Property


Farmland can help UK reach Net Zero target – study


• Farmers have key role, says report • Land seen as alternative investment • Hedgerows and trees are important


F


armed landscapes can con- tribute to carbon manage- ment while also offering opportunities for wildlife, says a study. Peatlands and native wood- lands are among the habitats with the greatest capacity to store carbon, says the Natural England report. But other habi- tats – including including grass- lands – could have a significant role too, it suggests.


Hedgerows can increase car- bon storage while benefiting wild- life and biodiversity as part of the farmed countryside, says the docu- ment. Future environmental land management schemes will reward farmers for doing this work.


The report says the landscape recovery tier of the forthcoming environmental Land Manage- ment scheme will incentivise major land management chang- es and habitat restoration across England.


Full potential Natural England climate change specialist Ruth Gregg said: “To achieve full potential in helping the UK achieve net zero by 2050 we need to act now, basing deci- sions on robust science and tak- ing a strategic approach.” Land agents Strutt & Parker


say increased demand from green investors looking at alternatives to food production is a notable de-


Historic farm hits market for £7.5m


A


historic 138ha (340 acre) Suffolk farm on the banks of the River De- ben is now on sale with a guide price


of £7.5 million. Hill Farm in Martlesham, near Wood-


bridge, is said to be one of the first places in England to export sugar beet to the Neth- erlands. It was once owned by a former RAF group captain who fought alongside World War Two flying ace Douglas Bader. The property includes 91ha (224 acres)


of productive, organic, irrigated farmland. It has typically supported crop rotations in- cluding French beans, butternut squash, po- tatoes, carrots, beetroot, onions and parsley as well as cereals and clover.


In addition there are 35ha (86 acres) of grazing marshes, meadow and woodland,


72 ANGLIA FARMER • JUNE 2021 The farm includes arable land, grazing marshes and woodland. Photo: Kevin Snell


a six million gallon reservoir and 7ha (18 acres) of water and saltings. Building in- clude workshops, machinery storage and a five-bedroom farmhouse.


The property has been in the same family for almost 60 years and is currently farmed organically under tenancy. Land agents Sav- ills describe it as “an exemplary residential farm in the rarest of coastal settings.” Selling agent William Hargreaves said:


“The property provides a wonderful oppor- tunity for progressive farming. Classified as organic for more than 15 years, the ara- ble land is farmed under contract until the end of September 2022.”


Between 1956 and 1963 the farm was owned by Group Captain Edward P Wells, a New Zealander who served with 41 and 266 squadrons during the Battle of Britain, flying alongside Douglas Bader.


velopment in the farmland mar- ket over recent months. “They still represent a very small subset of the market, but it does look as if that proportion is set to grow,” it says. Plans include tree planting, rewilding and oth- er conservation and carbon-off- set projects. National Sheep Association


chief Executive Phil Stocker said future land management schemes would provide the op- portunity for the vast majority of the UK’s farmland to be man- aged in ways that enhance soil and nature.


This would be achieved through the forthcoming Sustain- able Farming Incentive scheme – but go further with local nature and landscape recovery to create and maintain habitats with relat- ed net zero benefits. The study says woodlands have high rates of carbon seques-


tration – depending on the spe- cies, age and location of trees. Old woodland can become substantial carbon stores, it adds. Mr Stocker said protecting these habitats was important for biodiversity too. But he cautioned against a headlong rush to meet tree planting targets – saying it was crucial to remember the im- portance of site selection. “The right tree in the right place is what is crucial and that future needs will be a mix of cli- mate control, nature recovery and a need to feed ourselves healthi- ly and not ‘offshore’ our footprint to somewhere that is simply out of sight.”


Trees and shrubs – alongside grazing animal systems – could support food production while providing wider environmental and nature benefits, helping the UK meet its carbon targets, said Mr Stocker.


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