FWAG SouthWest Newletter: Issue 7

In this issue >>> After the Floods‌.

Wild Bird Seed Mixes Project Updates Woodland Management Plans

Newsletter

Issue: 7 May 2014

FWAG SouthWest Update – Gary Rumbold, Business Manager My colleague and I visited our member’s farm recently; a large dairy concern on the Devon/Somerset border.

Driving to the farm I was struck that spring had arrived in earnest, with a fine display of the usual early yellow flowers flanking the farm track. The morning felt full of hope; a stark contrast to the visits made by FWAG UK staff to the same farm for crisis talks back in late 2011, as they were losing their jobs.

It is now over two years since FWAG SouthWest reformed and the ghost of FWAG UK has finally been exorcised so it feels an opportune time to reflect on the progress FWAG SW has made in that time.

FWAG SW now employs seventeen staff across the six counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Additionally we are working with ten Associate Advisers across the same region.

Many of those twenty seven staff and associates are long-standing FWAG employees and will be familiar faces when they visit you on your farm. New faces have also arrived, with fresh ideas and enthusiasm, to give us the impetus and skills that will ensure our success in the future.

We are proud that we have managed to build our membership numbers up from nothing to nearly 750, but we need to continue to reach out to old and new members, reassuring them that we are still the wildlife conservation charity of choice for farmers and landowners.

Our project work has been very rewarding for us over the last two years. A wide variety of projects tackling climate change adaptation, removal of invasive

species, flood recovery, watercourse management, habitat restoration and modelling the effects of reduced nitrate inputs on diffuse water pollution have been successful and rewarding.

We are a financially sound organisation with prudent and conservative policies in place that ensure we have reserves to see us through difficult times. Our Trustees, all of whom are farmers or ex-farm advisers, represent nearly all of the counties in the south west region and provide us with valuable feedback on what farmers want and need from FWAG SW. Most importantly, we continue to offer independent, practical advice to farmers and landowners on how they can best manage their wildlife habitats and promote the conservation of farmland species in a way that fits with their business.

Looking to the future, the challenges FWAG SW face are connected with those same challenges our members are having to get to grips with. We are keeping up-todate with the latest information on CAP reform, Greening and the new agri-environment schemes so that we are in the best position to advise our members as new information becomes available. We are also investing in our advisers through continuous training so they can offer an even wider range of services and advice.

Undoubtedly there will be further challenges to face in the future but I know that with the continued support of our members and the expertise of our employees we will continue to be the leading provider of farm conservation advice in the south west for years to come.

Greening: FWAG SouthWest is closely watching the development of the new Greening measures, as soon as firm details are available a press release will be issued to all members and details posted on our website.

High Yielding Crops for Farmland Birds Spring is a good time to start planning for this year’s crop of wild bird seed mix: preparing the ground, ordering the seed or perhaps choosing new sites. Hopefully seeing flocks of finches above these mixes in the winter has reassured you of the crop’s worth and encouraged you to maximise seed yields to provide feed at a time when food is otherwise scarce and energy demands are high.

A rotation is worth considering, for example growing wild bird seed mix after several years of nectar flower mix will give the benefit from increased soil fertility, thanks to the outgoing legumes and fewer annual weeds after a perennial crop cut once a year. Alternatively, you might grow a cereal based crop (e.g. triticale, barley and linseed) after a brassica based crop; the cereal crop provides an opportunity to treat broadleaf weeds, such as docks and thistles, with a suitable herbicide. If you run a shoot another option is rotating an adjacent strip of maize with and equal sized strip of wild bird seed mix.

Seed brochures offer an array of mixes. The seed of kale, red and white millet and quinoa are generally favoured by the greatest range of farmland birds from Skylark to Greenfinch, whilst the more granivorous species such as Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting will eat cereals.

There is also the distinction between annual and biannual mixes, the latter containing kale, have scope to provide valuable cover in the spring (as well as saving on establishment costs).

The practicality of growing a good crop of wild bird seed mix is little different from growing a good commercial crop. Start with a well-structured stale

seedbed, drill at the right depth, consolidate post drilling and provide sufficient nutrients to maximise yields. As you will appreciate, seed drilled into a warm soil with sufficient moisture tends to get away quickly and outgrow the numerous pests and problems any seedling has to contend with. Guidance on planting dates, seed rate, drill depth etc. will be provided by good seed suppliers.

