Published at 21:37, Wednesday, 08 August 2012

THE Scottish Agricultural College and RSPB Scotland have announced an official partnership to make SAC’s Crichton Royal dairy research farm in Dumfries an exemplar for wildlife-friendly dairy farming.

Alistair Marshall, vice-chairman of SRUC, signs the memorandum agreement watched by Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray, Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland and Dr Dave Roberts, head of SAC’s dairy research centre

A Memorandum of Agreement was signed last Thursday setting out how the organisations will work together to increase wildlife on the farm by focusing on birds, butterflies and wildflowers.

The partners will develop and demonstrate simple and cost-effective methods of boosting wildlife on the farm. The objective is to demonstrate measures which do not have an effect on a farm’s bottom line and encourage other pastoral farms to adopt the measures shown to be successful.

Farmers will be able to pick up ideas during regular ‘knowledge exchange’ events. RSPB Scotland and SAC have worked together at Crichton for 10 years. The signing formalises and strengthens this partnership. The farm is a LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) innovation centre.

Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “Scotland’s farms are home to a wide variety of stunning wildlife. Sadly, some such as kestrel, lapwing and yellowhammer are in need of urgent help.

“By working with SAC, we hope to develop simple low-cost solutions which dairy farmers and other producers can apply to their land, reversing the fortunes of declining birds, butterflies and other species in the wider countryside.”

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