Thursday, 31
Single Payment Scheme

Under the Single Payment Scheme I have now dutifully completed my Cross Compliance Soil Protection Review. The booklet supplied by Defra and its accompanying glossy guide weigh in at 380 grammes which suggests that at least 50 tonnes of paper has been despatched around the countryside to Britain’s farmers. Completing the booklet will have consumed hundreds of thousands of man hours and doubtless involved the odd consultancy bill. Lets hope all this effort hasn’t prevented the application of good practice that would have otherwise been undertaken.

Thursday, 24
Set-aside

Farmers are bound by so many absurd rules and regulations these days that its hard to know where to start when asked for an example. But one that is topical concerns set-aside. The rules state that farmers must top their set-aside land between 15th July and 15th August to prevent it from having any kind of agricultural value. A quick wander through almost any permanent set-aside will reveal all sorts of flowering plants that in July and August are buzzing with insect life. How completely mad therefore, that we are forced to destroy this habitat - just when it is at its most valuable.

Sunday, 20
Water Supplies

Three days ago the water companies announced that the worst of the drought was over - yesterday our borehole ran dry. Despite the recent heavy showers that have wetted the ponds, most water in the South of England is drawn from aquifers and these remain at dangerously low levels. Those that supply our borehole have now run dry three times in the last five years - prior to that we had had years of uninterrupted supply. This should be a warning sign. Increasing urban demand down the valley is draining the upper aquifers of the catchment area earlier and earlier, yet thousands of more new homes are planned. I am far from convinced that this is so called “sustainable development”.

Wednesday, 16
Butterfly conservation

Over the harvest period butterflies have been in the news with reports of marked species loss and decline. Statistics like these are always concerning but we need to be careful if the time data is drawn from many decades. What really matters is what is happening now. Changing agricultural practices (present tense) are blamed even though the "changing bit" that mattered occurred in the 1970's and 1980's. A decade or more back, farmers started managing land specifically for conservation; another sort of changing - albeit unnoticed. Often this was voluntary, sometimes through government schemes or as part of the CAP (set-aside for example), all of it resulting in habitats that should be beginning to help. So while the reported news on butterflies is poor, I am looking to the future. For us it means adding to previous ecological surveys and recording the species, their counts and locations. With accurate data we can better manage existing habitats and look to creating new.

Recent sightings include: