Habitats & Species

Berkeley Heath Farm, in the Severn Vale recently brought farmers together to explore how working with nature can deliver practical, on-farm benefits. Sarah Wells, Senior Adviser at FWAG South West, shared insights through her role facilitating the Severn Vale Guardians Farmer Group, highlighting how soil health, grazing management, and livestock systems underpin resilient farming. Jane […]

From a business perspective, the numbers are clear. A UK study estimated Dung Beetles save the cattle industry about £367 million per year via reduced pasture fouling, parasite and fly burdens, whilst also improved soil nutrients, before even considering the wider biodiversity benefits.  Dung beetles are highly specialised insects adapted to locate and exploit fresh dung. We have about 60 species in UK but they are struggling and in decline, mainly

Insect pollination contributes, to varying extents, to improving the yield, quality and resilience of agricultural and horticultural crops – as well as being critical to the reproduction and existence of many of the UK’s wildflowers.  The importance of pollinating insects to our economy and countryside is recognised by Government in a National Pollinator Strategy; and

In summer 2025 we surveyed 30ha of grassland on an organic beef farm on the edge of Exmoor. We advised our Farmer Member about management and restoration of species-rich grassland, as well as offering guidance on the suitability of fields for Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions.   Accurate grassland surveying relies on surveying at the right time of year, when all plant species are visible and identifiable. SFI approval visits don’t always fall within survey season, which can increase the risk

Join farmer Jonathan at Folly Farmyard as he talks about the hedge laying process on his farm. Jonathan touches on the importance of laying hedges to ‘gap up’ and restore older hedges and talks about why it’s so important to allow some hedges to grow up and out rather than flailing every year. Current funding

by Farm Environment Adviser, Anna Lantaff & Senior Farm Environment Adviser, Sammy Read. Dung Beetles are a type of beetle that rely on animal dung for food. With over 60 species of dung beetle in the UK alone, almost half of which are threatened species, these insects play a vital role in recycling nutrients from

The Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) is a small brown and orange butterfly whose chequered wing pattern led to it being known in the past as the ‘Duke of Burgundy Fritillary.’ It is in fact part of the ‘metalmark’ family of butterflies and is our only representative of this family in the UK. Sadly, it

 Richard Hollis – Farm Environment Adviser Lowland heath is a fantastic habitat growing on free-draining, acidic soil which is something we have in abundance where I am based in Cornwall. Of course, it’s characterised by low growing shrubs, different species of heathers and gorses. These come into their own in late summer and give us

The Rugged Oil Beetle (Meloe rugosus) is one of only five oil beetle species in the UK and is one of the rarest. They have seen a decline in both their range and abundance and are now only found in parts of southern England and south-east Wales. Here in Gloucestershire, we are lucky enough to