FARMER FOCUS: Bird project is really worthwhile

I am pleased to report that for the second year running our single farm payment has been paid in a timely fashion. This is very welcome having endured severe delays in some past years and I hope that the RPA are as speedy with everyone else.
With potatoes and the last sugar beet just about lifted, we are busy drilling the last winter wheat and starting on the autumn-sown alternative wheat, mainly KWS Willow. Some will be left for spring drilling, but where conditions are good, we will drill in December.
I have written in the past about the work done by the Fens adventurers group in awarding RDPE grants in the Fenland area. I have been very involved from the start and like several others have put a lot of time and effort into the project. As it draws to a close, it is pleasing to see that we have awarded over £2.5m to 66 projects of varying sizes, with many other businesses and individuals benefiting.
It has also been a learning curve, but with efficient organisation from the management team we have done well, and I hope we have a useful successor scheme to carry on this work by 2015.
I have had a modest involvement this year with the Thorney farmland bird-friendly zone. This is an RSPB initiative in partnership with local farmers in an area surrounding the village of Thorney, and although my involvement has been limited, I have been pleased to support the project.
It has gone very well, with members learning more about wildlife-friendly farming, and also engaging well with the local community. More than 2,600 people have met properly with the members on farm walks and events, with eight local schools also involved. The messages back from the people that the group have met have been positive and I would like to congratulate and thank all those involved.
As this is my last piece for the year, I would like to wish everyone season’s greetings and a healthy and prosperous new year.
Philip Bradshaw grows cereals, sugar beet and potatoes on 300ha of fenland and other soil types at Flegcroft Farm, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire