Browse by Tags

Read the latest about our views on CAP reform on Martin's blog here

Sorry, hardly an original pun I know! I was lucky enough to be a part of the March of the Beekeepers event in London today. We got a great turnout - beekeepers, gardeners and others, many in fantastically creative costumes. I'm not going to try to guess numbers but we certainly made a big impact...

The last few months have seen a flurry of activity on CAP reform and the next few months should see the deal sealed. But what has actually happened and what are the prospects for a ‘greener’ policy? March was a particularly busy month. Almost 18 months after the European Commission released...

On Wednesday a new report was launched at the NFU conference which calls for faster deregulation in the farming and food processing sector to boost competitiveness and cut costs. The timing of this is interesting given the recent horsemeat scandal. Among other things the report recommends publicly...

Check out Martin Harper's blog today to read our thoughts on the NFU's Fair Deal for Farmers.

To hear our latest views on neonicotinoids - and our reasons - check out Martin Harper's blog today . Photo credit: Bumble bee Bombus terrestris, pollenating oil seed rape flowers - Richard Revels (rspb-images.com)

Then check our Martin Harper's blog today . And if you haven't called for David Cameron to vote for nature yet - do it now here . There's still time to make a difference.

David Cameron will in Brussels for the next 2 days (7-8 Feb), at the EU Budget summit. What is decided there will have huge impact on farmers, wildlife, and our countryside. The budget for agri-environment schemes for the next 7 years is under discussion – but if the wrong decisions are made...

What do you get if you mix an enthusiastic and dedicated bunch of farmers, volunteers and RSPB staff and stick them in front of an international audience from across the agriculture sector for a day? Lots of interesting discussions, real insight to the value of our farmland conservation work and plenty...

Earlier this year Farmers Guardian reported the results of a survey showing that almost 9 out of 10 farmers agree that environmental management and wildlife conservation are important parts of their farm management. You won’t be surprised that it’s something we whole-heartedly agree with...

Fancy filling your belly for free? If like me you are a frugal type and not easily embarrassed, this is the time of year to scour Fen roadsides. Lorries piled to the brim with spuds, onions and carrots are trundling back and forth as fast as they can go from the field to the packing plant. You can...

The Nature of Farming Award Tour of the best entries in the East this year is now in full swing- starting last week with RSPB Eastern England Regional Director, Paul Forecast presenting the Award to the Regional Winner... read about the winner and the other events in the tour below- and then why not...

The UK Government is currently consulting on its National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and here’s why I think everyone should respond... For some farmers they are a last resort, used very occasionally when all else has failed; but probably for most they are a routine part...

By Vicki Swales, Head of Land Use Policy, RSPB Scotland Does Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in Scotland, want the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to promote greener farming? Or does he need some gentle persuading? On past performance, we think the...

Well now you can! Visit Defra’s new Green Food Project discussion forum and let them know what you think on topics including waste, diet, the role of new technology and how we should manage our land to produce a healthy environment as well as food. In the Natural Environment White Paper , the...

Don’t you find that the world always seems better when you’re out in the fresh air, enjoying the steady arrival of spring? We outdoor types on the Eastern England farmland advisory team certainly think so. Looking at various winged things with RSPB and Buglife farmland bods ...

Recently I was fortunate enough to meet with Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff and his team along with my colleagues to discuss the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the current reform proposals and the need for a fairer CAP for wildlife, farmers and the EU tax payer. We had a wide...

Many of you will have followed the NFU annual conference last week and seen the Government’s long-awaited response to the Farming Regulation Task Force, chaired by Richard MacDonald. In it, the Government accepted most of the panel’s 220 recommendations, which aim to cut red tape in the agriculture...

Blog post by: Richard Winspear, Senior Agriculture Advisor RSPB I had a great couple of days at the Oxford Farming Conference. We hosted a breakfast fringe meeting to celebrate the winners of the Nature of Farming Awards 2011 and launched the first Farmland Bird Friendly Zone. Martin Harper, our new...

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...

The latest UK Wild Bird Indicators, published by Defra, the RSPB and the BTO, were released yesterday. The data covers farmland, woodland, wetland and sea birds, and worryingly shows turtle dove populations fell 21 percent between 2009 and 2010. It's not a straightforward issue - as migratory...

Back in the Wilkinson years, before Batty turned England Captain, before Kamara turned Sky pundit, and before Eric turned Red, I was a Leeds fan. Me and Dad had season tickets in the East Stand and never missed a home game. Eventually the endless 0-0 draws under George Graham put me off football altogether...

RSPB Scotland warns the countryside will suffer after yesterday's announcement that the Scottish Government's Spending Review will cut a further £10m from agri-environment budgets. Read what Stuart Housden, RSPB Scotland Director had to say here ...

Welcome to my office. I reckon it’s one of the biggest in the UK. Vaguely speaking, the ‘walls’ are the A14 to the south, the Cambridgeshire border to the west, the start of the sandy Brecks to the east, and to the North... Well I haven’t quite decided but it’s somewhere...

Over the summer months, the RSPB has met with many MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) to discuss topics as varied as seabird by-catch from fishing fleets to biodiversity in the UK’s overseas territories. For two MEPs in July, the focus of our meetings was to demonstrate how farming and...