Farmers Weekly 11th Sept 20 has an article about an RSPB owned commercial arable farm.
In 2019, the farm was benchmarked against other local farm businesses and though crops varied in profitability, this was typical compared to the other farms.
!n 2019, the farm went completely insecticide free and saw no reduction in yields compared with previous years, making small savings on the products.
One quote:-
“Though we had aphids in the beans last year, there were loads of ladybirds and larvae too, and within 10 days there were only ladybirds left and the beans didn’t suffer at all,”
The farm is planting wildflower corridors through fields to increase access to beneficial insects, compost spreading and sowing cover crops as part of the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology and Rothamsted Research’s Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems programme.
Bee Friendly Monmouthshire 