Blogs

For the past decade the Allerton Project has worked alongside Syngenta to deliver a valuable long-term look at the realities behind the transition from ‘conventional’ farming practices within a combinable cropping system to a more ‘conservation’ and ‘regenerative’ approach.

After 18 months in which the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) - Defra’s flagship mechanism to help farmers deliver the food and nature outcomes on which this nation depends - was closed, farmers had less than six hours to submit their applications for 3-year periods of funding before the door was once again slammed shut.

At this year’s annual Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) Awards, the Allerton Project was delighted to receive special commendation in the inaugural ‘Water Quality Farmer of the Year’ award, sponsored by Anglian Water, Portsmouth Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water and Wessex Water.

Species such as pheasants, red-legged partridges, red grouse and grey partridges are particularly vulnerable to changing weather patterns, with heat and reduced rainfall affecting habitat quality, food availability, breeding success and overall condition.

As a placement student joining the Allerton Project's research team, I have quickly discovered that there is far more happening here than first meets the eye.

You might have seen recent reports about the release of captive-reared Turtle Doves into the countryside as part of efforts to help reverse the decline of one of Britain's most threatened farmland birds. While everyone involved shares the same goal of restoring Turtle Dove populations, the key question is whether releasing captive-reared birds is the most effective and scientifically justified approach at this stage. 

The GWCT will be submitting an independent, very thorough and very detailed response, which will include the most comprehensive list of peer-reviewed scientific evidence, research reports and papers. However, there is a real need for shoots, shoot owners, shoot managers and gamekeepers to respond to this Call for Evidence to provide data and evidence that the GWCT does not hold.

After 18 months in which the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) – Defra’s flagship mechanism to help farmers deliver the food and nature outcomes on which this nation depends – was closed, farmers had less than six hours to submit their applications for three-year periods of funding before the door was once again slammed shut.

The first ever IGS was held in Inverness in 1978, when the group was originally sponsored by the World Pheasant Association. This this association was eventually transitioned to the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1993. It was the second meeting in Norway, with a 36-year gap since the last meeting in 1990.

The Deveron, Bogie & Isla Rivers Charitable Trust and partners are developing a new farmer cluster in the King Edward Burn catchment in north Aberdeenshire near Banff. Following on from a successful farmer cluster workshop held in Turriff in February, the project will bring farmers together to share knowledge, access advice and funding opportunities, and take practical steps to build more resilient and sustainable farms.