Can environmentally-friendly farming also be productive? James - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Can environmentally-friendly farming also be productive? James Bullock NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology jmbul@ceh.ac.uk

Agri-environment schemes • Implemented in the EU through the CAP (but also elsewhere in the World) • Targeted primarily at wildlife, but also other environmental benefits – reducing pollution, storing carbon, increasing soil health, etc • Budget in the EU ca € 2.5bn per year • Payments compensate farmers for “profit foregone”

Agri-environment schemes do work • Although they need to be well designed a) Plants Arable plant survey (20-km) Bumblebee survey (10-km) 35 1.8 # # Bird - assemblage studies 1.6 30 1.4 No. common species 25 No. rare species 1.2 20 1.0 # 0.8 # 15 # # # # 0.6 # # 10 # # # # 0.4 Common species 5 0.2 Rare species 0 0.0 Evidence Control General 0 50 100 200 Kilometers c) Birds b) Bumblebees 5.0 4.0 0.40 3.5 0.35 4.0 3.0 0.30 No. common species No. rare species 3.0 2.5 0.25 Hedges’ d 2.0 2.0 0.20 1.5 0.15 1.0 1.0 0.10 0.0 0.5 0.05 0.0 0.00 -1.0 Evidence Evidence Control General Control Evidence vs. vs. vs. Control General General

But are AES simply a cost to productive farming? • Encouraging wild bees as crop pollinators? 1200 Pollinator density (indi. ha -1 ) 1000 y = -1.8621x + 558.56 800 R² = 0.202 600 400 200 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 Distance from field boundary (m)

Worldwide – wild pollinators enhance crop fruit set • Wild insects more important for crops than honeybees Change in fruit set compared to no insect pollinators

But are AES simply a cost to productive farming? • Encouraging natural pest control? Number of adult aphids

Might AES enhance crop yields? • Studies of blueberries in the US & of mangoes in S. Africa show wildflower patches increase pollination and fruit yield

The Hillesden Project • Quantify effects of agri-environmental measures on biodiversity, beneficial species & crop yield • 1000ha commercial arable farm • Three treatments applied to 50-60ha patches: - Cross Compliance (0% land removed) - Typical Entry Level AES (1% land removed for two wildlife habitats) - Entry Level Extra AES (6% land removed for six habitats) • Habitat location in awkward/low yielding margins /corners

Design Block 2 Block 1 Block 3 Block 5 Block 4

Hillesden: monitoring • 10 years of monitoring • Crop yield & inputs • Beneficial species associated with crop production (pollinators, pest control) • Declining farmland species (e.g. birds, butterflies)

Effects on yield (6yrs): all crops (wheat, OSR, beans) a) Cropped area Yield as Ratio of Regional average 1.15 1.10 1.05 1.00 0.95 0.90 Cross ELS ELS Extra Compliance Whole field b) Whole field Yield as Ratio of Regional average 1.05 1.00 0.95 0.90 Cross ELS ELS Extra Compliance

Effects on yield: Beans Beans - cropped area Yield deficit as ratio of national 1.10 a) Cropped area 1.00 0.90 average 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 Cross ELS ELS Extra Compliance Yield deficit as ratio of national 1.00 b) Whole field 0.90 0.80 average 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 Cross ELS ELS Extra Compliance

Effects on yield: Wheat a) Cropped area b) Whole field

Yield trend with time Cropped area 1.4 Yield as Ratio of Regional/National a) Cropped area Cross Compliance ELS 1.3 ELS Extra 1.2 average 1.1 1 0.9 0.8 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Whole field b) Whole field 1.2 Cross Compliance ELS Regional/National average Yield deficit as ratio of ELS Extra 1.1 1 0.9 0.8 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Using AES more broadly for sustainable farming? Wildflowers, rare plants, Waddesdon Estate birds for Expermintal Layout B L O C K ENHANCEMENTS 2 cultural value A41 Grass BLOCK 2 11c Disc Enhanced Options OptDesc Ditch 11a 14 Corral 11b Slot Wildflower EF2/HF2 Bird Feed strips for crop EF22 4 EF4/HF4 pollinators & Cranwell EJ9 pest control Speeds EK2/3 Early Annuals Fences Legumes into HF1/HK8 grassland/ 3a 9 HF10 Sandwich arable HF10 Shop Window reversion for 3 HF10 Wildflower Great carbon capture Speeds Hedge and decreased 1 6 Leave Existing 2 flooding/erosion Other PC 10 Racehorse Paddock 7 5 Cow House Browns Treatments Enhanced Control 13 Cover crop, buffer strips & 0 65 130 260 Meters sediment ponds for water quality

• Sustainable Intensification Research Platform • A multi-partner research project funded by Defra to investigate approaches to more sustainable farming. • 3 projects: • SIP 1 Integrated Farm Management for improved economic, environmental and social performance • SIP 2 Opportunities and risks for farming and the environment at a landscape scale • SIP 3 A scoping study on the influence of external drivers and actors on the sustainability and productivity of English and Welsh farming • Platform aims to develop more integrated and collaborative ways of funding, conducting and applying agricultural research around sustainable intensification.

Farmers have a very important role The FarmCat project Improving agri-environment schemes • Farmers with longer and more intense experience in AES produce better quality margins • And so they have more birds, bees & butterflies