Devon,
I have been a LEAF member since it's inception in the early 90s. I am now LEAF Communications Committee chairman. So I have an interest here but my involvement with LEAF gives me no direct pecuniary reward.
I am a LEAF enthusiast and activist because I beleive it makes the case for british agriculture as a caring, clean and responsible industry better than any other organsiation that represents british agriculture. I think this is important because we need to constantly make our case when it comes the consumer, the regulator and the tax payer. Our lives and wallets will fare much better with these groups on our side.
On a more practical basis. In some instances LEAF marque accreditation will secure you markets that pay a premium. Doing a LEAF audit will gain you points under ELS.
The downside? It will cost you around £100 a year (depending on size) to join.
If you do join you will be joining a growing organisation that has constantly been ahead of the game.
Here endeth the lecture.
For more information ring LEAF
If you will permit me I will paste an article into here about a project LEAF are rolling out this very week . I am very proud of it.
Guy Smith
All on board
In the main part the British countryside is not a natural landscape. You have to go back several thousand years to find it in it’s natural wooded state. Today the architecture that fashions our countryside is provided by farmers. The hedges, the ponds, the tracks, the copses, the barns, the ditches, the walls, the pastures, the crops: - all put their by farmers for the purpose of farm production. The British countryside is one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse landscapes in the world but it is a worked landscape, a managed landscape. Sometimes landscapes are too easily taken for granted. To the casual observer it is easy to overlook the work of the farmer. It is easy to assume farmland features are in some way natural. Thereby the work of the farmer is unseen.
The importance of explaining the role of the farmer in managing the countryside has never been more important. In the era of decoupled CAP payments one of the central justifications is the delivery of environmental goods. There is also an increasing need to explain what is going on in the countryside to the increasing number of the public who use it for their recreation.
Another issue farmers are concerned about is one of managing access. Because of Cross Compliance and ELS requirements, field margins will increasingly be uncultivated or unfarmed. This may well lead to confusion in the minds of the public that there is now some sort of access along field headlands. What is needed is information boards that politely explain that these margins are for the benefit of wildlife which can be compromised if they are walked upon. Respect for private farm land is diminishing in modern Britain but respect for things like rare orchids or ground nesting birds is increasing. Farmers would do well to move with the times. “Trespassers will be prosecuted” is yesterday’s language. “Area designated for wildlife only. Please keep out” is probably a far more powerful message.
If you wander around nature reserves you will frequently come across well made, attractive boards. These boards have three functions. Firstly they explain the immediate environment to the visitor so that they better understand what is going on around them. Secondly they guide the visitor so that they do not wander into those areas where wildlife is compromised by their presence. Finally they promote the work of those who manage the reserve so that their role is appreciated.
I have often thought farmers should learn from this example and provide similar boards on their farms. They should be situated in areas where the public will come across them such as farm entrances or well used footpaths. One problem is cost. Well made durable, large boards can costs several hundred pounds to make.
As of this month, LEAF are rolling out an initiative called “All on Board” that is designed to provide farmers with kits to make farm information boards. The scheme is based on a pick and mix jigsaw. LEAF have produced thirty A4 boards that cover a variety of topics concerning the farm environment. Aspects of farming such as: cereals, oilseeds, grassland or vegetable production are covered as are environmental features such as ponds, hedges, walls and ditches. There are also boards explaining where and why the public should and should not walk. Finally there are boards that give the farm name and maps. The idea is that farmers choose a selection of A4 boards that are most pertinent to their farm and glue them to a larger board.
Anyone interested in a brochure about this project can ring LEAF on 02476 413911 or go to the web site www.leafuk.org .. It will also be featured on the LEAF stand at the summer shows.
Educating the public about agriculture and the countryside is a tough challenge. The “All on Board “ project helps the farmer meet that challenge by creating a tool for the job. If the tool is put into the right hands it will become a job well done. Hopefully those hands will be yours.