Herbicide use is restricted when growing wild bird seed mix under agri-environment scheme rules but you can use herbicides to spot-treat injurious weeds e.g. creeping thistle and broad-leaved dock. You might consider tolerating some weeds as the seeds of annual meadow grass and fat hen are readily eaten by farmland birds, although a heavy weed burden will reduce crop yields and can put farmers off growing wild bird seed mix in the first instance!

As far as fertilisers are concerned, within reason, the more you put on the greater the yield of seed and Entry Level Stewardship prescriptions allow the use of fertilisers to ‘aid establishment and ensure sufficient seed production’.

60kg of nitrogen a year on a biannual kale based crop will not only produce stronger plants offering more shelter but also significantly increase the quantity of seed produced.

Now we just hope that you have a high yield of farmland birds next winter to complement your high yielding wild bird seed mix.

For more detail on growing wild bird seed mix and related agri-environment scheme prescriptions please contact FWAG SouthWest.

Upper Tone Himalayan Balsam Removal FWAG SouthWest will be running a Himalayan Balsam removal project this year in the upper catchment areas of the River Tone. The removal programme will start at the source of the River Tone just north of Clatworthy Reservoir and continue downstream through Huish Champflower and Waterrow.

We are offering FREE help to control and eradicate balsam so we would like to hear from you if you have land neighbouring the River Tone in the upper catchment and have a problem with Himalayan Balsam. Removal is by hand with the help of volunteers, so if you would like to help out at our ‘Balsam Bashing’ days please contact Lauren Clarke on 01823 355427 / lauren.clarke@fwagsw.org.uk

After the Floods…….

When describing the dramatic floods in Somerset this winter the figures speak for themselves –  Wettest December and January combined on record.  Over 100 million cubic metres of flood water stored on the Somerset Levels.  120 km² of land flooded in Somerset.  165 properties across the Somerset Levels flooded.  When the tides allowed, pumping at maximum capacity moved 83 cubic metres of water per second, that’s the equivalent of a standard swimming pool every 30 seconds!

The floods turned parts of Somerset into inland seas with floodwater reaching 3 - 4m deep in places, and for a while the national headlines made it seem that Somerset was the most important place in the UK. For those unaffected it was a spectacle, but for those who live and work on the Levels it was simply devastating. 14 farms were evacuated and over 700 have been impacted, many of which were already struggling after the summer flooding in 2012 and winter floods of 2012/13.

Flood Recovery Now the attention has move d fro m fl oo d response to flood recovery. The media circus and the ‘flood tourists’ have all left and it is time for those affected to find a way to move on. A joint Farm Flood Recovery initiative between Somerset County Council and NFU has been launched to help those affected and FWAG SouthWest has seconded two of its staff to join this effort, concentrating on two main areas:  The Fodder Bank - this is a complex job of matching donations of hay, straw, haylage or silage, kindly pledged by others around the country, with those who need it on the Levels. Over 50 farmers have so far benefited from the Fodder Bank.  Supporting farmers with crop recovery and repairing infrastructure; re-seeding, replacement gates, culverts and fencing.

Volunteers from the Farming Community Network, RABI and the Addington Fund are also heavily involved and able to offer a range of support to farm businesses and families through the recovery process.

A Longer-term View FWAG SouthWest has also been involved in the formation of the 20 Year Somerset Flood Action Plan or the ‘Paterson Plan’ and is leading on the land management aspects of the Flood Plan.

The plan involves obvious things like the long awaited dredging of stretches of rivers, but also medium and longerterm solutions like the re-distribution of flood water around the Levels and a barrage to exclude, or reduce the tidal influence of the River Parrett.

A summary of scientific evidence shows that rural land use change can reduce flood peaks in small catchments, those under 10km², and make a real difference to flood risks.

