The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

SFI has now closed out of the blue but if you've submitted you'll be assessed. what an awful shame. the amount of work put into it with brand new computer systems etc this seems unplanned. all those new endorsed actions have just been put on hold undeterminably. I'm sad because I really did think gr...

Hi Sarah I sent my application in for endorsement over the weekend. We had a comprehensive Cornwall wildlife trust survey here last summer, as we are hoping to get County wildlife status on our land, so I am hoping that can be used to endorse our application. Did it take you a long time to get endo...

Hi Sam That's unfortunate that they went away again until the Summer. We persuaded ours to use my photographs and the indicator species for the endorsement. If they've gone away and won't return until the summer, i'm not sure what more can be done now? unless you think you might be able to persuade ...

Hi We have been on a long and involved journey of securing GRH6 funding across just over 9 hectares. https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/grh6-manage-priority-habitat-species-rich-grassland-endorsed If anyone is trying to go through the same thing and needs a friend I am happy to try to...

hi we are in membury and have land that was over grazed when we bought it. we have left it ungrazed for two cutting seasons and the difference in wildlife (both quantity and diversity) is amazing. the plant species that have returned is also outside anything we could have expected. we are going to c...

Thanks for your reply Jane - I do think other people's experience is hugely useful and indeed interesting so thank you for including it. The joy of finding something new you had no part in is just the best thing ever. picking through the fields wondering what things are is one of my favourite hobbie...

Hi I have 30 acres that used to be heavily grazed by sheep that we have just left since we bought them 2.5 years ago. The first year the fields were very poor in terms of species diversity, but the second and third have been amazing with new species arriving each year. One area of our fields in part...

I have little information to impart but just wanted to comment on your suggestion of getting a FiPL grant for fencing. The Blackdown Hills AONB simply won't entertain grants for fencing - at least not as the fundamental part of the project. I'm not even allow to have an application form! I have foun...

where in east devon are you? have you found goren farm? have you considered green hay from somewhere very local?

what's your plans for machinery?

We seem to have a lot of docks and nettles, particularly where the land has been under pressure in the past. However we also have an awful lot of sorrel which I read is botanically the same plant as the dock. This isn't going to prove a problem is it? I've got so much spear thistle that getting that...