Working with farmers and landowners

Farming in Cornwall

Farming is a vitally important industry in Cornwall and has helped shape the landscape as we see it today. Over 70% of Cornwall’s land is farmed in some way, with much of the county’s countryside dominated by grass pastures for beef and dairy cattle and areas with the most fertile soils in the east and far west yielding heavy crops of vegetables and cereals.  Almost every type of farming practiced across the UK can be found right here in Cornwall, and we’re working with hundreds of fantastic farmers from all backgrounds to encourage sustainable methods that will enable nature to thrive once again.

Why are we working with farmers and landowners?

The key findings from our State of Nature Cornwall 2020 report found that much of our local wildlife is in decline including our farmland species, with a 30% decline in farmland birds since 1994 and a decrease in butterflies associated with our farmland habitats. We believe that in order to achieve a Wilder Cornwall, farmers and conservationists must work together and support one another to benefit long-term food production and biodiversity.

When land is managed to produce food as well as protect wildlife, species are able to move more freely and thrive beyond wildlife hotspots like our nature reserves. In practice, this means protecting the remaining wild places on farms, looking after hedgerows and rivers which are important wildlife corridors and ensuring pastures and cropping land are also managed to provide food, shelter and nest sites for wildlife. Sympathetically-managed farmland also provides many other functions like clean water, holding back floodwaters and storing carbon.

Making space for nature can also be complementary to farming business. Where we have funded projects, Cornwall Wildlife Trust often provides free practical support to farmers and landowners, helps farmers to access grants and offers the support of a network of skilled and experienced volunteers who can manage habitats on a farmers land. 

What we do

We have over 10 years of practical experience in providing advice and guidance to farmers and landowners. Our specialist staff of farm advisers and ecologists, most of whom are qualified in BASIS and FACTS, work hard to build relationships with farmers from across the county and offer in-depth knowledge of current legislation and best practice management of specialist species. We are able to provide work free of charge in certain project areas such as our Upstream Thinking Project catchment areas. However, if your land does not fall into one of these areas, we are still able to offer you one of our paid-for services.

We deliver services such as:

• Soil testing and nutrient management planning
• Support with applications to Countryside Stewardship
• Ecological surveys and advice on managing wildlife habitats, including support to help manage habitats already involved in agri-environmental schemes
• Funding towards infrastructure like guttering, track work and alternative cattle drinking (only in our Upstream Thinking drinking water catchment areas)
• Practical tasks from a skilled volunteer group, including Cornish Hedge repairs and scrub management (only in our Upstream Thinking drinking water catchment areas)

Watch our Working with Famers 'Wildlife Matters' update and Q&A

Managing our own land

Cornwall Wildlife Trust owns or manages 58 nature reserves across Cornwall covering over 5,500 acres (2,000 hectares). On our nature reserves we practice sustainable environmental land management using techniques such as conservation grazing. The majority of grazing on our reserves is delivered by neighbouring farmers. However, we do have some livestock, including cattle, sheep and native ponies, as grazing is the most sustainable form of management for certain habitats. Livestock can access areas that machinery can’t, and the impacts of grazing are slower than other methods, such as burning or cutting, which means that less-mobile wildlife can thrive.

Get in touch

Please contact farm.ecology.advice@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk if you’d like to find out how we can help your farm or land. Our project funding doesn't allow us to cover everywhere in Cornwall but on top of our paid-for farm services, we’re always happy to chat and link people together where possible.