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Know How / Wildlife

News for farmers on how wildlife can have an impact on farms, both positively and negatively. See how to improve biodiversity on your farm to encourage pollinators and farmland birds. Find out about the developments in the rewilding debate and on releasing animals, such as lynx into the countryside.

Advice and tips

ARABLE

Tips on achieving healthy hedgerows on farm

Hedges are a defining feature of our countryside and one of the best habitats for wildlife on any farm.  Far more than being a boundary, they also support farm business…

ARABLE

How 'mega-cluster' project benefits farming and nature

A project linking farmers and private investors across a 12,500ha area of Sussex is aiming to support nature recovery and food production on a landscape scale.  The Weald to Waves…

ARABLE

How to restore 'forgotten' farm ponds for wildlife

As many as two-thirds of farmland ponds in England and Wales have been lost though drainage and in-filling, while those that remain are often shaded and tree-covered and do very…

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Case studies

ENVIRONMENT

Award-winner shows ploughing can go alongside sustainability

Cambridgeshire farmer David Felce has been named this year’s winner of the BASF Rawcliffe Bridge Sustainability Award, for his focus on promoting biodiversity. David, who farms with his wife Hayley…

LIVESTOCK

How rotational hedge management is helping store more carbon

Hedgerows managed on a 12- to 15-year laying rotation store six times more carbon than those flailed annually, studies on a Cornish beef farm have shown. Overall carbon emissions at…

BIODIVERSITY

Wild grey partridge project promotes biodiversity and profit

A decade-long wild grey partridge project establishing cover crop field margins at a Scottish farming estate has proved an effective way to promote biodiversity and reap an economic return. Balgonie…

COVER CROPS

Cover crop trial reveals impact of grazing on nitrates

Since winning the title of Farmers Weekly Environmental Farmers of the Year, Emma and James Loder-Symonds have been busy trialling the impact of grazing cover crops. The cover crop trial…

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Community

Quiz: Can you spot 6 common farmland birds?

This Saturday sees the start of the Big Farmland Bird Count (6-14 February) and farmers are being encouraged to go out and tally up the species on their farms. The…

Big farmland bird count: how you can make a difference

Farming has changed the landscape of the UK and the way wildlife interacts with it massively since the Second World War. Before the 1940s weeds largely grew uninhibited from hedgerows…

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Insights

BIODIVERSITY

What bioacoustics means for farm habitats and biodiversity

Using sensors and smart listening technology to understand more about on-farm habitats and the biodiversity they support is coming to a field near you. Known as bioacoustics, it combines biology…

ARABLE

Getting the most from on-farm ponds for wildlife

Often one of the most neglected on-farm habitats, ponds can really have an impact on wildlife considering the small area they occupy. Providing they remain unpolluted, ponds are refuges for…

ARABLE

How cultivated margins help rare plants and biodiversity

Cultivated margins, or areas of fields that are cultivated annually, but not drilled, are one of the best ways of encouraging rare arable plants and the wildlife that depends on…

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Why trees in hedges improve arable farm landscapes

Trees in hedges help with habitat provision and carbon storage, bringing diversity and resilience to the farmed landscape, while providing continuity when hedges are being managed. For farmers and growers…

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News

CRIME

Rural crime warning as game shooting season starts

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary has urged landowners and gamekeepers to be vigilant to rural crime as the game shooting season gets under way. Typically running between September…

NEWS

Lynx reintroduction gains support but farmers remain wary

A recent survey by the Missing Lynx Project suggests that many residents in Northumberland potentially support the reintroduction of lynx to the area. The idea of bringing back this native…

WILDLIFE

AI monitoring technology helps protect curlew in Wales

Conservation work to detect and protect curlew and other ground-nesting birds in Wales have been given a helping hand by new AI monitoring technology. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust…

ENVIRONMENT

Farmland bird count shows success of farmer-led conservation

The results of the 2025 Big Farmland Bird Count show some red- and amber-listed species on the rise, emphasising the success of farmer-led agri-environmental schemes. The encouraging figures make a…

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Video

ARABLE

Video: Why cows and trees are part of Essex arable business

George Young is making big changes to his arable business with nature at its heart. Read the full report and watch the videos for more detail on his tree planting…

ARABLE

Video: Grower reacts to planned ban for chlorothalonil

As a conventional farmer, David Butler is trying to find the right balance between productive agriculture and looking after wildlife on his farm. A fourth-generation farmer, Mr Butler farms East…

SHEEP

Row erupts over calls for raven cull to protect sheep

An online petition launched by farmers calling for greater control of ravens on farmland to protect newborn lambs and calves is gaining momentum. Britain’s largest species of crow has been…

Video: Birds found nesting in tractor engine

Grass-cutting at a nature reserve has been put on hold after birds were found nesting in the engine of a tractor. A pair of pied wagtails and their four chicks…

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