UK meat processor ABP has conducted a survey with supermarket Asda in order to "highlight the beneficial work" that British farmers have done to "boost farmland biodiversity".
A total of 250 farmers from a "wide geographical spread and farm size" responded to the voluntary survey. According to ABP, it found that the combined length of hedgerow managed by respondents totalled 1.92 million metres, which is the "equivalent distance (as the crow flies) from John O'Groats to Lands' End and back".
More than 50% of those surveyed had recently planted an average of 869 metres of hedgerow on their farms, with one farmer stating that he had more than 50 miles (80,500 metres) of hedgerow on his farm. In the survey, it was noted that the average farm supported 8,003 metres of hedgerow.
ABP reported that 41% of farmers said they carry out wildlife surveys to monitor populations and species of birds, bees, newts, bats, butterflies and others.
Liz Ford, agricultural projects manager at ABP, said: "The joint venture was designed to gain a topline understanding of how farmers are managing and improving biodiversity. The results illustrate well that farmers are acutely aware of the importance of balanced soil nutrients and livestock farmers are embracing opportunities for grassland soil testing, to understand the nutrient balance within their soil, including organic matter content and soil carbon indices.”
Majority undertake soil assessment
The survey found that nearly 90% of respondents undertake some form of soil assessment, with 78% of those using three or more methods and 6% using six or more methods. It was observed that the most popular soil testing was conducted to quantify phosphate, potassium, magnesium and pH, but others also tested for organic matter, soil structure, earthworm counts and soil carbon.
Ford continued: "Looking after soil correctly can minimise nutrient input requirements and extend the grazing season by improving the pasture's resilience to drought and reducing flood risk.
"Earthworm populations are indicative of soil health and can be monitored by digging small field pits and counting the species of worms at different depths, we are pleased to see that some farmers are already doing this."
"These results are a great demonstration of how British farmers are supporting the environment while producing nutritious, healthy food," said Chris Brown, senior director farming at Asda. "The farmers' data in the survey highlights their enthusiasm to demonstrate their environmental achievements, their attitude to biodiversity and its value to their farms.
"The important connection of food production and the environment is very clear, as these survey results show."
ABP said that farmers were also asked to rate the importance of biodiversity to their farm using a score of one to 10, with one not important and 10 very important. The average score was 7.63, with nearly 20% of farmers scoring it a 10. Opportunities for farmers to engage further in biodiversity improvements are available through new environmental schemes, said ABP, which it said would support farm businesses as area subsidies are "phased down".
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
