North Pool Farm: Environmental Plan for Sustainable Agriculture

This report presents a farm environmental plan developed for North Pool Farm, aiming to improve farm production while adhering to environmental norms. The plan outlines various approaches, including the development of nectar and pollen sources, legume and herb-rich swards, and winter food for seed-eating birds, with allocated stewardship money for each option. The report further explores a comparison between Conservation Stewardship (CS) in England, Environmental Management Systems (EMS) in Australia, and environmental management in India, highlighting the components beneficial to farmers. It also addresses soil erosion management and the importance of pollinators, emphasizing the need for sustainable farming practices to enhance productivity and protect the environment. The plan also includes tables detailing the allocation of funds and specific conservation options. The report concludes by summarizing the key strategies for environmental management.

3/16/2018
AGRICULTURE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Student Name

Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................2
Map of farm showing farm environmental plan.....................................................................................................3
Management or conservation options to be implemented......................................................................................4
Table showing accumulation of stewardship money and where allocated.............................................................5
Nectar and pollen sources..................................................................................................................................7
Flower-rich margins and plots.......................................................................................................................7
Legume and herb-rich swards........................................................................................................................8
Winter food for seed-eating birds......................................................................................................................8
Additional resources and habitats......................................................................................................................8
Compare and contrast CS in England with EMS in Australia and environmental management India...................9
Components of the 3 schemes of benefit to WA farmers.....................................................................................12
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................................16
1

Introduction
Agriculture plays an essential role towards human survival thus making it a primary requirement each
nation, community, and person must consider. The past few decades have seen the use of commercial
methods of farming which have helped improve yields over the short term period but contributed
towards land and environment degradation over the long-term perspective. With chemical fertilizers
and pesticides affecting land resource negatively over the long-term perspective, it has become
important for suitable farming approaches to be adopted. Organic farming has therefore registered a
rise in demand in recent years but scientists have also been placed under pressure to develop new
technologies to address major concerns such as increased farm yields and pest control using harmless
and organic solution, (Barh, Zambare & Azevedo, 2013). The report shall explore different approaches
which can be used by farmers to improve farm production while addressing environmental norms. This
will be achieved by developing a farm environmental plan highlighting the different approaches which
can be used to improve production, retain farmland fertility and protect Flora and Fauna from harmful
chemicals.
2

Map of farm showing farm environmental plan
Key;
3
Nector flower mix
Winter bird food
Legume and herb rich
swards
Flower rich margins
AB5
AB6, 11,12 GS2,17,SW1, BE 3,
WT1 &WT2

Management or conservation options to be implemented
Agriculture management and conversation method stake multiple shapes and in many situations, the
conservation option adopted by a farm will depend on the farm product. Therefore require adopting a
unique approach and conversation option which will ensure the farm maximizes its productivity.
Multiple factors linked to the availability of irrigation water, gradient, type of soil as well as the crops
and animals farmed will continue towards the development of the environmental plan. For this report
develop an environmental plan for the North Pool Farm which covers a total area of 110 ha. The plan
will address environmentally friendly farming approaches which the farm can adopt so as to ensure
maximum profitability. The plan shall also divide the farm production into sections each focusing on
different farming practicing and highlight the benefits of each approach, (OECD, 2006. The Plan shall
address environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices with relation to Nectar and pollen
sources, winter food for seed-eating birds and Additional resources and habitats. These have been the
hardest hit through the use of chemicals in Agriculture thus making it important for the farm to utilize
biological and environmentally friendly approaches to cultivated crops and animals without damaging
the environment. To maximize the benefits registered on the projects its critical for the environmental
plan to be divided between the different sections and specific amounts of money allocated to each
proposed plan. The investment towards the proposed plans will be recovered over a 5 year period thus
allowing the developers invest more towards the development of the project thus helping to improve
successful implementation.
4