However, as the size of the catchment increases land use and management changes have a lessening effect on flood risk. There is however, evidence to demonstrate that land management has a major effect on sediment, water quality, biodiversity and drought resilience at all catchment scales. Natural flood management in the upper reaches of the catchments includes a range of measures, like soil management and putting in features to intercept run-off, aiming to slow the flow of flood waters into the Levels system. Potentially, every field and farm has a part to play.

The work of recovery is underway, as are two other major projects addressing water management, and helping to identify sustainable water usage across the Somerset Levelsthe WOW Project and DRoP Project, visit our website for full details of these.

For help with flood recovery contact: Abigail Vickery (abigail.vickery@fwagsw.org.uk) and Ann Langdon (ann.langdon@fwagsw.org.uk) or call the Taunton office on 01823 355427.

Taw River Improvement Project Update The TRIP project is entering it’s final year of working to improve water quality across the River Taw catchment with a group of specialist partners.

FWAG SouthWest is focusing on the rivers Dalch and Lapford Yeo together with the Knathorne Brook, all of these are failing to meet EU legislation standards due to high levels of phosphate.

FWAG SouthWest are now offering farmers in these catchments FREE soil and fym/slurry sampling, as appropriate, together with nutrient budget advice with an agronomist, well worth the time with the current cost of fertiliser!

So far over 40 farms have benefited from this service and in addition, several have been awarded grants for river side fencing to exclude stock. Needless to say that with a grant rate of 75% this particular fund is becoming quickly oversubscribed so contact us asap!

For more information please phone Richard Halliwell on 07531 08844 or email richard.halliwell@fwagsw.org.uk TRIP is funded by the Environment Agency through the Catchment Restoration Fund and is a partnership of Westcountry Rivers Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust, FWAG SouthWest, Silvanus Trust and North Devon Biosphere Reserve. The project ends in March 2015.

RPA Inspections Following their recent Rural Payments Agency (RPA) inspection we asked Rebecca Mills, FWAG SouthWest Adviser and Somerset farmer’s wife, to give us her advice on being prepared for the RPA inspection process: I think I can say with some confidence that no farmer looks forward to a visit from the RPA. Some live in fear of it, many dread it, but most are just resigned to it.

Inspections of one sort or another are a fact of farming life.

EU legislation states that Cross Compliance inspections must be carried out on a minimum of 1% of Single Payment Scheme claimants and new entrants to Rural Development Schemes.

A combination of random selection and “risk based assessment” are used to trigger an inspection. The inspector may give up to 48 hours notice, but they may also arrive unannounced. If you refuse to allow the inspection to take place, obstruct an inspector or fail to give reasonable help, you stand to lose up to 100% of your payments.

There are two inspection bodies each responsible for different aspects of Cross Compliance. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) covering control of certain

diseases and animal welfare.

The RPA cover everything else inc lud ing ag ri environment schemes.

On arrival the inspector will outline what they are going to be looking at, it may just be a cattle tag check or it may be the full works. Clear the kitchen table, you are going to need it, as in my experience they start with the paperwork. A robust filing system is essential – you do not want to fail just because you could not find the booklet. The inspection is then likely to move outside to look at livestock, crops or any other part of the holding. The inspector may need your assistance for example if they are checking tags, but much of it they will probably be able to do on their own. I generally think that the more helpful you can be the quicker the inspection is likely to be over.

When the inspection is complete all you can do is wait. The inspector may indicate that you have passed or failed certain aspects whilst they are on the farm, however, they are unlikely to tell you how much your penalty will be. Their report will be submitted and then the RPA will inform you in writing of what, if any, penalties apply.

A full version of the Guide to Cross Compliance in England 2014 is only available online. If you do not

Health Check Gain peace of mind with a FWAG SouthWest Health Check which: Highlights common failures.

Explains the inspection process.

Provides an action plan to help rectify possible breaches.

have access to the internet then you will need to refer to the printed 2012 guide and subsequent updates. The 2014 ‘Updates Only Edition’ has recently been posted to SPS claimants – together with the Soil Protection Review continuation sheet for 2014.

Someone once told me there are two things certain in life, but perhaps it’s three - death, taxation and an RPA inspection!

