Free farm walks
Free farm walks organised by ADAS, on behalf of the Rural Development Service, will be held across Shropshire this autumn to demonstrate to farmers the benefits available to them through Environmental Stewardship.
The scheme, launched by Defra in March 2005, enables every farmer in England to secure regular payments for undertaking simple to manage environmental protection and enhancement work on their land.
So far 380,000ha of agricultural land is currently under Environmental Stewardship in the West Midlands.
"The aim of the events in Shropshire and the rest of the West Midlands is to promote Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) to farmers and to show them what features on the farm are eligible for points and therefore payment," advises Alex Blair, lead deliverer for ADAS in the West Midlands.
"We will be offering them guidance and suggesting practical ways to manage their land to comply with ELS rules and provide the greatest environmental benefit."
The venue for the first farm walk tomorrow is on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
This 97ha mixed farm is already in Environmental Stewardship and supports a 100 cow dairy herd plus followers and has in place a number of options including field boundaries, buffer strips and wildlife mixtures.
On Friday there will be a farm walk at Styche, near Market Drayton, starting at 10.30am.
This takes place on a 170ha mixed farm that has already joined ELS and where the majority of cereals are used in the cereal beef enterprise.
The farm has several habitats of interest including watercourses, woodland and wildlife mixtures.
The final walk takes place on September 26, at Stanton Lacy, Ludlow, when farmers can visit a 140ha arable farm that has won awards for conservation work.
Numbers on the farm walks will be limited so farmers must reserve a place in advance by emailing conservation@adas.co.uk with details of name, full postal address and holding number.
Alternatively telephone Mandy Jones at the event booking line on (01954) 268301.
Further farm walks and events are being planned for later in the year.
To register email conservation@adas.co.uk or contact the event hotline.
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