Have you ever meet someone for the first time and just start talking as if you have known them for years? At a party, social evening or down on the farm? That is what exactly happened when I met Charlie Moores of Talking Naturally down on a farm in the Cambridgeshire Fens, when I was fortunate enough to spend a day with him discussing farm wildlife.
Charlie got to chat to many farmers I work with and interviewed both Michael Sly and Dick Johnson who farm high grade agricultural land in the Fens. I enjoyed explaining the habitats that had been created on these farms and we found enough time to visit not just the Cambridgeshire Fens but just as light was failing the Suffolk Brecks too.
We saw Skylark plots, wild bird seed mixtures and nectar flower mixtures, all habitats producing the goods for farm wildlife, evidenced by the numbers of farmland birds we observed, but most importantly we got to chat to the farmers too.
Apart from the results in terms of bird numbers increases as a direct of these farmers’ efforts, one thing remains consistent – these 'Nature Friendly Farmers' are absolutely committed to producing more wildlife....but that costs money, agri-environment money - but it seems that is one way of efficiently spending public funds.
See what you think by listening here