Farmer clusters lift grey partridges 271% in a decade

Grey partridge pairs at the Allenford Farmer Cluster have risen from seven to 26 since 2016, a 271% increase, according to newly published reports covering a decade of Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) monitoring. The neighbouring Martin Down and Allenford clusters, which together cover more than 13,500 hectares across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, have recorded recoveries in farmland birds, butterflies and bumblebees against a backdrop of continued national declines.

What has recovered on the ground?

At Martin Down, red-listed corn buntings have increased by 346% over the decade, against a national decline of 83% since 1967. Grey partridge numbers there are up 147%, butterfly abundance has risen 183% and butterfly diversity by 28%, with turtle doves, barn owls, swifts, harvest mice, kestrels and brown hares among the other beneficiaries.

At Allenford, butterfly diversity has increased by 48% and bumblebee species by 25% over the decade, with two nationally scarce bumblebee species recorded.

Keepers and habitat did the work

The GWCT credits the farmers and gamekeepers who created habitat and linked it up with their neighbours across the two self-funded clusters. Martin Down now has more than 100 hectares of new grass and flower margins, a 50% increase in wild pollinator habitat, twice the number of water scrapes for turtle doves and 600 hectares of grey partridge habitat, alongside predation management by gamekeepers.

GWCT senior farm environment adviser Megan Lock, who facilitates both clusters and carries out much of the monitoring, said: “I’m so proud of the efforts of two groups of farms and estates who by working together have proved that the Farmer Cluster model, combining sustainable agriculture with species recovery, is the solution to tackling the biodiversity crisis.” Farmers together manage 72% of the UK, she noted, while nature reserves cover 8%.

Who pays for the work?

Members of both clusters contribute £2 per hectare towards facilitation, training, surveying and events, and many of the measures are funded through agri-environment schemes alongside the farmers’ own private investment. The Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund, which originally paid for cluster facilitators, has closed, and Ms Lock’s role is now part-funded by the GWCT. There is currently no financial support for monitoring, which she believes new schemes should fund: without it, she said, “we can’t see if the measures put in place are worth the effort and investment”.

GWCT chief executive Nick von Westenholz said Defra’s newly announced Farmer Collaboration Fund recognises the value of farmers working together, but there is concern it will fail to fund clusters with a proven track record unless they change. “Continued public funding for the facilitation of both new and established groups like Allenford and Martin Down is critical and represents real value for money,” he said.

What happens next?

The clusters’ ten-year monitoring reports are newly published, and the detail of how Defra’s Farmer Collaboration Fund will treat established groups is awaited. The full announcement and the monitoring results can be read on the GWCT website.