Nature conservation on England’s farms has never been so important. While all biological measures are continuing to reflect drastic declines of almost all species, money is only available on a short term basis in a complex changing politic. Annual measures undertaken by farmers within cropped areas can only be a part of any solution. There remains the parallel challenge in rebuilding and extending primary habitats such as wild wood, wetlands and semi-natural grasslands where species richness and biomass is greatest. This becomes even more exciting if we embrace the dynamism and constancy of change within them driven by key-stone species. Such habitats take many years, even lifetimes, to create, and have no real chance of yielding an income to replace that lost in foregoing farm production. For most landowners and farmers such long term commitment is not financially viable without a clearer and much longer term subsidy system.
Cultural absurdity is no longer a joke It is not financially viable without a clearer and much longer term subsidy system
The Farmer
