It must be a good 20 years now since I’ve not had to worry as to just how close I should get the drill to the hedge or the ditch.
Gone are the days of hearing the seed hopper scratch along the thorn as I took the outside pass of the headland. No longer do I watch sprayer booms wander perilously close to banks or brambles. Thanks to various introductions since the 1990s – be it set-aside or the original Countryside Stewardship scheme which became ELS – we’ve had uncultivated margins around our fields for decades now.
One thing I have noticed is this prolonged natural regeneration has made these areas form a ridge around the field which can encourage in-field ponding meaning we’ve had to put the odd extra drainage grip in. I don’t think this phenomenon is about soil erosion on the cultivated land but rather it’s a matter of a build-up of organic matter where the land is no longer cultivated. Having said that a thick fibrous mat around the edge of the field probably helps contain the field and its inputs in its rightful place.
The impact on all these margins on my farm business can be seen on the profit and loss account. Obviously on the debit side I’ve lost land. It’s shrunk the working part of the farm by several acres.
I’m also conscious that margins can harbour weeds, pests and diseases that in some instances can compromise the yield next to the margin. Grassweeds, overwintering aphids and rabbits all benefit from unfarmed margins which can deplete yields. Finally, here it should be noted unfarmed margins can attract quite large nasty vermin, most notably fly-tippers.
On the plus side I’m sure it’s helped me keep fertilisers and pesticides out of watercourses. I’m conscious here that just one metaldehyde pellet can contaminate several yards of watercourse.
And I’m convinced margins have helped me gain biodiversity on the farm. The hedges are less frequently cut and are bushier. My vole population is doing better as attested by the increased number of barn owl chicks we are ringing from the pole boxes.
The question for policy makers in Whitehall now is do we see a return on the retention of the conservation margin? With the demise of ELS, where thousands of farmers are leaving agri-environment schemes, there is now the chance that something similar could be brought back as we seize control of our own agricultural policy with Brexit. We could have a new broad and shallow scheme rolled out which could maintain old margin management. Then there’s the issue of greening a support payment through things like EFAs. That’s presuming of course we still have a support payment to green going forward.
There is much to discuss at the moment here. My hope is that in this discussion we hear the voice of the practitioner on the ground when it comes to the efficacy and design of future agri-environment measures. Too often in the past these conversations have been hijacked by the vested interests and agendas of the conservation lobby. Defra officials do need to get out onto farms to talk to farmers about what has worked in the past 20 years and what hasn’t. For me the conservation margin has been a success story, merits a place in future schemes and merits a place on my farm.
No, I’m not looking for my dog after its kennel got blown onto a telephone post in a high wind. It’s a barn owl nesting box. And I’d encourage as many farmers as possible to get their binoculars out, and join in the GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count that runs from 9-18 Feb.
Guy Smith grows 500ha of combinable crops on the north east Essex coast. @EssexPeasant
