Nature friendly farm proves profitable

The National Trust (NT) said Wimpole Hall Farm in Cambridgeshire recorded a £117,588 profit with a £294,617 turnover last year and, according to the result of a wildlife ‘health-check’, rare farmland birds, such as the skylark, have doubled since 2013.

During its 12 years of operation, the NT’s nature friendly farming techniques also included planting 1,000 trees and using rare breed livestock to graze meadows.

With the survey also highlighting the land as a significant sequesterer of carbon, Callum Weir, Wimpole farm manager, said: “We want to farm sustainably at the same time as being a truly viable business and it is fantastic to see how nature friendly farming and a profitable business can go hand in hand.

“Wimpole’s carbon audit found that measures to manage the soil, alongside managing woods and hedges, helped the landscape soak up 2,260 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.”