大象传媒

Baldrence Farm just north of Easingwold is a beautiful, tranquil spot, on the edge of the Vale of York, looking out towards the Hambleton Hills - it's perfect.

Andrew Corner is a lucky man to live and farm in this part of North Yorkshire, but he works hard to make sure it stays like that.

His farm is quite small as farms go, at 160 acres with a mixture of livestock and arable. He has 200 sheep and grows spring barley and forage maize for livestock feeding.

Berries for the birds.

The main reason Baldrence Farm is so idyllic is the abundance of hedgerows, trees and water courses, which all make wonderful natural habitats for wildilfe.

After WW2, farmers were encouraged to farm intensively in order to produce food to feed the nation. Much of the country's wildlife went into decline simply because there was nowhere for it to live.

Things have changed now as Andrew explains; "farmers in the last ten years or so have been actively encouraged to go into various schemes, such as the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, through which farmers are paid grants to maintian habitats."

In the nine years since Andrew joined the Countryside Stewardship Scheme he's done lots of work to encourage wildlife; "we've put in six metre margins round all the fields and water courses, and a two metre margin round every hedgerow."

The margins around the hedgerows.

The hedgerows themselves are only cut every three years, and only in February or March. this along with the two metre margins gives wildlife a chance to become established and for the hedges to bear fruit every year so the birds have ample time over the winter to harvest the berries.

An RSPB survey three years ago found around 45 different species of birds on the farm including kingfishers and herons. There was a massive increase in some species, especially the tree sparrow and English partridge. Barn Owls are also on the increase and this is almost certainly due to the numbers of harvest and field mice.

Andrew has done plenty more to help wildlife:

"We've also created a pond, about a third of an acre with various levels to it so there's plenty of space for the birds to wade and forage in the muddier parts. The deeper central part of the pond, which retains its water all year is ideal for birds nesting in the reeds such as moorhens and ducks.

The pond is a haven for wildlife.

"Also, with help from the Countryside Stewardship Scheme we've planted 13,000 new hedge plants around the farm, creating three complete new hedges and other hedges have been gapped up and made into nice, continuous hedgerows.

"All the margins are planted with native species of grass such as Cocks Foot, Meadow Fescue and Timothy. There's an acre of woodland on the farm and we've replanted that with native trees such as Oak, Ash and Silver Birch.

Andrew says the grants from the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and the advice given by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) have been a good thing for his farm and well worth it.

So the answer to the question is yes - farmers can produce food successfully and still create habitats for wildlife on their land.