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Farmland birds have not had the smoothest ride in recent decades. Populations of skylarks, yellowhammers, lapwings and grey partridges have all been declining for several years. But the fight back may be starting in a tiny far flung corner of the country where a small brown and yellow bird is clawing...

It’s fair to say that we, as conservationists, have sometimes had a tricky relationship with rural landowners. In the past if there has been an argument about wildlife in the British countryside, the RSPB and the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) were often to be found on opposite...

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in a cold muddy field in Bedfordshire this week. Why? Well I did ask myself that a couple of times as I rubbed my frozen hands. But then a large flock of corn buntings would take off from amongst the stubble and dart nervously towards the cover of trees and...

Farmers, it is often noted, are early risers. But as well as getting up at the crack of dawn to plough their fields, it seems they also start the new year early - before everyone else has even finished the leftover Christmas pud in fact. Yesterday I returned from the three day Oxford Farming Conference...

Yesterday the great and the good of the farming industry packed into a chilly barn on the border of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to get very enthusiastic about saving wildlife. There was enthusiastic talk of changing the way our countryside is farmed to help protect birds, and admissions from...

British farmers should not expect a future free from regulation if they are going to tackle food security and environmental challenges, according to RSPB conservation director Mark Avery. This remark was made in response to a question from a farmer in the audience who was keen to see regulations...

The ever controversial issue of GM food has reared its head again in the news this week. The papers have responded to a report from the Food Standards Agency and Defra with stories about the supermarkets ending their GM ban and calls for a proper national debate on the issue . The arguments...

So what are you having for dinner tonight? Something adventurous from Jamie Oliver’s latest bestselling cookbook? A quick and easy supermarket frozen meal? Or maybe it’s fish and chips night in your house this evening. Whatever you’re eating there’s one thing you can be...