Cornwall Otter Trophy Walk Trengwainton Farm, winners of the 2013 Otter Trophy in Cornwall, hosted a well-attended farm event during the run up to Easter. Mr Bone, along with Natural England representative Joe Oliver, provided an interesting and informative walk explaining the challenges and opportunities of farming on the West Penwith moors.

Judging by the number of questions from farmers who attended, there was certainly a lot of interest surrounding both the running of the dairy business and the recreation of lowland heathland on the moors. FWAG SW wish to offer our thanks once again to the Bone family for their hospitality during a very busy period on the farm.

A take home message from this year’s winner is that you do not need a ‘wildlife haven’ to win the Otter Trophy, instead the judges look for strong business credentials alongside innovation and a healthy respect for your local farmed environment.

To enter the Cornwall Otter Trophy call: 01823 355427 or email: info@fwagsw.org.uk

Staff Profile –

Mark Smith, Wiltshire Farm Conservation Adviser

Mark has worked as a FWAG adviser for 13 years and is a valuable member of the team due to his strong farming background and knowledge of wildlife and environmental issues.

Before joining FWAG Mark completed a Diploma in Agriculture at Bicton College and then spent 10 years working on farms. The majority of this was on a large dairy and arable estate in Hampshire, initially as the stockman and relief milker, before becoming the primary tractor driver. Farm work is something he continues to miss to this day, though not the 5.00am starts!

Mark then completed an honours degree in Environmental Management at the University of the West of England where he focused on conservation, ecology and river and coastal processes.

On graduating Mark spent eighteen months at the Environment Agency working in the Flood Defence Team.

Although he says he’s loathed to admit this at the moment considering the problems we’ve been experiencing.

Mark was then fortunate enough to land what he describes as his dream job; joining the FWAG team. He has loved every minute of his time with FWAG because it combines his two passions, farming and wildlife.

In recent years Mark has been helping over-stretched colleagues in Wiltshire, completing ELS and HLS applications. He enjoys working in Wiltshire, not least because of its fantastic landscape. In many parts of the county the landscape is similar to the farm he worked on in Hampshire and he therefore has a valuable insight into the practicalities of managing the land.

Mark is keen to expand his work in the county and can offer a range of services from habitat surveys and Stewardship applications to Cross Compliance checks and soil, water and nutrient management advice.

To get in touch with Mark call 01823 355427 or email info@fwagsw.org.uk.

Royal Cornwall Show Thanks to the hard work and support of our Cornwall board of volunteers, FWAG SW will be attending the RCS again this year. We have a packed agenda including informative talks, the presentation of the regional Barn Owl Trophy and our new ‘Farming Selifes’ Photography Competition.

Our experienced advisers will also be on hand to offer individual support and advice. So come and find us on stand 293, opposite the members pavilion.

RCS Talks: Thursday 5th June

10.30am Greening and how it will effect farmers.

2.30pm Introduction to Ecological Focus Areas.

Friday 6th June

10.30am Greening and how it will effect farmers.

1.00pm Subject TBC 2.00pm Presentation of the regional Barn Owl Trophy, the main arena.

Full details will be displayed at the show and on our website.

Barn Owl Trophy Finalists We would like to thank this years judges: Ruth Kimber Somerset Farmer, Hugh Warmington Somerset Farmer and Richard Ap p leton retired Natural England Adviser and FWAG SouthWest trustee.

Judging for the 2014 Regional Barn Owl Trophy is underway and the winners will be announced at the Royal Cornwall Show in the main arena on Friday 6th June at 2.30pm.

This years finalists are: Cornwall: Mr S. Bone, Trengwainton Farm, Penzance.

Devon: TBC Dorset: Mr P. Loudon, Wilkswood Farm, Swanage.

Glos: Mr G. Senior, Lowerfield Farm, Hinton.

Som: Mr N. Bragg, Frogmary Green Farm, S. Petherton Wiltshire: Mr C. Seaford, Bush Farm, Warminster.

Farming Selfies Photography Competition To enter take a snap of yourself with your favourite animal, best tractor, in your favourite field or even at the Royal Cornwall Show!

All entries will be displayed on the FWAG SW stand at the RCS and the winner will be announced at the end of the show.

