder to monitor, many being nocturnal, but they require much of the same habitat as butterflies so it’s safe to assume if you’re delivering for butterflies, you’re delivering for moths too!
There is guidance on implementing a wildflower margin on the Farm wildlife website found here; https://farmwildlife.info/how-to-do-it/flower-rich-habitats/
Market rewards for wildlife-friendly farmers – Shelley Abbott
Our third speaker of the evening was Shelley Abbott, Facilitator of the Fair to Nature scheme. Shelly has 11 years of experience in the scheme - from its origins as Conservation Grade through its fresh re-launch this year.
Fair to nature is an evidence-based farm assurance scheme, focused on reversing the declines in farmland biodiversity. It’s been fed by many research projects starting with the Manor farm project in Yorkshire and the farming for wildlife project in Oxfordshire, managed by CEH, looking at the positions and volumes of specific farm habitats required to reverse biodiversity declines. Fair to nature was co-founded by Bill Jordan and was called Conservation grade. Since then it has evolved into a biodiversity-led scheme expanding into other food brands and supply chains. It was taken on by the RSPB in 2017. This year, the scheme has been through a standard refresh, co-designed with Fair to nature members, the Farm wildlife partnership and the Nature Friendly Farming Network. The refreshed standard as expanded to include livestock systems that will be launched next year.
Schemes like Fair to Nature are incredibly important in starting to reverse those declines, here’s how it works;
How is Fair to Nature different from other schemes? It has a 10% habitat ask. This may sound like a lot, but research has shown this is the amount of area where we start to see real benefits to wildlife. The farm wildlife six-point plan is incorporated into the requirements of the 10%. The Fair to Nature standard is what our farmers work towards and are audited on. The areas covered include;
What are the benefits to a Fair to Nature farmer?
If you’d like to find out more about Fair to Nature please visit the website; www.fairtonature.org follow us on twitter and facebook @FairtoNature or email shelley.abbott@rspb.org.uk with any questions.
If you missed this webinar but would like to watch it, it is available on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9_HXm5In9I&t=2s
If you’d like to tune in to the rest of the series the following webinars are;
Wednesday 9th December 2020: 6:30pm, Ecological Intensification
Register to the event here
27th January 2021 6.30pm, Insecticide-free farming
24th February 2021 6.30pm, Future Funding for Wildlife Friendly Farming