Helen Browning says her methods aare best when it comes to wildlife Picture Ref: 78721-14SWINDON'S organic farmers provide a better home for wildlife than conventional ones according to new research.
A survey carried out by scientists shows that fields in organic farms support more plant species, spiders, birds and bats than those treated with non organic pesticides.
The news has come as no surprise to Swindon's organic farmers who say they've known all along about the ecological benefits of their farming techniques.
Helen Browning owns and runs Eastbrook Farm in Bishopstone, which produces organic meat and vegetables.
She said: "We've known for a while of the positive impact our farm is having on wildlife.
"Since we started farming organically in 1986 we noticed a big increase in the wildlife on the farm.
"There are more plants and an extraordinary number of different birds.
"We have skylarks, buzzards, kestrels, and goldfinches and lots more.
"The farm is also covered in hares which we love.
"All those people who once said that organic farms wouldn't work can shut up now."
The study was carried out by the British Trust for Ornithol-ogy, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Oxford Univer-sity's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
It reveals that it is not only the lack of pesticide on organic farms that encourages wildlife but also the fact that hedges are cut less and crops are sowed later.
The study also found that organic crops contain 85 per cent more types of plant species, 17 per cent more spiders and five per cent more birds than those grown in non-organic fields.
Rowie Meers runs the Purton House organic farm in Purton. She said: "There is certainly a lot more biodiversity on an organic farm.
"We only cut our hedges every other year and we don't spray the hedgerows so that really encourages wildlife.
"There are hundreds of different plants on the farm and lots of wildlife."
She believes that in the future all farmers should consider going organic.
"If you go back 20 years nobody believed that by this time ten per cent of farmers would be farming organically.
"But it has happened and I believe there's a really positive future ahead for organic farmers."
Diana Milne
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