Sustainable farming practices are widely adopted to produce good quality food in harmony with nature.
Sustainable farming practices incorporate many different approaches to farming that aim to reduce environmental impacts and increase environmental benefits. How farmland is managed impacts the diversity and abundance of wildlife it provides space for, and how easily wildlife can move across the landscape between areas of nature-rich habitat.  

Sustainable farming practices minimise the impact of farming on habitats and ecosystem functioning, with a focus on soil health, water quality, increasing diversity, minimising chemical use and improving habitat connectivity. As well as there being variation in the different methods and approaches, there is also variety in how we refer to sustainable farming practices, including: 
  • agroecology  
  • regenerative farming  
  • nature-friendly farming  
  • organic farming  
  • permaculture  
  • high nature status farming  
  • biodynamic farming  
Sustainable farming practices need to be both economically and environmentally sustainable, providing good quality local food, local jobs, profit for the farmer, and an increased abundance and diversity of wildlife and habitats.

Typical farming species

Brown hare
Brown hare
Corn bunting bird on a branch
Corn bunting
Corn marigold
Corn marigold

Nature recovery in action

George and Dougal Hosford manage 800 rented hectares at Traveller’s Rest Farm near Blandford. They have been gradually transitioning to regenerative farming since giving up ploughing 20 years ago. The farm includes species rich, unimproved and improved grasslands. A herd of pasture-reared beef cows is considered critical to the sustainable management of both grassland and 650 hectares of arable crops.

The farm focuses on sustainable practices whilst at the same time maintaining financial resilience. Soil health is a priority, and a gradual reduction in the use of synthetic chemical and fertiliser inputs, combined with a more biological approach, is supporting both biodiversity and crop yields. Seventy-four hectares of strategically placed wildflower margins and plots form the basis for a system of integrated pest control, encouraging beneficial predatory insects to control common pest species as an alternative to insecticides. These areas benefit pollinators and a wide range of insects.
Pasture-reared beef cows at Traveller’s Rest farm
Photo credit: Dougal Hosford
The farm focuses on sustainable practices whilst at the same time maintaining financial resilience. Soil health is a priority, and a gradual reduction in the use of synthetic chemical and fertiliser inputs, combined with a more biological approach, is supporting both biodiversity and crop yields. Seventy-four hectares of strategically placed wildflower margins and plots form the basis for a system of integrated pest control, encouraging beneficial predatory insects to control common pest species as an alternative to insecticides. These areas benefit pollinators and a wide range of insects. 

To prevent grasses from overwhelming the wildflowers, they mow and remove the cuttings most autumns, turning them into hay for their cows or compost for the soil. A return to hay making has eliminated the use of plastic bale wrap. Direct drilling has replaced minimal till crop establishment. With the decrease in synthetic inputs and soil disturbance, general life in the soil has noticeably increased. This and other management have led to a significant increase in numbers of skylark, woodlark, cornbunting, yellowhammers, linnets, finches, starlings and many other birds. 

Diversity is key. A wide range of crops is being grown, sometimes 2 crops are grown at the same time (bicropping) with very low inputs. The increase in insect life in these fields is noticeable. As passionate stewards of the land, the Hosfords also harvest and sow their own native seed mixes, recognising their ecological value and adaptability. They are motivated by a belief in fostering balance in their farm ecosystem and see food and nature going hand in hand.

Potential activities

See what activities people can carry out to help achieve this priority. You can view them all, or just look at the one most relevant to you. These activities are a guide and are not exhaustive, as there are many small activities involved in habitat management and restoring ecosystems.

The activities and Dorset’s nature recovery maps provide a starting point, but additional land management and ecological advice will often be needed to support activities on individual sites. 

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Select the sector you're interested in to see the relevant activities for this priority.

Explore all potential activities

Listed here are all the potential activities for this priority:
  • increase the use of mixed farming and the diversity in crops, livestock and wildlife. For example, having a mix of grazing livestock and crops, improving crop rotations and increasing structural and species diversity of plants, trees and hedgerows on farm
  • review and increase understanding of current chemical use on farm, create and follow a management plan to minimise amounts used and losses into the wider environment beyond the farm
  • reduce or stop chemical use such as fertilisers, pesticides and some veterinary medicines for livestock that persist in livestock dung
  • adopt farming practices that support soil health for example by reducing the frequency and depth of tillage, avoiding leaving soil bare by using under sowing, cover and catch crops, keeping living roots in the soil, feeding the soil with plant residues, compost and manure
  • work with neighbours to take an integrated approach to managing cross-holding features ssuch as hedges, buffer strips, margins, water courses, slopes and geodiversity features
  • work with neighbouring farms and other partners to coordinate nature recovery activities across the landscape and share equipment and knowledge. For example, by joining a farmer cluster or landscape scale recovery project
  • create, maintain and enhance a variety of habitats for a broad range of wildlife during different stages of their lifecycle and different seasons of the year, for example, areas planted for birds or pollinators
  • plan where wildlife habitats are created or enhanced across the farm so that they provide corridors or stepping stones that join up with other habitats, to allow wildlife to travel across the farm and wider landscape
  • support young and adult populations of pollinating insects that are critical to pollinating wildflowers and crops. For example, maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks or in-field strips, and reduce chemical use
  • if extracting small amounts of mineral for other works on farm, consider whether appropriate to leave some exposed bare rock, sand or gravel habitat for wildlife. This can also be a learning opportunity for others to observe and understand more about geology
  • as part of habitat creation or enhancement, keep existing wet features like depressions or re-wet historically wet areas of the land
  • consider growing perennial energy crops on less productive land, rather than annual short rotation energy crops, to deliver benefits for soil health and space for wildlife
  • explore options for improving slurry management, for example, covered slurry stores, larger 6 month+ capacity storage, adaptive grazing to use grass more strategically, reduction of maize planting and reducing stock numbers
  • explore options for cross-catchment trading of slurry and manure, to move excess nutrients from livestock farms over to arable farms where it can replace artificial fertiliser
  • conserve and enhance populations of wildlife with strong associations to farmland, including arable specialists, such as corn bunting and brown hare, and grassland specialists, such as starling and harvest mouse
  • use integrated pest management, for example, beetle banks
  • use a range of grazing practices and breeds, suited to the type of habitat or land-use. For example, conservation grazing to maintain semi-natural habitats, or rotational grazing on pasture
  • reduce farm plastic use and join a plastic recycling scheme
  • maintain or introduce in-field trees or agroforestry systems on farms, this involves growing trees, hedges and shelterbelts on farmland alongside crops and grazing livestock. For example, silvopasture or silvoarable. Increasing trees across the farmed landscape can help connect woodlands, boost soil fertility, retain water and provide shade and forage for livestock
  • enhance, create and manage hedgerows as important wildlife corridors between farmland and other habitats, including a diversity of hedgerow trees
  • create buffer strips near waterbodies on farms to reduce runoff, prevent livestock destabilising the riverbanks, and connect habitats in rivers and on land
  • manage habitats to provide biodiversity net gain units or nutrient mitigation credits
  • support initiatives that improve marketing of local sustainably produced food, and help connect farmers and consumers
  • explore how Agri-Tech can help deliver sustainable farming practices and healthy food production
  • support farmers and land managers to work together to enable efficient woodland management, sale of timber wood products and best practice on management and biosecurity