Working together for sustainable farming
The next couple of months are a good time to catch up with jobs such as soil testing your fields and analysing manures, and with the price of fertiliser this year it is more important than ever to make sure that inputs are well managed. Decisions about how much nutrient application is needed should be based on accurate[…]
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is the first of Defra’s three new environmental land management schemes. It is being phased in and we recommend that farmers take up SFI in 2022 as a way of getting familiar with the scheme and its processes ahead of further expansion. There will be[…]
Leave one hedge on your farm uncut this season to increase the flowers and fruit available to farmland birds and pollinating insects. Tag 5 new hedgerow trees across the farm to encourage a new generation trees. Trees could be Oak, Willow, Field Maple, Holly or even an old hawthorn.
This summer has seen the completion of the second phase of the Mill Brook Project in Tattenhall, funded by Defra’s grant programme to deliver Natural Flood Management measures in the region, which aims to slow the flow of watercourses to reduce the frequency and severity of flooding in communities. The work was led by ELM Associates,[…]
As you are aware Direct Payments in England will be phased out from 2021 – 2027. Progressive reductions will be made to Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments from the 2021 scheme year, paid from 1 December 2021, and then to delinked payments when these replace BPS. The plan is to delink payments in 2024. All[…]
Claims for your countryside stewardship capital works can be submitted as you go along. Generally, only one claim is processed at once and they can take 6 weeks to pay so you may wish to group a few projects together before submitting a claim. Key points to consider are: Good photos – before, during[…]
There is lots of buzz and discussion around regenerative agriculture/sustainable farming/biodynamic systems. Whatever you want to call it, it is clear that we all need to try and farm in a more sustainable manner in order to increase biodiversity, improve water quality, protect our soils and store carbon whilst still producing enough[…]
Residents in Cheshire East seeking to create or restore wildlife ponds can now benefit from funding and assistance from their local authority. If you wish to excavate and fence your own pond you can receive up to £2,100. Alternatively, the scheme will liaise with Cheshire Wildlife Trust to excavate and fence your new pond, providing you[…]
