Farming for wildlife

What are the benefits of farming for wildlife?

Farming for wildlife means designing your farm to increase biodiversity. Organic farming, wildflower margins, connected hedgerows and other agroecological practices all encourage wildlife, such as birds and pollinating insects, to return to the land. And farmers in Scotland are finding that nature-friendly farming is as good for business as it is for biodiversity.

Biodiversity

Birds, bees and butterflies – and plenty more wildlife besides – are under threat. Putting agroecological principles into practice can make a huge difference. Read about what farmers in Scotland are doing to encourage biodiversity on their land.

denise_walton_farmer.webp

Planning for wildlife

Farmer Denise Walton explains that "wildlife, whether it's small, seed-eating birds or rodents or even insects, will always follow corridors where there's some kind of security from predators, or there's a source of feed.”
bill_gray_preston_hall.webp

Increasing pollinators on farms

Watch a video of farmer Bill Gray of Preston Hall Farms and Dr Lorna Cole of SRUC discuss how to increase pollinators on arable farms through habitat management and monitoring.
wilma_and_david_ed_farmer.webp
wilma_and_david_ed_farmer.webp

Harnessing nature in farming

David Finlay, who farms beef, sheep and dairy at Cream O'Galloway, takes us on his journey from sceptic to champion of organic farming.

Farmland birds

Wading bird populations are declining in Scotland. But small changes are all that's needed to bring them back to your farm. Find out how Scottish farmers are taking action to avoid these iconic species disappearing altogether.

lambs_and_goose_and_lapwing_organic_colin_strang_farm.webp

Bringing wading birds back to Scottish farmland

At Threepwood Farm in the Borders, farmer Colin Strang Steel has seen a flourishing population of wading birds. He tells us about the practical measures he’s taken to integrate wading birds conservation into his farming practices.
lambs_and_goose_and_lapwing_organic_colin_strang_farm.webp
lapwing_bird_non_organic.webp
lapwing_bird_non_organic.webp

Wading birds and healthy soil

Bruce McConachie and his family farm sheep and cattle across 1,900 acres on the edge of the Cairngorms, where wading bird populations are flourishing.

Useful resources

Useful resources

A list of useful links on resources on improving biodiversity on your farm.

Attend an event

Attend a Soil Association Scotland event to learn more about improving biodiversity on your farm.