1st Prize – Heritage Hamper from:

Email your picture, along with its title and your name and address to: info@fwagsw.org.uk, post it on our Facebook page or send it to: FWAG SW, County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY.

‘Another late night in the barn’ Adam Lockyear FWAG SW Adviser and Goat Farmer.

Woodland Management Plans The Forestry Commission (FC) has launched a new template for creating Woodland Management Plans (WMP) as part the new UK Forestry Standard. It can be found on the FC website at: www.forestry.gov.uk Building on a more buoyant market for UK timber and firewood, the FC is seeking to bring more woodland into active management, as currently only 50% of English woodlands are managed. There is also a desire to restructure woodlands, increasing resilience to climate change and pests and diseases, such as ash dieback. In addition many declining woodland wildlife species will benefit from the resumption of management.

Legal compliance and monitoring by the RPA and Environment Agency is likely to increase in the future. Legal obligations relating to designations such as Tree Preservation Orders and European Protected Species are sometimes unwittingly overlooked by owners. Undertaking a WMP gives owners a streamlined way to achieve legal compliance and demonstrate best practice, as they provide a

format through which all the issues affecting woodlands can be taken into account.

Once approved, WMP can be used to obtain Felling Licences and grants from the FC under the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS). In many cases, a Woodland Planning Grant is also available to help fund the development of the WMP itself.

Under the New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS), to be launched next year, both woodland and farmland options will be available. Owners seeking to obtain grant aid for woodlands will need to have an approved WMP. A WMP specifically for small woodlands, such as those commonly found on farms, is available.

For more information on the new woodland plans and grants or to speak to one of our advisers about help writing a Woodland Management Plan call the FWAG SW office: 01823 355427.

Events Westonbirt Arboretum Tour:

Devon Otter Farm Walk

Cotley Farm Tour Saturday 14th June, 2.00pm - 5.00pm Cotley Farm, Cotley, Wambrook, Chard TA20 3EP Grid ref. ST299068 FWAG SouthWest and the newly formed Blackdown Hills Rough Grazing Association invite you to a guided tour of Cotley Farm, by kind permission of the Eames family. This will include:  Visiting the restored heathland/springline mire, traditional orchards and the arable reversion.  Discussing woodland and boundary management and the restoration of traditional farm buildings.

Cost: Free. Cream teas will be provided.

Grasslands and Orchids, A Wiltshire Farm Walk Thursday 12th June, 2.00pm Grove Farm, Grittenham, Chippenham, SN15 4JP By kind permission of Adrian Leighfield, we will be visiting Grove Farm. Always managed traditionally, this farm has some truly remarkable botanically rich neutral grassland.

We will learn how the farm has been managed to preserve the wildflower meadows, benefiting butterfly species and about seed harvesting and other methods of restoring and creating botanically rich grassland habitats.

Light refreshments will be provided Cost: Donations Welcome

Wednesday 7th May, 1.30pm - 4.30pm Main car park, Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QS Join us for a guided tour of Westonbirt’s Silk Wood. Spring time in this semi-natural ancient woodland is an impressive sight, with displays of wildflowers including bluebells, wood anemones, celandines and primroses.

Gloucestershire FWAG advisers will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Refreshments will be provided.

Cost: Members £4.00, Non-Members £6.00 (incl.VAT)

Booking is essential for all events. Please call us on 01823 355427 or email info@fwagsw.org.uk

FWAG SouthWest

www.fwagsw.org.uk

Environment Department

info@fwagsw.org.uk

County Hall

01823 355427

Taunton

Charity No. 1146071

Somerset

Co. No. 07865031

TA1 4DY

Friday 9th May, 2.00pm - 6.00pm Sydenham Estate, Lewdown, Nr. Okehampton, EX20 4PR Join us at the Sydenham Estate to celebrate their success in winning the 2013 Bronze Otter Trophy.

Farm Manager James Perkins will lead a driven tour of the arable farmland. Robert Alexander, Estate Manager, will show us the biomass boiler system and the work carried out on the river, including flood proof fencing and river bank protection. Followed by the presentation of the trophy.

A light supper will be provided Children welcome & wheelchair access can be arranged.

Cost: Donations Welcome

Silver Pintail Farm Walk Thursday 12th June, 6.00pm - 9.30pm Lowerfield Farm, Hinton, South Gloucestershire, SN14 8HJ Join us for a farm walk at Guy and Helen Senior’s farm to celebrate their success in winning the 2013 Pintail Trophy.

We will take a tour of the farm and will be joined by Paul Golledge, Chairman of the Gloucestershire Hawk and Owl Trust, who will be giving a talk on the protection of birds of prey on farmland.

Children welcome and wheelchair access can be arranged.

Cost: Members Free, Non-members £5.00 (Incl. VAT)

Newsletter

March 2014

Gloucestershire FWAG Steering Group We are delighted to announce the formation of the new Gloucestershire FWAG Steering Group. The group’s role is to ensure that Gloucestershire FWAG truly is a farmer led organisation, providing the advice and support the county’s farming community needs. The members will also act as FWAG ambassadors, helping to raise the charity’s profile in order to aid us in meeting our charitable aims. The steering group’s experience and expertise is diverse, and we are excited to see what it will be possible to achieve with such a high level of support.

Steering Group Members: The Earl Bathurst: President and landowner. Simon Pain: Chairman, FWAG SouthWest Trustee, Glos. NFU Vice Chairman and landowner. Robert Jackson: Gloucestershire landowner. Ian Boyd: Gloucestershire landowner and Trustee of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Richard Appleton: Retired Senior Natural England Adviser and FWAG SouthWest Trustee.

Peter Davidson-Smith: Gloucestershire landowner. Mark Tufnell: Gloucestershire landowner. Henry Boughton: Gloucestershire landowner. Julian Hasler: Gloucestershire Farmer. Henry Robinson: CLA Chair and landowner.

Gloucestershire FWAG Silver Pintail 2014 Gloucestershire FWAG’s Silver Pintail Trophy aims to honour commercial farms that have successfully combined food production with sustainability, environmental protection and wildlife gains. The competition plays a key role in delivering our charitable aims as it is a major opportunity to build strong relationships between farmers and the wider community, showcasing the wonderful work being carried out.

The 2014 Silver Pintail Award Theme is: Birds on the Farm.

Each year the competition has a theme; this allows different farms to enter in different years depending on their strengths.

For this theme many in Gloucestershire will automatically think of the large arable farms on the Cotswolds. However, our FWAG advisers have seen wonderful work to support farmland birds on the lower ground of the Vale and farms in the Forest of Dean often provide very different habitats and so support different species. In short we welcome entries from all who have worked to improve the lot of birds on their land and look forward to seeing a wide variety of farms.

The winner of the Silver Pintail also goes on to represent the county in FWAG SouthWest’s regional Barn Owl Trophy. The 2013 Silver Pintail winners were Guy and Helen Senior of Lower Field Farm at Hinton, South Gloucestershire so we wish them every success in bringing the Barn Owl Trophy to Gloucestershire!

Silver Pintail Farm Walk: 12th June, 6.00pm Lower Field Farm at Hinton, South Gloucestershire.

We are holding a farm walk at Guy and Helen’s farm to celebrate their success and invite all our members to attend.

We will take a tour of the farm, guided by Guy Senior and our Silver Pintail judges Richard Appleton and Simon Pain.

Children welcome and wheelchair access can be arranged.

Food and drink will be provided. Invitations will be sent out nearer the time but full details are available on our website www.gloucestershirefwag.org.uk. To book your place please call: 01823 355427 or email: info@fwagsw.org.uk

Auction of Promises By kind permission of The Earl Bathurst, we will be holding the Gloucestershire FWAG 2014 auction of promises at the Mansion, Cirencester Park on Thursday 23rd October 2014, at 6pm.

The night will include a feast of locally produced delights and music as well as the auction. Funds from the auction will be supporting Gloucestershire’s new Black Poplar Project to commemorate the centenary of The Great War. Black Poplars are Britain's most threatened native timber tree, used for thousands of years they were prized for their soft, white, shock absorbing wood. A true farmland tree, Black Poplars were central to the character of lowland landscapes until the 1850’s when they lost favour to a faster growing hybrid form. The project aims to plant 100 trees across the county to replenish Gloucestershire’s Black Poplar population, this will secure the trees future in the county and help preserve the genetic stock of our native tree. It will also give our landscape a little flavour of the late 19th and early 20th century's, during which our first world war veterans would have been growing up.

