News

CASH FOR LOCAL FARMERS' BEETLE BANKS

£30 a hectare is being offered to farmers for maintaining hedgerows, leaving conservation strips around fields and creating beetle banks.

Birds, animals and wild flowers will flourish on the farms of the future, in a landmark scheme to reward environmentally conscious farming.

Under the Environmental Stewardship scheme, every farmer in England can earn payments for protecting the environment and enhancing their land.

The scheme will help stop the decline in bird populations, cut pollution and increase wildlife on agricultural land.

And farmers can gain even more funding by adopting organic methods and tackling local environmental issues.

Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "This is a real red-letter day for English farming. Every farmer can now be rewarded for protecting and enhancing the environment.

"The more farmers that become involved, the greater the benefit to the environment."