Table showing accumulation of stewardship money and where allocated
Option
Total area in
hectares
Total
amount
allocated Remarks
AB1
Nectar flower mix
2 ha
£511
Located in the area with
limited grassland levels.
AB8
Flower-rich margins and
plots
2 ha
£539
Area allocated effected
for ensuring effective
nectar and pollen
pollination
GS4
Legume and herb-rich
swards
2 ha
£309
Essential for nitrogen
fixation in the land to
make more arable.
AB9 Winter bird food 4 ha £640
Effective placed in
accessible and visible
locations of the farm
AB5
Nesting plots for lapwing
and stone curlew 0.4 ha £524
Effective placed in
accessible and visible
locations of the farm
AB6
Enhanced overwinter
stubble
0.4 ha
£436 Effective for winter
AB11
Cultivated areas for
arable plants
0.4 ha
£532
Good arable land
efficiently
AB12
Supplementary winter
feeding for farmland
birds(per
0.4 ha
£632
For bird control
management
5

tonne for every 2 ha of
AB9- Winter bird food)
0.4 ha
GS2
Permanent grassland with
very low inputs (outside
SDAs)
0.4 ha
£95 For pasture grazing
GS17
Lenient grazing
supplement
0.4 ha
£44 For farm animals
SW1
4m to 6m buffer strip on
cultivated land
0.4 ha
£353
For control of soil
erosion
BE3
Management of
hedgerows
0.3 ha
£8/100m
Effective soil
conservation
WT1
Buffering in-field ponds
and ditches in improved
grassland
0.3 ha
£201
For protection of soil
management
WT2
Buffering in-field ponds
and ditches on arable land
0.3 ha
£501
Soil control
management practices
TOTAL = 14.1 HA = £4814
6

Nectar and pollen sources
Pollinators play an immense role towards any farms success making it important to address insect and
pollinator interests. This is due to their immense contribution towards pollinating crops which ensures
successful fertilization and spearhead of pollen and genetic diversity. The nectar and pollen
pollinators’ project would be distributed by dedicating 1% of the landmass to the pollinator’s project,
(Miller, 2013). This would be distributed across the farms which would ensure even distribution of
pollinators across the farms which would ensure even pollination of flowing plants. The project office
and storage site would be located at the centre of the North Pool Farm thus ensuring even distribution
of the resources and project development.
Nectar flower mix
The primary insect encouraged for pollination at beside to their efficacy towards pollinating flowers
and ability to produce honey which can be harvested and sold in the retail market. In addition to
effective pollination and honey production, they are also tameable insects thus allowing farmers to
house them at specific locations without the fear of losing the hive. This makes bees the ideas
pollination insect but their honey productions required careful management. The honey flavour is
directly influenced by the flower nectar the bees collect thus making it possible to manipulate and
control the type of honey being produced by a hive, (Miller, 2013).This makes flower management
important towards honey production as it influences the flavour and price directly.
Flower-rich margins and plots
Certain flowers also have the ability to repel pest’s insects while still attracting bees. One such flower
which has been classified as environmentally friendly in organic farming is the marigold species. They
produce an abundance of flowers and nectar for bees while at the same time has been known to repel
many pest insects from farms surrounded by marigold plants, (Dicks et al. 2014). This makes it critical
7

for the pest insect repelling flowers to be grown on plot blundering which will help repel pest insects
from damaging crop plants without the use of chemical insecticides.
Legume and herb-rich swards
It is also essential to encourage the growth of Legume and herb-rich swards which continue towards
farm animal health. Animal husbandry is a major part of many farms and similar to crop production
the demand for organic farmed animal’s products is on the rise, (Parliament, 2013). By encouraging
the growth of Legume and herb-rich swards farm animals can consumer healthy organic food which
would continue toward healthier and most resilient animals and animal’s products
Winter food for seed-eating birds
Birds were until recently classified as farm pests but organic farming has demonstrated the importance
of birds towards sustainable environmentally friendly farming practices. Worms are a perfect example
of this contribution made by birds. All farmers know that earthworms contribute towards building
solid fertility and do no damage crop plants thus they are encouraged on farms. On the other hand,
caterpillars are notorious for damaging crops and bird’s area natural remedy for caterpillar
management (Williams, Pople, & Showler, 2013). While birds may consumer some crop yields their
contribution towards managing caterpillar infestations plays a bigger benefit to organic farmers as
compared to the amount they consume. This makes it important to manage bird pollution and provide
winter food for birds so as to encourage the birds to roost on the farm even during the winter months.
The location of the winter food for the birds will be suited at North pool Farm at various places so as
to allow birds to feed on any worms ad caterpillars which will be reared so as to protect the seeds from
being eaten by the seed eating birds. Locations for growing winter food are shown below in the table;
Additional resources and habitats
In addition to crops and animal husbandry, it’s also important to consider other aspects linked to
environmental degradation such as soil erosion. Soil erosion occurred due to the implementation of
8

