In the Clee Hills area of South Shropshire a farmers group instigated by the local community is proving the benefit of working together. The Clee View Farmers Group was set up in June 2022 and currently has a membership of 57 farmers across 13,321 hectares. The group’s aim is to share learning and seek practical solutions to producing affordable food whilst dealing with environmental challenges such protecting & enhancing biodiversity and reducing emissions of carbon, phosphates, ammonia etc.

Over the last year and a half the group has held events on herbal leys, rotational grazing systems, soil health and more. There have been talks on priority species, research into new biodiversity markets & even a debate about rewilding with WWF.

The group has undertaken carbon foot-printing on 38 member farms and in 2024 will be working to understand the main Greenhouse Gas emissions from farm practices in the area and what can be done to reduce them.

The group’s soil health testing programme in 2023 delivered some fascinating results and highlighted some real positives from current farming practices. For both arable and grassland samples from 54 farms the average organic matter content of soils was high & carbon stocks were above the national average.

There is lots more work to do in 2024 as the group considers what can be done to enhance the nature recovery network whilst maintaining food production on our fertile soils.

For more information please contact Kate Mayne: Katyjmayne@gmail.com