Barry Brooks has been farming areas of the Broads for over ten years and takes full advantage of the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Scheme, which runs in the Broads.

He's one of the biggest graziers in the Broads, and for a number of years has been grazing Halvergate Marshes, owned by the RSPB. In 2001, he won an award from English Nature for the way he had managed the land.

In the 1980s, large areas of the marsh were drained for arable production, raising concerns over damage to wildlife habitats. The short grazed marshes are ideal habitat for a number of bird species, including lapwing and redshank. Now the marsh is part of the ESA, where traditional land use and water level management is encouraged.

Barry has a mixed farm of arable and livestock, 2700ha of which is used as forage, and mostly qualifies for ESA grants. The ESA scheme places restrictions on the way that Barry manages the land in the grazing marshes. Most of the land is tier two, and he gets incentives to enhance the marshland and the dykes that criss-cross the land. Over the ten years he's been signed up to the ESA Scheme, he's maintained over 200 miles of dykes, mainly through grants from English Nature.

Much of the cattle reared on the marsh are sold locally as part of the Norfolk beef scheme. Barry has been pro-active in developing the local market for his beef-cattle, selling his beef directly to independent supermarket chain Roys of Wroxham.

He clearly has a love of the land, and the wildlife that lives alongside him. "There's the restrictions the ESA place on me, then those the RSPB place on me, then there are those I place on myself because I love the wildlife."

His message to farmers is: "It's good business sense to take advantage of the grants available for the ESA, and to take on board what Sir Don Curry said in his report." He highly recommends farmers look at stewardship if they are interested in nature "… it pays more than grain!"
Henry Cator