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Flying the flag for nature-friendly farming at Groundswell regenerative agriculture festival
A special report from RSPB farming experts Verity Winn and Kathryn MacLeod.
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Last week, thousands of people gathered at Lannock Manor Farm in North Hertfordshire to attend Groundswell – the regenerative agriculture festival which has become a mainstay of the farming calendar. Across two days, the RSPB team attended the festival to join in the exchange of knowledge, ideas and vision for a more sustainable, resilient and nature-friendly future for farming.
Nature-friendly farming vital for nature’s recovery
With 67% of England farmed, a transition to more nature-friendly farming is the greatest opportunity we have to recover nature and mitigate the impacts of climate change. After all, without pollinators, healthy soils and a stable climate, there is no food.
The RSPB also has a unique role in farming, collaborating with hundreds of farmers and farming organisations across the UK. We manage our own arable farm in Cambridgeshire and much of our nature reserve network is actively farmed. Through doing, advising, scientific research, and policy influence, we are committed to supporting farming that works for nature.
That’s why team RSPB has been at Groundswell, alongside other Farm Wildlife organisations, to showcase how farmers can incorporate 10% habitat for wildlife (the key threshold for recovering nature on farms) into their management alongside regenerative principles.
Supporting farmers with nature-positive advice is key’’ – Kathryn MacLoed, RSPB Agricutlural Advice Project Manager'
Access to good-quality advice is a key part of the nature-friendly farming jigsaw. Groundswell and many of the other agriculture shows attended by the RSPB over the summer offer a brilliant opportunity to share ideas and experience through conversation and demonstration. It’s a chance to hear from farmers about their own approaches to nature-friendly farming, as well as to offer advice and support through our own projects and initiatives.
Delivering high quality nature-friendly farming
At Groundswell this year, our stand focussed on ‘Helping farmers to deliver high quality nature-friendly farming'. We celebrated 25 years of Hope Farm, our arable farm in Cambridgeshire, and all it has taught us about the challenges and rewards of nature-friendly farming.
Our work at Hope Farm also demonstrates the practical implementation of the Six Key Actions that farmers can take for wildlife developed by the Farm Wildlife partnership, of which the RSPB is a founding member. These actions are also embodied by our Fair to Nature certification scheme, and all form an important part of the advice and support we are able to offer.
Our farmland bird projects were showcased through the promotion of the Volunteer Monitoring of Farm Wildlife project which matches farmers with trained volunteers to survey birds on the farm. Meanwhile, our Operation Turtle Dove team showcased our species-focussed projects and took the opportunity to engage with and recruit more farmers to deliver measures supporting the recovery of Turtle Doves.
As well as welcoming visitors to the RSPB stands, we led an early morning bird walk each morning and a ‘habitat safari’. These gave plenty of opportunities to both spot wildlife and explore the importance of high-quality habitat management. We shared tips on how to achieve the best outcomes for wildlife with the many farmers who chose to join us.
We also went along to sessions hosted by others, including a discussion on our research and the importance of using evidence to inform future planning, decision-making and support for regenerative approaches.
Strong support from farmers and RSPB supporters
Nature-friendly farming has a vital role to play in nature’s recovery. This is why our policy and advocacy work is focussed on ensuring government policy supports the transition to making nature-friendly farming becoming standard.
As England has transitioned away from the European Common Agricultural Policy, domestic policy has revolved around getting the design of new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) right, so they support ambitious nature-friendly farming and are adequately funded.
Recently we breathed a sign of relief when, at the Government Spending Review, the Chancellor committed to spending £2 billion each year on ELMs to 2029 – the largest ever budget for agri-environment schemes in this country, and increasingly a crucial funding pot for delivering public goods like clean water, healthy soils, and habitat for farmland birds.
Our petition to the UK Government to maintain and grow this funding reached over 100,000 signatures, sending a strong signal about the importance of nature to farming’s future. A huge thank you to the thousands of people who added their voices to this call, including farmers, NGOs, RSPB members, supporters, campaigners and many more.
Ensuring nature’s recovery
‘’Looking to the future, it is important Government’s investment is spent well.‘’ - Verity Winn, RSPB Senior Policy Offer (Agriculture)
Looking to the future, it’s important that the UK Government’s investment is spent well. We know we need approximately £3 billion invested in nature-friendly farming each year to meet our nature and climate targets. With just £2 billion committed, it’s important that a substantial proportion is used to fund vital actions for nature, including scaling up the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme . This would help us to meet national targets to halt the loss of species abundance, as well as give those doing the most for nature a robust level of support.
This means ramping up action to restore carbon-storing peatlands and species-rich grasslands, and creating habitats for threatened species like Curlews. Paired with a more focussed Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, with elements of guided choice, this could be the recipe for nature’s recovery on farmland.
Thank you
This year’s festival highlighted once again the passion that exists in the farming community and beyond for a more resilient, nature-friendly future for the sector. If you stopped by our stand or came to one of our events, thank you for coming to talk to us. Working together, farmers, conservationists and the UK Government can bring this positive vision for the future to life.
