Written by Tom Allen-Stevens
Download PDF A drive by his local water company to improve water quality prompted a Dorset grower to embark on a plan through Countryside Stewardship to deliver bold environmental goals. CPM visits to find out more. I’m probably contributing more than my fair share, but then I’m well placed to do so. By Tom Allen-Stevens Butterflies and grasshoppers scatter as John Hawkins strides into his two-year sown legume fallow to inspect what to some growers would be a tangled muddle of biomass. To John, however, it’s a valuable resource for pollinators, has improved his soils, soaked up nutrients and importantly captured carbon. “I hope what we’re doing here goes beyond mere conservation,” he says. “Regenerative agriculture is the aim. It’s not just about improving our own soils and sequestering carbon, but about making a difference for how agriculture impacts across the catchment.” Various stewardship schemes across the steep slopes of Bagber Farm are harnessed to help lock up carbon and nutrients and provide rich resources for wildlife. Bagber Farm comprises 239ha set into the clay loam soils over chalk that rise over 60m from rich valley bottom to thin hill top on slopes of up to 30° near Blandford Forum,…
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