THE NFU and English Nature this week launched a joint campaign to help farmers achieve new wildlife targets at a time of bleak farm incomes and the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The scheme involves simple, low-cost land management steps and provides signposting to advice, expertise and environmental schemes as a way of building on the industry's environmental achievements.

The NFU president, Mr Ben Gill, and the chief executive of English Nature, Mr David Arnold-Forster, launched the five-point plan for wildlife-friendly farming. It encourages farmers to take stock of the natural assets on their farms; to take active steps to conserve those assets; to reduce the impact of farm practice by careful management of inputs and waste; to look for new ways to boost wildlife, and to join a scheme under the England rural development programme.

"Farmers and growers take their dual role of producing food and maintaining the countryside very seriously," said Mr Gill. "These efforts for conservation deserve recognition.

"This initiative is desperately important because it recognises the hugely important environmental contribution being made by farmers and growers and because it offers a low-cost way of maintaining this momentum at this very difficult time."

Government figures show that farmers have already helped create an extra 12,200 lowland ponds since 1990 and almost 32,000 acres of cereal field margin are now in positive, wildlife-friendly management.

"Every farmer can work for wildlife using these simple, low-cost actions which we are delighted to promote, in partnership with the NFU," said Mr Arnold Forster.

The plan will be available to NFU members through regional offices, at regional shows and on its website.