field margin, sampsons field, ADAS Boxworth, Cambridgeshire

This forum was organised by the British Crop Protection Council with financial support from the Crop Protection Association and the Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

The objective of the meeting was to explore ways in which arable farmers facing real financial hardship can incorporate even more biodiversity into their planning, so that the farm business becomes more sustainable and a range of plants and animals continue to flourish.

In the last thirty years arable farming has seen big declines in profitability. At the same time there has been a significant decline in the populations of several species of farmland birds and increased pressure from the Government and the public to manage biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Invited speakers reviewed why biodiversity is important and the ways in which biodiversity on arable farms can be managed effectively. The presentation topics included farming methods, ecological research and policy implications. The audience was encouraged to discuss each paper and to take part in a discussion session at the end of the conference.

This paper is a summary of a Discussion Forum chaired by Bob Froud-Williams and organised by the British Crop Protection Council. The Forum was held at IACR-Rothamsted, Harpenden, Hertfordshire on Tuesday January 29th 2002..

Summary of key points

The importance of biodiversity

  • The precise links between the biodiversity and the functioning of complex biological systems is poorly understood. It is rarely known which species or communities are the most important in terms of ecological and environmental benefits.
  • The approach to managing diversity is based on value judgements; there is generally no definite validated right answer.
  • Most Biodiversity Action Plans focus on the increasing the abundance of rare and specialised species and communities.

Farming and biodiversity

  • Farming needs to balance the needs for biodiversity with the requirements for the economic production of quality food.
  • In the farmland landscape, most biodiversity occurs in the margins rather than the cropped areas.
  • A range of margin management approaches has been developed, based on ecological research, that can improve biodiversity.
  • The way the cropped area is managed is also important and an approach for biodiversity is required that encompasses the whole farm. Block cropping and large fields reduce biodiversity but small fields and crop mosaics are costly.
  • Farm Biodiversity Action Plans need to reflect the circumstances of the individual farm and its surrounding area.
  • Moves towards bigger farms and the expansion of contract farming could bring additional impacts on biodiversity.

Policy approaches

  • There are a number of UK obligations to manage biodiversity that stem from government commitments made following the Earth Summit in 1992 and various European directives.
  • To date, the main focus has been on detailed schemes for relatively small areas. There is a need for "broader shallower" schemes that can involve much greater numbers of farmers and that are cheaper and easier to administer.
  • Paying for such schemes would require increased "modulation" and co-finance from the Treasury.
  • It is important to reach those farmers that have had no contact or involvement with current biodiversity initiatives or actions (estimated at a minimum of 20%). It is important that farmers can readily understand and relate to the biodiversity schemes proposed, simplicity is key.
Managing arable farms to improve biodiversity report 202.33 KB

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