We are now looking for pledges, if you would like to support Gloucestershire FWAG by donating an auction lot or would like to sponsor a tree in a particular location please get in touch with Michelle Easton on 01823 355427 or email info@fwagsw.org.uk.

Farming for the Future: Event Report Over the coming years the provision of water, nutritious food and workable soil will become increasingly relevant. Parts of England have seen the wettest January since records began and some scientists are already predicting that 2014 will see the hottest summer on record.

In short, farming systems will need to become resilient to changes in climate, unreliable water supply and decouple production from the increasingly costly input of fossil fuels.

Through increasing soil organic matter and improving soil structure, farmers can ensure their land retains more moisture in drier periods and drains well during wet periods. Soil organic matter also increases nutrient availability in soils, therefore reducing the need for costly artificial inputs.

A farmer in Gloucestershire, Rob Richmond, is leading the way in sustainably building soil organic matter and reducing reliance on artificial inputs. Gloucestershire FWAG recently held an event ‘Farming for the Future’ which gave our members the opportunity to hear Rob speaking about his innovative farming system and to visit his 500 acre dairy farm on the high-wolds.

Through research undertaken as part of a Nuffield Scholarship, Rob has developed a highly effective method to rebuild soil carbon levels through the rotational grazing of bio-diverse pastures.

Typically, the bio-diverse ley consists of legume and herb rich swards (such as option EK21/ HK21/OK21 in environmental stewardship schemes) and is grown for 3-4 years. This allows the sward to become fully established and for different plants to dominate throughout the cycle. The ley is then ploughed before it reaches the five year bench mark for permanent pasture. The management of the ley creates a stable environment for the soil biology to become established. It also promotes the plant’s ability to exude large amounts of sugars through their roots, up to

70% of what they produce; this provides a ready food source for the microbes, resulting in the ability to increase soil carbon levels by 1% every year (20t carbon/ha/yr).

To maximise the amount of liquid carbon that is sequestered from the plants into the soil, the grazing management is extremely important.

The ley provides high quality forage for livestock and should be mob grazed at the third leaf stage, this encourages a greater degree of root development and increases the transfer of carbon into the soil, see Figure 1.

In addition to the increase in soil organic matter, the minerals and trace elements in the soil become plant available, ensuring a good quality forage crop is produced. The variety of plants in the ley, such as deep rooting chicory, also improves soil structure. For Rob this means his land can support a dairy herd all year round and he no longer needs the addition of artificial inputs.

The benefits are visible above ground too with the sward creating a perfect habitat and food source for invertebrates and pollinating species, which in turn supports native farmland birds throughout the breeding season.

Rob’s work has also involved looking into ways to decouple production from fossil fuels, to find out more visit our website under resources.

Many thanks to Rob Richmond for hosting us and creating such an informative and inspiring event. For more information please contact a Gloucestershire FWAG adviser.

Rob completed a Nuffield Scholarship in 2011 ‘The Benefits to Agriculture and the Environment of Rebuilding Soil Carbon’.

To view the research visit www.nuffieldscholar.org.

Events: Booking is essential please call: 01823 355427 or email: info@fwagsw.org.uk Bluebells at Westonbirt Arboretum Wednesday 7th May, 1.30pm - 4.30pm Meet in main car park Join us for a guided walk around Westonbirt Arboretum's Silk Woods. This will (spring weather permitting) be the best week of the year to see the spectacular bluebells in this wonderful ancient woodland.

Refreshments will be provided.

Costs– Members £4.00 Non-Members £6.00

Knowledge Vision Innovation Support

All our events are posted online at: www.gloucestershirefwag.org.uk and www.fwagsw.org.uk.

To join our mailing list or book you place for this event please call 01823 355427 or email info@fwagsw.org.uk

Gloucestershire FWAG, Unit 9, Cirencester Office Park, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6JJ 01285 700830 www.gloucestershirefwag.org.uk info@fwagsw.org.uk