Two awards within reach for farm wildlife haven

Maurice and Kath Toward, who have farmed Herdship Farm, at Harwood in Teesdale, since 1964, are already through to the finals of the David Arnold-Forster Trust Hill Farming Award run, by English Nature.

On Monday, they discovered they were one of six farms in the national finals of the highly-respected annual Silver Lapwing Award, run by the national Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and Farmcare.

James Money-Kyle, chief executive of FWAG, announced the finalists at the Royal Show on Monday.

"Herdship Farm is an excellent example of how good conservation practice can be successfully integrated with sound commercial farming," he said.

The 574-acre farm is rented from the Raby Estate and is a haven for wildlife and flower rich hay meadows. It is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is also within a Site of Special Scientific Interest and two-thirds is also classed as an Environmentally Sensitive Area.

The farm supports 400 Swaledale and North Country Cheviot breeding ewes and 125 followers, plus 12 Limousin X suckler cows.

When Mr Toward started out he had plans for a lot more livestock: "But we did not have the meadow land to feed them through the winter and were stopped in our tracks."

They then looked at the environmental way and, when ESAs were introduced, they joined.

It is their traditional farming methods - minimal chemical use and hay-making - which have made the farm so important and attractive.

Livestock numbers were reduced still further some 12 years ago when the Towards joined the Black Grouse Project.

"It is cost-cutting as well," said Mrs Toward. "You can only keep the stock that you can manage to feed yourself. These days the stock is the jam on everything else really. We have to keep stock because we have to manage grazing.

"There are certain areas where we have to graze hard at certain times of the year to benefit the flowers."

Black grouse have always featured on the farm although numbers fluctuate. "The weather rules the birds up here," said Mr Toward, whose farm is not far from Cow Green Reservoir.

"Last year was a cold May and the birds had a poor start, but this year is looking good for them, although we will not know for sure until the project officers have been around counting them."

The Towards also work closely with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is an important area for some of the declining upland bird species.

Other birds include lapwing, redshank, golden plover and yellow wagtail. However, fewer wagtail have been seen this year and Mr Toward believes their numbers are affected during migration.

The flowers which can be seen include the rare Teesdale blue gentian, cuckoo flower, melancholy thistle and globe flower along with many others.

Fifteen years ago the Towards opened the farm to the public and receive many visitors and organised groups.

Their long-term approach to conservation includes a number of management initiatives with outside bodies and agencies to encourage wildlife and conserve what is already on the farm.

The agreements allow the farm business to continue, within local environmental constraints, and the farm is now used as a demonstration farm to show what can be achieved by working in partnership.

Farm inputs are kept to the minimum required to keep the SSSI in good order.

Management techniques include managing areas of rushes to ensure a balance between forage production and the needs of nesting birds.

A rough grazing allotment has been fenced as part of an English Nature experiment for heather regeneration by reseeding and the removal of grazing. The habitat now attracts large numbers of black grouse.

Roadside fields have also been fenced to create species-rich roadside margins and the new fencing has been marked with small metal plates to stop birds flying into it.

The Towards also planted new ghyll woodland some three years ago with hawthorn, birch, rowan and juniper.

New farm buildings use local and traditional materials, including old stone from the farm wherever possible.

The Towards have made strenuous efforts to save old buildings at Lady Rake Lead Mines on the farm, which are now a scheduled ancient monument.

A farm walk has been signposted and information boards and leaflets explain what visitors may see. "People can come at any time to have a walk but we do like advance warning if there is a group coming," said Mr Toward.

The Silver Lapwing Award is organised by FWAG and sponsored by Farmcare. It is given to the farmer, farm manager or woodland manager in the UK who is judged to have done the most to encourage wildlife conservation alongside successful commercial farming.

The David Arnold-Forster Trust Hill Farming Award is in memory of the former chief executive of English Nature who died in September last year.

It recognises the promotion of agriculture for the public benefit and their education in upland hill farming in particular.

Herdship farm was put forward for the Lapwing award by Tyne Tees FWAG.

Rachel Webster, of that group, said Mr Toward was very aware of the importance of the environment and managed the farm as a valuable wildlife resource as well as a commercial enterprise.

"Herdship Farm is an excellent example of what can be achieved by the willing co-operation of farmers and conservation bodies," she said.