The newly formed Natural England continues to stress the importance of farm wildlife in its aim to achieve a healthy natural environment. Two national targets affecting farmers are:
• To reverse the long term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020.
• To restore or re-create an additional 3,750 hectares of priority agricultural habitats as detailed in the national Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).
Other species such as great crested newts, water voles and rare arable plants get less specific publicity but are also high priority local and national BAP species.
Over the last 20 years, agri-environment schemes have helped to improve habitats for threatened farmland species.However, the Treasury needs to feel confident that payments to farmers are both good value for money and delivering vital environmental gain if the schemes are to continue into the future.
If a farm is in a “Classic Scheme”, such as Countryside Stewardship or Environmentally Sensitive Areas, there is no guarantee of automatic acceptance into the new Higher Level Scheme (HLS) when the agreement expires. The current points threshold for HLS is challengingly high and only those applications reaching good scores can be described as strong candidates.
There are, however, certain measures that can be undertaken to help improve chances of success. Identifying and recording key species present on the farm is crucial. Being able to demonstrate the presence of priority BAP species that are in the HLS targeting statements provides a real case for proving both value for money and actual results. It also helps to show the public that taxpayers’ money is being well spent.
Accurate farm surveys can be difficult and time consuming, requiring specialist knowledge for correct identification. However, building a record of those key species currently present is not only rewarding and interesting to know but will be a base-line for comparisons in the future.
FWAG can generally arrange surveys for you, and if required can produce the results in an individual farm report which details appropriate environmental management targeted at the species found.
If you would like more information on farm surveys, please contact your local FWAG office.
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