Award Given For Most Eco Friendly Farmer In UK

Nicholas Watts who runs the Vine House Farm up in Lincolnshire has been nurturing wildlife on his farms for over two decades and as a result of his conservation efforts has won the award of being the UK’s most nature friendly farmer.

Mr. Watts won the RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award by inspiring voters and impressing judges with his efforts at increasing the numbers of species which are in decline. Mr. Watts firmly believes that both farming and conservation go hand in hand.

The award is now in its sixth year and seeks to celebrate farms who do great things for the natural world. The competition is run by the RSPB and is sponsored by the Telegraph.

Mr. Watts farm is made up of traditional arable land and grows a variety of organic crops cultivated in a way that supports the wildlife that shares its environment.

“In 1992, after recording the breeding birds on my farm for 10 years, I realised there had been a big drop in numbers. This worried me so I set about trying to reverse that decline and I have succeeded with several species. Since the mid 1990s the national numbers of some farmland birds, such as the yellow wagtail, have continued to decline. I’m delighted to have shown that it’s possible to buck this trend, but I feel that farmers need to be given as much support as possible to put wildlife back on the land.”

Mr. Watts farm is spread over 2000 acres and a wide range of crops are grown including potatoes, wheat sunflowers and canary seed. 300 acres of the farm are dedicated to organic farming with wildlife in mind.

Mr. Watts undertakes research on his own farm and bases conservation practices on those results as well as research from organizations such as the RSPB.