Farmers are being urged once again to ensure their conservation measures are recorded under the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, which is entering its final year. The 2012 survey was posted out to 5,500 farmers in February by Defra on behalf of the campaign and asked farmers for details of unpaid environmental management they undertake.

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The survey has 11 questions and should take approximately 15 minutes to complete according to the campaign. The CFE claims the results could be vital to ensuring voluntary measures are preserved and avoiding a return to compulsory measures.

Defra said this week that it will be sending reminders to those who have not yet returned their form. The current response rate is running at just over 40 per cent; this year’s survey must match last year’s response rate of 67 per cent as those working on the campaign claim a high response rate is needed to provide enough evidence in support of voluntary land management. The CFE organisers have said a demonstrably strong voluntary commitment will prove essential in upcoming CAP negotiations if farmers want to retain greening measures in pillar 2.

The CFE is still providing details of measures farmers can take to improve their farmland’s impact on nature. As the breeding season begins this month, the campaign has made a number of suggestions for farmers wishing to make their land more hospitable for farmland birds. These include leaving fallow plots to provide breeding ground for ground-nesting birds, uncropped cultivated margins and game strips. These measures can all contribute to an ELS application or can be established specifically to support the CFE.

More details are available on the CFE site here.

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