Talking to farmers at the ORFC 2019
7th January 2019
Last week we were at the Oxford REAL Farming Conference, talking to farmers about how they can help conserve hedgehogs on their land.
The conference has been running for 10 years and brings together thousands of farmers and wildlife charities to talk about how we can farm ‘green’ and make our land more wildlife-friendly.
Around 70% of the UK is farmland, and represents critical habitat for many species. So it’s vital that wildlife charities and farmers work together to promote a new way of farming – agroecology – where farming practices are profitable, eco-friendly and sustainable for generations to come.
Intensive agriculture has often be attributed to the decline of key species like the treasured hedgehog due to things like:
- Pesticides eliminating key food for animals
- Soil compaction and over tilling eliminating earthworms, which make up a huge part of the hedgehog diet
- Removal or neglect of key habitats like hedgerows, removing prime nesting spots for ‘hogs
- Large field sizes of just one type of crop makes the land limited for food and nesting opportunities
The REAL Oxford Farming Conference, is all about ‘green’ farming for the future. Our free advice guide is all about how farmers can make straightforward changes on the farm to help support a local hedgehog population and it was great to speak face to face some really keep and open-minded farmers about how they can help protect our spiky friends.
