Farming for Nature Success
RSPB NI Partners Win Nature-Friendly Farmer of the Year Awards
Published: 5 November 2025
Topic: Farming for Nature Success: RSPB NI Partners Win Nature-Friendly Farmer of the Year Awards
Author: Christopher Curran
Last week, RSPB NI celebrated farming for nature success at the Farming Life Awards, where its farmer partners, Mark Sandford, Finnebrogue Farm, Downpatrick and John McAuley, Glendun, Co. Antrim were named joint Nature-Friendly Farmer of the Year.
The farmers were selected as they lead by example. Mark Sandford transformed Finnebrogue farm with wildlife habitats, tree planting and carbon sequestration while producing high-quality, 100% grass-fed produce. The McAuley’s established walking trails through the heathery hills of their farm in Glendun, while farming sympathetically for nature's recovery through tree planting, hedgerow management and utilising agri-environment schemes.
Their success was celebrated alongside RSPB NI Advisory team, and other farming partners at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. RSPB NI works in partnership with over 400 farmers, providing nature-friendly farming advice, and is calling for DAERA’s new Farming with Nature package to be robust, ambitious and well-resourced.
Claire Barnett, Area Manager for RSPB NI commented,
We are thrilled that our farmers, Mark and John won gold on the night, with Jack and Adam Kelly from Riverside Farm, Downpatrick also being Highly Commended. The competition in the category was strong, and all of the farmers shortlisted are a credit to the farming community. We are so thankful for the work they do on their farms to save nature. The sad fact is that nature is in trouble, we are at risk of losing some of our most iconic farmland birds, and it is only with help of our farmers, and effective support from DAERA that we can turn things around.
Sharon Thompson, RSPB NI’s Head of Policy and Advocacy, added,
In Northern Ireland, nature-friendly farming is essential for farmland wildlife and habitats – as over 75% of land here is used for agriculture. These awards highlight the benefits of farming with nature rather than against it – for farmers, wider society and wildlife. We need more farms and farmers to be nature-friendly to secure the long-term future of our countryside in Northern Ireland. She continued, In Northern Ireland, this positive approach to farming is under threat. Together with our farming partners, we have voiced our concerns and continue to raise the issue. The withdrawal of the Environmental Farming Scheme, which underpinned much of our work with farmers, without a fully functioning replacement that delivers for nature, has left many farmers in limbo. Over the next month, we will be shining a spotlight on the impact of our work this year with farming partners, to showcase what’s at stake and could be lost, alongside the opportunities, if positive action is taken – because our farmers, and nature, can’t wait.
Agri-environment schemes are the primary mechanism for addressing declines in farmland biodiversity in Northen Ireland, the UK and across Europe. Within an agri-environment scheme, farmers are financially incentivised to maintain and create habitats on their farm, whilst implementing nature-friendly farming practices. The Farming with Nature package needs to continue to deliver benefits for both nature and farmers.
RSPB NI is a charity that has been working in Northern Ireland for nearly 60 years, carrying out vital conservation efforts to protect nature here. To show your support, visit www.rspb.org.uk