Several wildlife organisations last week launched its annual search to find the UK's most wildlife-friendly farmer. The Nature of Farming Award celebrates farmers who work hardest to help threatened countryside wildlife, such as skylarks, brown hares, bees, butterflies and plants.

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The award is run by the RSPB, with support from Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife. Applications will be accepted until 18 April; four finalists will be chosen from the entrants. The public will then be free to decide the overall winner from the four farmers shortlisted.

Last year's winner was Henry Edmunds, an organic farmer from Wiltshire, who demonstrated his work to support rare birds, bumblebees, moths and butterflies. He said, "I have witnessed our landscape deteriorate over the last 30 years - birds have disappeared, butterflies have been lost, and ancient grasslands ploughed up.  I wanted my farming policies to reverse those trends. To do without wildlife is not an option. We all have a responsibility to maintain it and help it flourish, not sacrifice it for greater commercial yields.  We need to step back, look sensibly at the way we farm and try to make it more sustainable and better for the environment in the long run."

RSPB Head of Conservation Management and one of this year’s judges, Nick Droy, commented, "More and more farmers are recognising that running a profitable farm business and helping wildlife on your land can go hand in hand.  The RSPB provides advice to help farmers do their bit for nature on their farm and we'll support them every step of the way, but ultimately, it's them and their local communities that do the hard work. They're the real heroes."

He continued that in the face of the recent EU Budget, which "deal dealt a terrible hand to Europe’s wildlife," the need is now greater than ever to encourage and support farmers engaged in reversing wildlife declines and adopting wildlife-friendly farming techniques.