Growing good crops is the first priority
Growing good crops is the first priority
AS an Arable Stewardship scheme pilot, Mr Wombwell says the emphasis on improving wildlife habitats need not conflict with growing good crops.
"My original interest was stirred about 10 years ago when the RSPB identified part of our farm as one of the last strongholds of the stone curlew and an important lapwing breeding site."
His wife Sian, of Green Globe Consultancy, monitors grey partridge populations for the Game Conservancy.
Well before the scheme was introduced, he had planted several new hedges and a spinney and dug two new ponds. "We also have 20m set-aside strips with low maintenance grass and wildflowers on some headlands.
"We aim to farm as intensively as we can, but often on the margins you are better off doing something different.
"I also believe that some farmers are perhaps too tidy-minded. There really isnt any need to cut hedges every year.
"We are in our fourth year of stewardship. The figures work out at the moment, but any reduction in payments and I might have to think again."
Mr Wombwell has two main criticisms of the current scheme. "Official wildlife monitoring seems to have stopped.
"And asking farmers to leave stubbles over-winter is a complete waste of time unless they are also encouraged to use reduced herbicide programmes. Most modern stubbles are too clean to be much use to birds."