Congratulations to Nicholas Watts of Vine House Farm who has been unveiled as the 2013 winner of The Nature of Farming Award.

For the sixth year running, you voted in your thousands to crown the UK's most wildlife-friendly farmer and Nicholas is truly...

Posted on behalf of Niki Williamson, Fenland Farmland Conservation Advisor

Imagine the scene. You’re sitting in your home surrounded by your family with a fridge full of nice food when, out of the blue, somebody bulldozes it down around you.

Fleeing for your life, you take refuge in the nearest surviving shelter. As the dust settles, you gaze aghast on the devastation, trying to take in the new landscape. Homes…

I attended a recent cultivation trial event for creating stone-curlew nesting habitat, I was there and it was very good and extremely thought provoking, Andrew Holland RSPB Brecks Farm Conservation Officer tells the story of the days events below.

Andrew Holland RSPB Brecks Farm Conservation Officer in full advisory mode (S. Tonkin RSPB)

Here in the Brecks we are extremely lucky to have one of the UK’s rarest breeding…

Guest blog by our Northern England Advisory team

On our recent visits the Northern England Judging Team were very pleased to award High Commendations to three entrants:

Southburn is just one of 11 farms owned/managed by JSR Farms Ltd. JSR Farms was founded in 1958 and are now one of the largest family owned farming companies in the UK, farming around 3,600 hectares. Keeping the environmental balance in credit features…

If you saw the front page of the Telegraph yesterday, you will have seen an article about food security in Britain, due to 'failing self sufficiency'.  The article makes pretty scary reading.  

But food security is not only about how much we produce.  The world as a whole currently produces enough food for everyone. Billions of people are nevertheless hungry because they cannot afford to buy food, or food supply…

Guest blog by our Northern England Advisory team

In order to determine who was to be the Northern England Regional winner, we spent a very enjoyable few days out judging the impressive shortlist of entrants for this year’s RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award, which seeks to find Britain’s most wildlife friendly farmers.  It was a very close decision but we were all agreed that our winner should be Richard…

Turtle doves they remind me a lot of Audrey Hepburn, you’d be forgiven for thinking I’ve been out in the recent sun too much! What possible physical similarities do a rapidly declining farmland bird and a famous 1950s film star have in common?

 

The turtle dove has often been sighted as an emblem of eternal love from the works of Shakespeare to the works of Chaucer. Perhaps it is accurate, as it is possible…

Guest blog by Peter Wilkinson, ringer, birder and amazing volunteer from Hertfordshire

It is a truth universally acknowledged among ringers (well, perhaps not among the statisticians, who know that these things are truly random) that a ringer in want of a spectacular recovery must only ring one or at most a very few of the species in question.

My contribution to this urban myth is the very first Turtle Dove I ever…

Posted on behalf of Jacqui Weir, Woodland Biodiversity Advisor Over the last few years I have been fortunate to be involved in several exciting conservation projects with the RSPB. In my current role I am a Woodland Biodiversity Advisor, encouraging...

I am often told that I have the best job - I get to visit lots of farms, walk around beautiful English countryside and listen first hand to what farmers want to talk about. I can't disagree, I do love my job! A couple of months ago, I drove over to...

There cannot be an industry more affected by climate than farming.  So I wanted to share this interesting post over on our climate blog.  It's good reading...........

I'm always impressed when a community pulls together for a cause they feel strongly about. Recently I helped organise a local wildlife walk in one of Warwickshire's more rural villages, and the nearby farmers, as well as villagers, certainly...

By Kev Rylands, Farmland Conservation Adviser

Charlie Watson Smyth and his family have been farming along the Cornish coast for generations and are worthy South West winners of this year’s Nature of Farming Award.  Claire Mucklow, the Cornwall Chough project manager introduces the scene...

Walking around a corner of Tregirls Farm yesterday I couldn’t stop smiling and wished there was someone else with me to share…

If you've been watching TV this last couple of weeks, I hope you managed to catch our fabulous new TV advert.  If not, you can see it here:

http://vimeo.com/69548315The whizzy TV advert kicked off our new campaign 'Giving Nature a Home'

You will see that the big focus for our campaign is to encourage people everywhere - including those in cities with small gardens - to do a bit for nature in their garden…

It’s good to be part of something special, a special band of people making a real change for the better. Isn’t that what people want to be ultimately? Belonging to a special community or a niche of society that others can look upon and admire? For instance I wanted to be a Jedi when I was younger, I still really want to be one but despite my best efforts, I still can't move the TV remote with my mind or use a Jedi mind…

Nicholas is a top chap and his farm is full of farm wildlife, a real pleasure to visit. Nicholas constantly comes up with new ways of creating habitat, not frightened to try something new but equally not afraid to admit when things need to change. I always enjoy our conversations about farm wildlife, particularly corn bunting, a species both Nicholas and I have a passion for. Nicholas has a profitable farm business that…

Guest blog by Gavin Thomas, Conservation Adviser Bowland Wader Project

Lapwing nesting in an area of mown rush

I recently helped deliver an event for farmers in Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) on rush management. There are various methods employed to tackle rush but not all sit well with management for wading birds! So with support from a colleague from Natural England, I was charged…

Posted on behalf of Michael MacDonald, Senior Conservation Scientist.

In 2012 and 2013, the RSPB has been involved (in partnership with the GWCT) in a project investigating whether fallow plots that have been put in place under agri-environment schemes are effective in increasing the number of chicks fledged.

Fallow plots are lightly tilled in early spring to provide bare earth and sparse low vegetation in the lapwing…

Apologies for the delay in bringing this to you.  Technology can have its glitches....  But check out Martin's blog yesterday for our thoughts on the latest news on CAP reform.  

Posted on behalf of Andrew Holland, Brecks Farm Conservation Adviser

Andrew is one of the newest members of our farm advice team, based in the Brecks in East Anglia. Here he tells us what inspired him to make the change from farming to working with the RSPB, and how he'll be helping wildlife-friendly farmers in his new patch.   

"I worked for over twenty-eight years growing various vegetables and cereals on the family…

The June 2013 G8 summit is taking place now against the stunning back drop of Lough Erne in Fermanagh . Next door to where the heads of state are ensconced is Fernay and White Island South, a long standing RSPB reserve managed for breeding waders. You should be able to spot these islands on most of the coverage of the summit. The RSPB in Lough Erne have a network of 39 islands which are bursting with wildlife with wading…

"Really good website"

"Nice stand, informative and friendly staff."

"Excellent idea."

Just some of the comments we had on our stand at the Cereals event. We're particularly pleased because these comments came from farmers looking at our brand new approach to farm advice. This falls into two complementary halves - direct advice for farmers in key target areas across the UK, and a suite…

As we were busy last week making sure our new roller banners arrived in time for Cereals (do drop in to stand 4-C-435 on Wednesday or Thursday to hear our exciting news!!), our colleagues working on climate change spotted some provocative stuff written in The Wall Street Journal on arable farming.

Find out more here.

Its interesting stuff....

Today we have a brilliant guest blog by Justine Hards from LEAF, getting to the heart of the importance of farm visits.

“What people do not understand, they do not value; what they do not value, they will not protect, and what they do not protect, they will lose.” — Charles Jordan

It seems our children are still rather confused about their food – where it comes from, what’s in it, who grows it and…

By Deborah Deveney, HNV Campaign Leader

So much has happened since our first blog on High Nature Value (HNV) farming back in January, in particular over the past few weeks, there’s a lot to tell you about.  Most importantly it’s great to see recognition for these extensive farming systems is beginning to grow – systems that produce good quality food, sustain wildlife, protect many of our special landscapes as well…