Top award for farm conservation

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown has paid tribute to the winners of the Silver Lapwing, the country's top award for farm conservation. Mr Brown said: "Richard and Jane Cotham are worthy winners of the UK's most prestigious farm conservation award, and I also congratulate the other prize winners - Andrew Mathieson and Bill Kemball - as well as those who did well enough to make it onto a very competitive shortlist.

"This award is for the farmer who has done most to integrate the needs of conservation into the running of a successful farm business. In my experience most farmers care deeply about the countryside, and feel a special responsibility for its upkeep. This government recognises the work that many farmers do in managing and improving the rural environment.

"Many past Silver Lapwing Award winners have benefited from the Government's agri-environment schemes. It speaks for itself that all our finalists take advantage of, or are applying to join, a scheme. Some 10% of all farmers in England are helped by our agri-environment schemes - on which we expect to spend £82m this year and more in the future.

"One of the 14 headline indicators of the overall UK Sustainable Development Strategy is to reverse the decline in farmland birds. To supplement this the Government has been working for some time on a range of more specific sustainable development indicators. The Ministry of Agriculture will soon be publishing its own pilot set of indicators, specifically relating to sustainable agriculture."

The Silver Lapwing is the most prestigious and best known of the farm conservation awards. This year it is sponsored by CWS Farms Group following their acquisition of Broadoak Farming who have been the sponsors for the last six years. This will be the 21st Silver Lapwing annual award. Prizes are given to those farming or woodland businesses which have done most to encourage wildlife conservation and the enhancement of the landscape while maintaining commercially viable enterprises.

The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) run local competitions to select the best candidate in each county. County winners are then sifted to produce a short list for the national awards. There are usually three prize winners: the first prize is the Silver Lapwing Trophy, a silver medal and £1,000; the second prize is £500; and the third prize is £250. 3. This year's winners are:
1st prize - Richard Cotham, Sutton Mill Farm, Claverley, Shropshire
2nd prize - Andrew Mathieson, Brahan Farms, Dingwall, Ross-shire
3rd prize - Bill Kemball, Wantisden Hall Farms, Woodbridge, Suffolk

FWAG is an independent charitable organisation which promotes the integration of sustainable farming with the conservation and enhancement of wildlife habitats and the landscape. FWAG in England is based at the National Agricultural Centre in Stoneleigh and supports 39 county groups, all of which employ farm conservation advisers to visit farms in their areas.