Farming and conservation at Aswanley

Moorland, river systems and woodland are all fragile habitats in which man can easily affect detrimentally. At Aswanley, we try and sustain the natural habitats of these areas by minimising the impact of man's activities and encouraging the natural ecosystems.

Farming: We pride ourselves in our ecological approach to farming. We have areas sown out for un-harvested crops to allow wild birds to thrive. Diverse grasses and wild flower fields are a magnet for a variety of species including huge numbers of butterflies and insects. Arable cropping varies in rotation but you can often see the yellow of oil seed rape in May and the gold of the barley in the autumn.

We farm a flock of over 350 breeding ewes, which lamb outdoors in May - similar to the New Zealand system - and are ready to go to market in the autumn. Our breeds are Greyface, Mules and Texel cross. At certain times of year we can have nearly a thousand sheep on the ground at Aswanley. The 2011 new season lambs bred at Aswanley made the top price of 1.68 a kilo/£73 a lamb. Thanks to Sandy Robson's shepherding skills and attention to the grazings, the flocks are looking in great shape going into the winter.

Parts of the Aswanley grasslands are rented to cattle breeders during the summer months - the common breeds are Aberdeen Angus, Highland, Charolais and Short Horn.

Moorland: At Aswanley we have a small heather moor. It is an insufficient area to manage successfully as a grouse moor by itself, yet adjoining land is managed as a grouse moor. So, we have also chosen this as a land use system resisting the forestry option. We hope to be successful in the recovery of grouse. Grouse, Curlew, Blackgame, Goldern Plovers and other moorland birds don't thrive without management. Grouse require young shoots of heather to eat, protection from hooded crows and foxes. £21 million is spent each year on grouse management and shooting in Scotland. We spend a little!

We try and burn 10% of the grouse moor each year to regenerate heather. By burning strips of moorland it encourges the re-growth of heather, which provides fresh stems for grouse and other moorland birds. We also protect grouse broods from crows and foxes. This management also helps the gull colony on the hill. It is the second largest colony of Common Gulls in Europe, which despite their name are not! By arrangement with Scottish National Heritage this colony is now a protected area. So far, we have not achieved a surplus of grouse, as the third factor in the survival of grouse is weather. In east Aberdeenshire, Scotland, this has not been helpful latterly. However, we shall persevere. We like the heather, enjoy being on the hill and want to look after the grouse.

The River Deveron: Wetlands, stream and river margins are managed to sustain the abundant wildlife from frogs to fox gloves. We are particularly keen to protect the fish in the River Deveron. It is well documented that the long term viability of the salmon as a species is under serious threat. While this is by no means the fault of rod and line fishermen, it is nevertheless a fact that if anglers do not voluntary show some restraint in terms of the number of fish taken, then some sort of legal prohibition will be forced upon them. At Aswanley fishing is by fly only and we recommend a voluntary code of restraint. We support Catch and Release and can offer guidance in best practise of this conservation method. The arable fields alongside the River Deveron at Aswanley are fenced off to stop animal erosion on the river banks and encouraging the rich natural habitats of these areas to flourish.

Forestry: At the moment thinning operations at Aswanley are opening up the woodlands, allowing the trees more space to grow. Any replanting or new woodlands are a mixture of Scots Pine, Sitka and mixed natives. Talnamount Hill at Aswanley was one of the first carbon credit pine schemes in Scotland.

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