Farmers and land managers could already be supporting the Campaign for the Farmed Environment without knowing it, because many common farm management practices count.
The campaign has 15 voluntary measures ranging from grass buffer strips to overwintered stubbles retained until February 14. Your on-farm management just has to meet the essential requirements of a chosen measure to be counted – but CFE organisers fear good work is going unrecorded.
They are urging farmers and land managers to double check if they are a ‘secret’ CFE supporter.
National programme coordinator Victoria Hicks said: “We need farmers to stand up and be counted for the management practices they perhaps don’t realise are part of the campaign. You could have planted wild bird seed or be using one application of herbicide in the spring; as long as these meet the essential management requirements then you are already a CFE supporter.
“But don’t keep it a secret – tell us what and how much land you are managing outside of agri-environment scheme options by using the CFE online record to make it count.”
FWAG’s technical director Jim Egan said: “Many farmers don’t realise that existing practices on their farms can count as positive contributions to the Campaign. Game strips that don’t contain maize or giant sorghum are a common practice across farmland that meets the requirements. And sometimes, just a small tweak is needed to adjust the land management so it supports the CFE.”
While there are no fixed percentages to participate in the campaign, if every farm put three to four per cent of arable area into key target options, either through CFE voluntary measures or in combination with Entry Level Stewardship, the CFE will succeed, staving off the threat of regulation.
Find out more about the Campaign for the Farmed Environment here.
- Charles Trollope - 07/10/2011
I have looked at this in the past and it is written for Arable Farming. I am orchard,amenity woodland and grass. I do not seem to fit in at all. Tell me why!