Land of plenty
Jordans farmers don’t just pride themselves on growing great oats, they also provide a habitat for some of the countryside’s most treasured wildlife
THE WORLD IS better when it’s bursting with nature. That’s why every single one of Jordans Cereals’ 31 British oat farmers produces oats in a sustainable way – they even dedicate at least 10% of their land to wildlife, as part of the Jordans Farm Partnership (JFP). So far, the JFP has preserved an area the size of Oxford (that’s around 45km2) to benefit all creatures great and small, including endangered farmland birds and owls, brown hares, dormice, freshwater fish and butterflies. Here are just some of the animals you’ll find on Jordans farms…
FARMLAND BIRDS
The arable fields at Ralph Parker’s Highfield Farm, Cambridgeshire, are a key habitat for many farmland birds, including corn bunting, lapwing and grey partridge. As part of the JFP, Ralph works to give them a helping hand. Rather than sowing all his crops in autumn, he instead sows around a third of his crops in the spring. This means the stubble left from the previous crop provides a cover for wildlife and a vital area of foraging ground for farmland birds in the winter months too.
BARBASTELLE BATS
The barbastelle is one of the UK’s rarest bat species, with an estimated population of around 5,000 individuals. The 90-strong colony found on Fergus Lyon’s Hertfordshire farm accounts for a third of the county’s total, with grassland hedges and field margins playing a significant role in creating an insect-rich habitat.
Upon their most recent visit, the Herts and Middlesex Bat Group, with help from the Wildlife Trusts, recorded an incredible 12 different roost sites.
BARN OWLS
Andy Bosen can list close to 100 bird species on his land in Norfolk. Barn owls sadly disappeared from Westwood Farm for five years, but Andy was elated to discover they had not only returned but had also bred successfully. Winters can be tough for farmland birds, so he’s made changes to help them survive. For instance, alongside the oats he grows for Jordans, he also sows a three-hectare field with a special seed mix including red millet, sunflowers and kale. After flowering, the seedheads provide a vital food source for the birds over the winter months.
COMMON LIZARDS
Along with a marked increase in overwintering birds, thirdgeneration farmer Guy Tucker has also seen the emergence of grass snakes and common lizards at Greenhall Farm, Herts. To help his reptile residents feel at home, he’s increased the amount of dead wood on the ground where possible: “If we have wood that’s unusable as firewood, rather than burning it, we’ll cut it up fairly small and pile into heaps of timber, which provides a hibernation place for lizards.”