poor cultivation techniques but can easily be managed and brought under control. To do this an
effective soil management plan must be developed and soil erosion strategies implemented to prevent
further soil loss which also contributes towards soil fertility depletion.
Compare and contrast CS in England with EMS in Australia and environmental management
India
Australia is made up of a vast arid landscape with limited water resources above ground. This results
in making the majority of Australia un-arable and non-arable for crop farming. While Australia has
been termed as being among the driest places on the planet, there is an abundance of underground
water resources in any part of the country. This makes it possible for farmers to implement
environmentally friendly farming techniques to grow crops and rare animals, (Swaminathan, 2017).
This has been a farming strategy which has been adopted by both the United Kingdom and India which
is well known for the green revolution.
In Western Australia, EMS activities are being directed by the department of Agriculture and are being
implemented by the Land Management Society. The Agriculture department is an EMS working group
which incorporates various stakeholders from meat sector, dairy farm, grain farm, wool rearing, trade
partners, industry players and other relevant stakeholders in adoption of best farming practices and
usage of codes of practices. Further the Agriculture department, has developed an Environmental Farm
Plan in developing EMS products which is more specifically associated with QA product chain , SQF
2000.
South Australia is in progress of developing proposals on EMS for agricultural industry. Various
sectors have been developing EMS for their respective places so as to equip themselves with ISO
14001 standards.
9

In Victoria State, the agriculture department are in continuous progress of working on EMS and its
implementation in various stages. Farmers are being encouraged to implement farm polices which
have environmental management principles, which include usage of least partial restoration and water
balance. Further farmers are provided information of range of farm planning techniques and schemes
which they choose to follow.
Generally in Australia, agriculture farming is slowly embracing ISO 14001. Projects such as the role of
on farm quality assurance and environmental quality in achieving sustainable agriculture and land use
management has been adopted. The increased overall increase and demand for productivity has led to
one of the most urgent concerns of environmental management. With the changing environment and
past farm management practices, focus is now shifting on use and management of water, chemical use
management, erosion, animal welfare, greenhouse gas emission animal welfare among others.
India is well recognized for its efforts towards promoting suitable farming and turning arid land into
arable farming land whereby Regions like Rajasthan which was majority classified as Desert has been
converted into arable farmland.
Despite this efforts there has been numerous challenges faced such as pollution. Air, water, land and
air contamination are cross-sectional in the land. Huge expose has been contaminated with pollutants.
Further natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystems have been degraded, leading to poor soils,
depleted aquifers and limited forests. The costal zone management has been encroached by. Climate
change has highly impacted India which has been contributed to high poverty levels, high population
and high reliance on natural resources and water.
Despite to these challenges, the government has made tremendous efforts in attempting to reduce the
challenges occasioned by environmental hazards. The enactment of National Environmental policy has
recognised on values of harnessing market forces and establishing green tribunal to manage
10

environment litigations. The government further has enacted and promoted and inclusive approach on
costal planning and management of hazard waste and ensuring there is conservation of land.
India further has been supported by partners such as World Bank, in developing a multipronged
approach to address environmental issues. A program on sound knowledge of products has been rolled
to promote utilization if environmental friendly solutions. Further capacity building initiatives for the
farmers have been established so as to improve their resilience on farm practices. Some of the active
projects include the coastal zone management project, industrial pollution management on pollution
and Ganga River basin conservation plan on water catchment areas.
In England, country side stewardship schemes have led to contribution of an estimate of £900 million
in a period of 6 years. The program helps farmers and woodland managers in improving the state of
existing woodlands, support preparation and management of plans, addressing health issues of trees
and creation of new woodlands so as to ensure land is effectively used.
The conservation management system has been used as a key tool to manage green assets and heritage
of the people. The CMS is a panning based tool which is geared towards conservation tool.
Conservation management practices in England has involved control of socio economic factors which
entails efficient use of materials, recycling materials, restoration of derelict land and maintenance of
capacity of ecosystems. However in the recent past focus has shifted on agriculture, fisheries, forestry,
water conservation wild life and genetic resources.
The conservation management practices has played crucial role in forming linkages on environmental,
social and economic aspects. Hence it focuses on restoration of conservation management and
restoring the culture for sustainability efforts. England has also adopted a similar strategy by
promoting organic farming strategies which have resulted in the farmers being able to produce
healthier organic food which fetches higher prices from consumers.
11