Blog Archives

Managing hedgerows for pollinators

October 15, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

In some farm landscapes, hedgerows are important for not only providing wildlife habitats, but also for linking up habitats. Here, entomologist, Steven Falk, looks at how best to manage hedgerows for pollinators. It’s easy to be dismissive of insects yet…

Is there colour in your arable margins?

August 26, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Field margins are often the lowest yielding area of a field so inputs here may not be delivering positive results. But what about your financial margins? Are you chasing yields in these poorer areas? If so, your margins may well…

Is there colour in your grass margins?

August 19, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Field margins are often the lowest yielding areas of a field so inputs here may not be delivering positive results. But what about your financial margins? Are you chasing yields in these poorer areas? If so, your margins may well…

Tagged with: field margins livestock farms wildflowers wildlife

Join the 2020 Big Butterfly Count!

July 16, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Chris Corrigan, Policy Coordinator at Butterfly Conservation, is calling all wildlife-friendly farmers to join the 2020 Big Butterfly Count! Butterflies are one of the most obvious and well-loved sights of the spring and summer months. Not only are they beautiful…

Tagged with: Big Butterfly Count Butterfly Conservation nature-friendly farmers

Bees Needs Week

July 15, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

The 13th – 17th July is Bees Needs Week, a week devoted to promoting the needs of bees and other insects who act as essential pollinators of our food crops. This annual event is organised by Defra and the Bumblebee…

The Plight of the Curlew

July 2, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

The curlew is probably one of the most recognisable UK birds, certainly away from those that share our gardens. Even if you have not been fortunate enough to encounter this wader, or even if the image of the impossibly long…

Tagged with: curlew farming Glenwherry habitats

The Barn Owl – a silent hunter

June 12, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Fair to Nature Farm Conservation Adviser, Kevin Rylands, looks at how farmers and landowners can help the barn owl… Gliding silently across pastures at dusk, barn owls are one of the most iconic sights in our countryside. You never forget…

Tagged with: barn owls Fair to nature habitat nestbox

Why nature is good for business

May 28, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

The Nature Friendly Farming Network is a rapidly growing group of farmers who have come together to champion a way of farming that is sustainable and good for wildlife. Their aim is to raise awareness of nature friendly farming, share…

Tagged with: business Nature Friendly Farming Network NFFN policy sustainability

Flower Power!

May 18, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Farm Manager of the RSPB’s Hope Farm, Georgie Bray sees great benefits in encouraging a range of flower-rich habitats on farmland, particularly as they can help with natural pest control… Flowers are a fundamental part of a sustainable farming system.…

Tagged with: Countryside Stewardship Hope Farm pest control pollinators wildflowers

No Mow May

May 4, 2020 FTNAdmin — No Comments

Shelley Abbott, Fair to Nature Facilitator, is taking part in No Mow May…. It’s May! While many of us have had to put our normal lives on pause, the natural world is continuing to spring into life. Birds are nesting…

Tagged with: #NoMowMay bees gardens pollinators wildflowers