Spotlight on farming

How funding is supporting Dartmoor's distinct landscape and its upland farmers.

Dartmoor is a farmed landscape and has been for millennia. Even today, around 90% of the National Park is used for agriculture – so it’s still hugely important.

In June 2021, we became the local delivery agent for the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL).

Led by Defra, it's providing funding to farmers and land managers to support and improve National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty across the UK.

Since FiPL's launch we’ve supported over 150 projects to improve the natural environment, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide public access opportunities and support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses.

Here’s a taster of the fantastic work achieved so far:

Roborough Common

Roborough Common is a stronghold for the High Brown Fritillary Butterfly; a rare and beautiful butterfly that can only be found in two areas on Dartmoor.

Sadly, the High Brown Fritillary has undergone major declines in both distribution (96%) and abundance (64%), in England and Wales since the 1970s.

This project aimed to improve the quality, extent and connectivity of 9.5 hectares of breeding habitat for the High Brown Fritillary; a butterfly which needs habitat rich in dog-violet and bracken to survive.

The site was heavily dominated by excessive scrub and young Alder Buckthorn trees, shading out much of this priority habitat. To maximise the extent of the dog-violet rich bracken habitat, the number of young Alder Buckthorn trees was reduced and excess scrub removed to increase the extent of ‘edge’ habitat, by cutting a series of tracks approximately 3-4m wide with a remote controlled roboflail.

The application was by the Butterfly Conservation, who continue to monitor the impact of the project; it's hoped the positive work achieved can be carried on in the future.

Jenny Plackett, Butterfly Conservation’s South West Conservation Manager, said: "We weren’t aware of other funding opportunities that were a close fit for our project, so the FiPL funding has been especially welcome! It has helped to restore and improve the quality of breeding habitat on Roborough Common, making it better for some of our rarest butterflies. The application and claims processes were fairly simple, and we were well supported by locally based FiPL officers."

A drill at Willey Farm A field of soil on Dartmoor

Willey Farm

Farming approximately 500 acres both inside and outside the Dartmoor National Park boundary, award winning Willey Farm grows a range of combinable crops along with grassland and woodland. The farm has a firm commitment to environmental stewardship, with both CSS and SFI schemes currently running.

The River Taw runs through the farm, with seasonal Atlantic salmon seen swimming as they return to their spawning grounds. Funding has allowed the applicant to invest in a new 3m Claydon Strip Till Drill, allowing a more regenerative approach to crop establishment.

The drill is designed to preserve the soil as much as possible when drilling seed into the ground; by moving less soil, improving soil structure and focusing on soil health, there has been an increase in worm numbers and microbial activity. Fuel savings and timeliness of establishment have also been noted.

The project included soil testing to monitor soil health improvements, and the applicant has carried out two demonstration days so that learnings could be shared with the wider farming community. The farm is part of a multi-year study with Rothamstead Research who strongly supported the application and the benefits that this project will have on the wider environment.

The applicant initially had concerns about their eligibility for the programme, with only part of their farm being inside the DNPA boundary. FiPL were able to be flexible in this exceptional circumstance because of the significant added benefits of the project, especially regarding the protection of the River Taw.

One of the great things about the FIPL programme is its flexibility and local approach; supporting local farmers to contribute to climate action goals by using new and different farming techniques. In this case, FiPL provided an opportunity for the applicant to investigate how best to change their approach to farming for their specific farm.

The programme has helped the applicant in reaching net zero over the last two years, and there has also been visible improvements to their soil health and resilience.

"FiPL’s help in the purchase of the Claydon Drill and the soil testing has been great," said the applicant. "From the initial approach and application process, right through to the post appraisal, the FiPL team have been brilliant. The drill has performed very well over the last couple of seasons, establishing crops in a challenging time. Yields and quality have been maintained with the major benefit of lower impact and environmental protection."

Huccaby Farm

Huccaby Farm is a Duchy of Cornwall “focus farm” and regularly hosts talks, walks and events for farmers. The tenants work closely with the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project, who provided the locally-sourced wool matting for this trial.

The project aimed to recreate 420 metres of traditional Devon hedge bank to be planted with native hedging plants and standard trees, which will form a corridor for wildlife between an area of well-established multispecies woodland and an area of pre-existing wood pasture.

The planting was done by volunteers from the Westcountry Rivers Trust, providing a great opportunity for people to get involved and learn about the landscape.

The trial is testing the efficiency of locally sourced wool matting as a mulch, both to retain water and as a deterrent against herbivorous rodents. This will be tested against a section of hedgerow using raw wool as mulch. The work forms part of a larger plan being implemented on the farm, with natural capital uplift and biodiversity enhancement being the focus. It will also act as a pilot to see if wool can be transformed into a useful mulch mat, assisting in the protection of newly planted hedgerow trees.

If successful, this technique could be rolled out across Dartmoor and beyond, potentially even contributing to diversifying upland farm business.

This project was a collaboration with the Duchy of Cornwall and Dartmoor Hill Farm Project. Although the full impact of the project won’t be visible for some time, the applicant has adopted an experimental approach to hedgerow management which they haven’t had the opportunity to do in the past.

The applicant now supplies their own wool for the creation of wool matting in the future through the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project. The hope is that the use of local wool mulch matting will demonstrate a new use for “waste” wool and will help to diversify farm income.

Said the applicant: "As Dartmoor farmers, FiPL gives us an opportunity to try something new, to experiment and evidence our findings, enhance biodiversity and support environmental outcomes within our farming business. We can then share knowledge and information to benefit other interested people."