Jordans Farm Partnership 2021/2022

In 2021/22, Jordans oat growers provided more than 4,260 hectares of land for farmland wildlife including barn owls, brown hares, corn buntings and vital pollinating insects like bees. That’s an area almost the size of Oxford!"

Our natural world is in trouble – this is no secret. Wildlife is disappearing at an alarming rate and the world is on the brink of a climate catastrophe. The natural world urgently needs our help.

The Wildlife Trusts are calling for at least 30% of our land and sea to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030. Making more space for nature to become abundant once again will give our struggling wildlife the chance to recover and also restore beautiful wild places – places that store carbon and help to tackle the climate crisis.

With agriculture covering more than 70% of the UK’s land, farmers can play a key role in helping to create this thriving natural world.

The Jordans Farm Partnership (JFP) is a shining example of how farmers can become a positive force for nature’s recovery.

The Wildlife Trusts are proud to work closely with the farmers that grow oats for Jordans’ cereal products to support them in managing their land for nature.

Nature’s decline undermines our ability to grow food and drink clean water. Sustainable agriculture that supports nature’s recovery is crucial. Hear Anne Sawbridge, Jordans’ Managing Director, talk with Craig Bennett, The Wildlife Trusts’ Chief Executive Officer, about how the Jordans Farm Partnership does just that.

More than 70% of the UK’s land is farmed. This means the way our farmland is managed has a big impact on wildlife.

Over 5 years ago, The Wildlife Trusts and Jordans joined forces to support farmers that grow oats for Jordans cereals, helping them to farm in harmony with nature. The Jordans Farm Partnership produced an industry-leading wildlife standard to encourage practices that encourage and support more nature on farms.

Each farmer works with their local Wildlife Trust farm advisor to develop a comprehensive farm plan for nature. The plan sets out how the farm can be managed to provide food and habitat for a range of wildlife including birds, bats, bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Growers can achieve this by creating and restoring features such as ponds, managing hedgerows and providing field margins.

Each JFP farm plan identifies at least four focus species (or groups of species) for their wildlife-friendly farming measures. These are examples of some of the wildlife that they have been helping.

Robert Law Thrift Farm, Hertfordshire

Although a first-generation farmer, Robert has been growing oats for Jordans since 1985 – he is the original Jordans grower!

Growing a variety of arable crops on his mixed farm near Royston in Hertfordshire, he also farms 60 cows and 1,700 breeding ewes. 

In the early days of farming, Robert was more concerned about inputs, seed dressings and fungicides to help with producing a successful crop. But over the years this has changed, and he has become more concerned with the environment and conservation; particularly how his farm can support wildlife.

Robert believes that running a profitable farm business and farming for wildlife can go hand in hand, and that finding areas that can be managed for wildlife is achievable. “Every farm has got awkward corners that large farm machinery finds difficult to work,” says Robert. “GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and technology can help growers to pinpoint less profitable areas of land that can be managed to benefit wildlife.” Robert’s farm goes well beyond the 10% of habitat managed for wildlife that is a requirement of the JFP standard, providing an area of wildlife-friendly habitat that is equal to 24% of his farmed land.

Over the years, Robert has planted a remarkable 40km of hedgerows that he manages with wildlife in mind; providing nesting habitat, shelter and food for farmland birds such as corn bunting, linnet and yellowhammer. The hedgerows also provide corridors that connect areas of woodland on the farm, as well as linking the farm to the wider landscape; providing foraging and commuting routes for a range of farmland birds and mammals, in particular bats.

Despite this impressive hedgerow planting, Robert says “You don’t need to do a lot on the farm to make a big difference – it’s all about getting the right habitat in the right place”.  And Robert must be doing something right as surveys conducted on the farm have recorded 42 pairs of grey partridge, which is a “huge population” according to Matt, Robert’s farm advisor from the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. Matt also reports that “Lapwing and barn owl regularly breed, and brown hare are also doing well” on the farm.

Running along the north-east edge of Robert’s farm is Therfield Heath; a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designated for its chalk grassland. This special habitat is important for its mix of grasses, specialist flowers, and insects. A particular species of note on the SSSI is the rare pasqueflower, Pulsatilla vulgaris, which can now only be found at a handful of sites in the UK. Robert’s farm holds grazing rights on the heath and the grazing of his sheep on the site is integrated into the farm’s overall annual grazing plan. With the conservation grazing by Robert’s flock, the grass and more aggressive plant species are prevented from dominating the site and, as a result, up to 60,000 pasqueflower plants can bloom in springtime.

Graham Birch Field Barn & Hedge End Farms, Dorset

Graham has had a different route into farming compared to many of the other JFP farmers, but that doesn’t mean that he is any less committed. Previously working in the finance sector in London, Graham decided he wanted a complete change from city life which resulted in him taking on a mixed farm in Dorset in 2007.

Once he settled in, Graham was very keen to improve the habitats on the farm for wildlife and so began by putting the farm into a Higher Level Environmental Stewardship scheme – a government scheme that provides funding to farmers and land managers to improve their land. Because of the positive environmental work on the farm, Jordans enlisted Graham to supply oats and as a result, this meant that Graham became part of the JFP when it began in 2015. Being relatively new to farming, Graham says that “I really value the relationship that’s developed with Hamish”, his farm advisor from Dorset Wildlife Trust.

There have been some real successes on Graham’s farms and Hamish says, “there are some superb areas of species-rich grassland”. Several species of orchids flourish there, which are accompanied by countless species of other wildflowers. This diversity supports a thriving invertebrate population, which in turn supports the farmland birds that feed on them. 

Graham’s farm has a good population of brown hares, and hedgehogs – a species which is declining across many rural areas of the UK – are frequently recorded. Sightings of numerous farmland birds during the summer months indicate flourishing and breeding populations of skylarks, yellowhammers, linnets, and corn buntings, and Graham’s four barn owl boxes have all been occupied by breeding pairs. “The farms are important for wintering birds too,” explains Hamish, and “large flocks of redwing, fieldfare, lapwing and golden plover can be seen”. 

Graham is supported on the farm by his farm manager Scott, who manages and maintains the wildlife habitats. “In the early days, Scott could just about tell the difference between a crow and a gull,” laughs Graham, “but now he can identify so many different species and together when we are out and about on the farm, we are always looking at the amazing wildlife we have here.”

Graham truly believes that modern farming can co-exist with nature. The diversity and abundance of wildlife that can be seen on his farm is testament not only to his belief, but also to his commitment in farming to support wildlife.

You can read more stories from Jordans farmers on The Wildlife Trusts' website

Vital to the success of the partnership and supporting nature on the farms, is the relationship between each individual JFP grower and the expert farm advisor from their local Wildlife Trust. Advisors from 15 individual Wildlife Trusts work closely with the 34 Jordans farmers across the UK.

Each farm advisor develops a bespoke farm plan for the farm or farms in their patch. The plan must meet the requirements of the JFP farm wildlife standard and must also be meaningful and relevant to each farm and its location within the wider landscape. As the grower implements the farm plan and undertakes the land management actions within it, their advisor is always available to provide support and advice if needed. Each year, the advisor visits the farm to see how the grower is progressing with their farm plan. This is an excellent opportunity to hear about the successes from the improvements and to discuss solutions for any challenges.