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Welsh farm is the first winner of UK wildlife award

Last modified: 13 October 2008

Peter Davies
Welsh winner of first national farming award for wildlife conservation. Peter Davies - BBC Countryfile

A Welsh farmer says he is chuffed to bits after winning the first national farming award for wildlife conservation.

Peter Davies, who manages more than 850 stunning acres of Welsh coastline and clifftops, won 36 per cent of the vote in a competition run by the RSPB and Countryfile Magazine.

Mr Davies’ organic farm in the Vale of Glamorgan is a haven for the rare chough, a sociable and entertaining member of the crow family, for migrating, swallows, hundreds of seed-eating finches, and rare wild flowers.

He was one of four finalists shortlisted for the first Nature of Farming Award, a competition backed by the organisations Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife. Mr Davies will be presented with his trophy and £1,000 prize money at a special event in January.

Mr Davies said: “I am delighted to have won the inaugural Nature of Farming Award and am particularly proud of the successful wildlife management here at Slade Farm. I am now hoping to promote the meat produced by the business as being produced in a wildlife-friendly way.”

Mr Davies and his family have run Slade Farm for more than 30 years and switched to organic farming in 2000. Orchids now thrive on his land, as do capering brown hares, furtive barn owls and colourful goldfinches, which are among our most musical avian songsters.

Sheep were introduced to the farm to improve the land for choughs, which had been absent from Glamorgan for more than 100 years.

The grazing initiative has been hugely successful and in the last three years, seven young choughs have fledged from Mr Davies’ land. On Glamorgan’s coasts today, there’s a fair chance of seeing groups of choughs wheeling in the air.

Food in winter and spring, and safe and plentiful nesting sites are the most important factors in wildlife success or failure. Skylarks, lapwings, yellowhammers and corn buntings are among popular farmland birds to have suffered serious declines in the last 40 years.

Many farmers have joined green farming schemes and are putting in place simple measures to help these birds and other wildlife.

The three runners-up in the competition were Henry Edmunds from Wiltshire, Patrick Bowden-Smith from Fife and Isle of Wight farmer, Michael Poland. More than 300 farmers entered with the final shortlist of four chosen from eight regional winners.

The competition was established to reward farmers for managing their land to help wildlife. The RSPB and its partners are planning to run the event for many years to come.

Dr Darren Moorcroft, Head of Countryside Management at the RSPB, said: “Peter should be proud to be the public's first choice given the strength of the competition.

“All the finalists are showcasing the best farming practices. An eye for detail in both food production and help for wildlife means everything that depends on their land is benefiting. We hope other farmers will be inspired to follow Peter's lead.”

Dr Martin Warren, Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation, said: “Farmers are vital to conserve butterflies and other wildlife. Mr Davies provides a wonderful example of how to combine good farming practice and practical conservation. “

Victoria Chester, Chief Executive of Plantlife, said: “Peter Davies has made environmental management a core farming activity at Slade Farm. His sensitive maintenance of the coastal limestone has resulted in thriving populations of nationally rare wild flowers and he is ably demonstrating that commercial agriculture can go hand in hand with conservation. Our congratulations go to him!”

Cavan Scott, Editor of Countryfile Magazine, said: “Mr Davies’ farm is a fantastic example of the role farmers play in managing our countryside and its wildlife. Above all, it proves that conservation work and profitable farming aren’t mutually exclusive goals.”