HOW FARMERS DON’T HAVE TO GIVE UP ON PESTICIDES – GREENER FARMING THROUGH CONSERVATION-GRADE LAND

A number or news items this week relate to organic farming. The first from the Eastern Daily Press examines the red tape surrounding green farming and how bureaucracy can be perceived as hindering and restricting the number of farmers entering this area of agriculture. The second item, featured in The Guardian, highlights how non-organic farmers can do a lot to foster plants, butterflies and bugs without giving up on pesticides. Providing pesticide storage tanks, as well as all other vertical and horizontal tanks to the farming industry, this item was of particular interest to Enduramaxx. It highlights new research by the University of Reading recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology which looked at 80 non-organic farms that had signed up to the Conservation Grade Scheme. The 80 farms were required to turn 10 per cent of their land over to habitat targeted at supporting local ecology and in return, these farms received the right to use a ‘Fair to Nature’ accreditation. It was found that these CG farms support 20 per cent more plant and butterfly species than farms that work on the now discontinued EU-funded Entry-Level Stewardship (ELS ) programme. Although compared to organic farms, where pesticides are banned and which boast 50 per cent increases in butterfly numbers and increases in plant diversity by up to 70 per cent, the findings of the CG farms certainly seem impressive.

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