Conservation and farming go hand in hand; Its 40th anniversary year has been one of many challenges as the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group helps farmers get to grips with changes facing the industry. Karen Dent finds out what has been dominating the North East's agenda.

SET up in 1969 by a group of farmers and conservationists keen to balance the economic demands of agriculture with the needs of Britain's flora and fauna, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's (FWAG) mission statement is today essentially the same. The charity's first post holder's remit was to "identify the problems with reconciling the needs to modern farming with the conservation of nature and explore areas of compromise".

Today's farmers have the added incentive of payments through agri-environment schemes and advising on these different schemes is now one of the main tasks for FWAG's consultancy arm.

Chloe Palmer, FWAG's Northern region director, has seen some major changes in the decade since she started working with the organisation. "One of the single biggest changes is that for most farmers now environmental issues are mainstream," she said. "Then, it was a small minority. Now because of regulation and agri-environmental schemes, it has become more important for income. All of them have to think about environmental sustainability. "When I joined, we were an organisation on our own, now there are a lot of other organisations that have jumped on the bandwagon.

"Other organisations like the RSPB realised you've got to influence farmers because they own the land. It's actually persuading farmers of the benefits of doing things for the environment."

But she reckons there has been a shift in attitudes and farmers are no longer being forced into taking steps to protect wildlife habitats.

"Incentives like agri-environment schemes and the power of persuasion mean you can pull everybody along. As they've gone along, they've developed that passion - that's better than going behind people with a big stick.

"If people do something because they want to, they'll carry on doing it."

The next generation coming through on farms is now growing up with agri-environment schemes as part of scenery.

Ms Palmer said: "With farming, it's one of those industries where the farming population is ageing but we do deal with a lot of younger farmers now and they really are keen.

"The work we do bears that out." The shake-up of schemes that is now under way is responsible for much of FWAG's current workload. 'Classic' schemes like Countryside Stewardship are coming to an end, alongside the Hill Farm Allowance. Their replacements and the transitional periods and payments potentially can cause confusion and FWAG staff are now grappling with how they will work in practice. "Our greatest challenge is helping farmers get to grips with all that and get their heads around it," said Ms Palmer.

"The Uplands Entry Level Scheme (UELS) [which replaces the Hill Farm Allowance] - it's hugely complex. It's not just UELS - it's how it will interact with the other schemes and what you can do and what you can't do."

George Dodds, a farm conservation adviser with FWAG in Northumberland, is in the thick of it.

Mr Dodds, who is based in Wooler and has been with FWAG for 14 years, said: "It's mainly helping with grant applications, advice, getting out on site, walking and surveying.

"I am out two to three times a week.

There is a lot of paperwork involved and consultation with partners. When I first started, it was general advice, now it's quite technical.

"The uplands schemes, there is a lot of confusion about them. Until we see the nitty-gritty and start doing the nitty-gritty detail and start doing the applications on farms, we won't know how it will pan out. It'll all be very dependent on what's on the farm."

FWAG charges for its consultancy services but also carries out other conservation-based work across the region such as bird surveys, working with other partners on larger projects and organising farm walks.

The work is farmer-led and a local steering group sets the long-term objectives.

In the region, FWAG has around 230 members. They include Charles Beaumont, who runs the Trees Please tree nursery in Corbridge, who joined FWAG around 30 years ago when he first started farming.

He has served on the national board of trustees for four years and is a judge for FWAG's annual Silver Lapwing Award. "It's a fabulous organisation and needs to be as strong as it possibly can be for farmers," said Mr Beaumont, who is also chairman of the Tyne Grain co-operative.

He became involved at a national level when FWAG suffered a fall in its finances after losing monetary support from Defra. Now, he says, FWAG is back on its feet thanks to "strong trustees and steady management".

"Some people thought it was in the pocket of Defra," said Mr Beaumont.

"But it never was. FWAG is an independent organisation and always has been.

"Its challenge now is being able to carry out the amount of work on its plate at the moment."

CAPTION(S):

CONSERVATION ADVISER George Dodds, who is based in Wooler, of FWAG, left, leading a farm walk. FWAG MEMBER Charles Beaumont of Trees Please Tree Nursery, based in Corbridge. MAJOR CHANGES Chloe Palmer.