Blogs

With the November 1st deadline for Defra’s Call for Evidence on Gamebird Release, Shooting and Welfare during Rearing in England quickly approaching, we have put together a helpful template to make it as easy as possible for supporters to respond. 

The day spent on the recent SFI 2026 application window was almost certainly the most stressful, frustrating and ultimately devasting I have ever worked. The disappointment when I told my colleagues, directors and trustees that we didn’t get in was heartbreaking. 

The last two drilling seasons have been pretty easy, but this year a lot of seed isn't going into moist ground so we're waiting on rain. Seed can wait a couple of weeks, but if it sits in the ground too long it’s more vulnerable to slugs and the amount drilled may prove insufficient to ensure adequate plant count. 

This year, I attended my first partridge count. As a researcher myself, but having since moved into communicating our science, I was hungry for any experience that made me feel like I was out in the field again. 

As Defra gathers evidence on the impacts of gamebird rearing, release and shooting in England, it is essential that the discussion is informed by real-world examples from working landscapes.

GWCT director of policy and the Allerton Project research Dr Alastair Leake has received the Farmer’s Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award for his work over 25 years developing practical solutions combining productive farming with improved environmental outcomes and disseminating findings through advisory and educational activities.

At Warehouse Wines, we believe great wine is about more than what's in the bottle. It's about the people who make it, the places it comes from and the moments we enjoy it with friends and family.

For the past decade the Allerton Project has worked alongside Syngenta to deliver a valuable long-term look at the realities behind the transition from ‘conventional’ farming practices within a combinable cropping system to a more ‘conservation’ and ‘regenerative’ approach.

After 18 months in which the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) - Defra’s flagship mechanism to help farmers deliver the food and nature outcomes on which this nation depends - was closed, farmers had less than six hours to submit their applications for 3-year periods of funding before the door was once again slammed shut.

At this year’s annual Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) Awards, the Allerton Project was delighted to receive special commendation in the inaugural ‘Water Quality Farmer of the Year’ award, sponsored by Anglian Water, Portsmouth Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water and Wessex Water.