Profitable modern farming can work alongside nature

This month's #FarmingCAN special feature looks at some examples of projects around Britain which have nature-friendly farming at their core.

Work looking at the effects different farming methods have on wildlife and the environment have been ongoing for three decades at the Allerton Project's demonstration farm in Loddington, Leicestershire.

The 320-hectare mixed arable and livestock unit is the former home of Lord and Lady Allerton, with the Allerton Research and Educational Trust set up in April 1992 after the couple bequeathed it to the purposes of research and education; it subsequently closely aligned itself with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) under whose auspices it operates today. 

Projects

Ongoing projects include those looking into soil erosion, managing water flow, soil carbon emissions and cultivation types, livestock emission management, carbon sequestration methods, agroforestry and regenerative farming techniques.

Joe Stanley, head of training and partnerships for the project, said: "In the past three decades the project has been trying to work out how productive, profitable modern farming can work alongside the environment and nature - it has never been more relevant and topical."

Visitors

The farm typically welcomes some 4,000 visitors annually, among them farmers and industry professionals alongside policymakers, NGOs and regulators. Research results are made available at all levels, through events for farmers and industry professionals, as well as regularly feeding into policy and regulatory framework. 

"I want more farmers to come and see what we are doing because I think a lot of the work that has taken place in the last 30 years is hugely relevant to farmers now," said Mr Stanley.

"It is important that what has been learned is made available to the people that will find it beneficial for their businesses."

One of its longest standing research areas is that around habitat creation and boosting biodiversity, with much of the research in this area having led to the development of various agri-environment scheme options.

Visit allertontrust.org.uk for more information about The Allerton Trust's work. 

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