A TENANT farmer has been named North-East winner of the biodiversity award in the NFU President's awards.

Ian Brown of Lee Moor Farm, Rennington, near Alnwick,, was rewarded for his environmental and conservation work on his 160-hectare farm, where his efforts have resulted in an increase in rare birds, including skylarks and corn buntings as well as barn and short-eared owls.

He has planted 5,000 native broad-leaved trees on eight hectares, integrating them with an area of wetland and ponds, and has also restored hedges and created "grassy" field margins to benefit a range of species, especially corn buntings, grey partridge and brown hare.

Mr Brown has integrated conservation with farming practices for a number of years and a programme of habitat restoration and creation has started to bear fruit over recent years, yielding an increase in yellowhammers and linnets on the farm.

Restored ponds have created feeding areas for common hawker dragonflies and wetlands support frogs, newts and moorhens.

Mr Brown was a founder member of LEAF - Linking Environment and Farming - in the North-East and also uses a number of agri-environment schemes including Countryside Stewardship.

Integrated crop management is at the centre of all of his farm operations.

"The rotation of crops, soil sampling, direct drilling, buffering of watercourses and appropriate use of fertilisers and pesticides has seen a range of benefits across the farm, including larger numbers of wintering skylarks and the return of water voles," he said.

The North-East runner up in the biodiversity awards was Stephen Scott of Mitford Steads, Morpeth.

He has sown nine miles of grass margins alongside hedges, created wooded areas, open ditches, ponds and river banks, and has also planted more than a mile of hedges and created a pond.