FARMLAND
The Vision
The farmed
environment is the dominant land use in the Northamptonshire and as a result the
future of many species of plant and animal is inextricably linked to the way
farmland is managed. The Common Agricultural Policy will be reformed over the
coming years and opportunities may arise which will help to encourage wildlife
friendly farming. The vision for farmland must be to find ways of arresting the
declines of formerly widespread and common species, such as the skylark and the
brown hare.
The Habitats
There are now very few areas left in
Northamptonshire which are farmed in a traditional, extensive way. The vast
majority of farming is of a more intensive nature, producing a wide range of
crops and livestock. Habitat Plans have been produced for the following
farmland habitats.
·
Field
Margins and Beetle Banks
There is a
great deal of recent research which shows that many of our once common species
of bird, mammal and plant have undergone considerable declines as a result of
changes in agricultural practices. Many of the schemes promoted under the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Agri-Environment Policy and
the Rural Development Regulations are already leading the way in demonstrating
how, given the correct incentives, farming practices can be both
environmentally friendly and economically viable. The challenge for the future
is to work together to ensure such benefits become more widespread. The
production of these Action Plans offers farmers and landowners, along with the
environmental bodies, an opportunity to enter into constructive dialogue for
the benefit of agriculture and the environment.
General Actions
To implement the Habitat Plans and fulfil the
Vision the following action will need to be taken:
·
Encourage the provision of additional subsidies
for 'wildlife friendly farming'
·
Encourage the amendment of the set-aside
regulations to enable them to become more beneficial to wildlife
·
Lobby for land management schemes that
encourage the retention of winter stubble
·
The creation of wildlife headlands adjacent to
arable crops
·
The creation of a series of nature reserves for
“corn field annuals” to conserve this endangered group of plants
·
Appropriate management of existing hedgerows
·
The planting of new hedges using native species
·
The creation of buffer zones adjacent to rivers
·
The creation of new farm ponds
·
Appropriate management of existing farm ponds
and appropriate restoration of derelict ones
·
Marketing of food “produced in a wildlife
friendly manner”