7/9/2020

"Who better to actually be the driving force behind increasing biodiversity?" – Jimmy Doherty visits Graham Denny’s Suffolk farm

Jimmy Doherty’s latest television series, Jimmy’s Big Bee Rescue, considers the important role farmers can play in helping biodiversity, particularly pollinators. To do so, he visited Graham Denny, whose Suffolk farmer features in both Working Conservationists and the new Working for Wildlife website.

Graham demonstrated what can be achieved as part of the ELMs trial he is currently undertaking – turning 7% of his arable land into wildlife habitat. By producing a species-rich sward of flowers, farmers in the trial can be rewarded with as much as £705 per hectare.

Jimmy was very taken with Graham’s achievements, ending the segment by hoping for more farmers to follow in Graham’s footsteps. "Imagine this replicated on farms across the country”, he notes. “It's about empowering the farmer. It needs conviction from the government to actually say 'yeah, we're going to do this'

In line with the principles of Working Conservation, Jimmy recognises the dual role farmers take as food producers and custodians of the countryside, "farmers haven't let the nation down in terms of keeping us fed throughout the generations, and I don't think farmers will let us down when it comes to increasing our biodiversity".

You can watch Graham's interview here (starts approx 35 mins in).

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