Meet Dave Smart
In brief
Who Dave Smart
Where Abbotts Hall farm, Great Wigborough, Essex
How big 700 acres
Grows Oats (for Jordans), wheat, rape, peas, field beans, barley, birdseed (sold in Essex Wildlife Trust visitor centres)
New kid on the block, or from a farming family?
I was brought up on the Essex coast and although I was interested in wildlife and fishing, after A levels I became a money trader in the City. After five years I realised it wasn’t for me, so at the grand age of 23 I retired and looked for something else. I did seasonal work with the RSPB and loved it, so in 1993 I started a degree in Countryside Management at Writtle College. In 2001 I got the chance to manage Abbotts Hall farm, on the Essex coast, on behalf of the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Most satisfying parts of your job?
Seeing a barn owl carrying food to its young in one of our nesting boxes in the summer. It’s also been amazing see how quickly nature has claimed back the coastal marshes that we’ve reinstated.
Most irritating parts?
Paperwork and red tape.
What keeps you awake in the middle of the night?
Nothing. After working in the City, nothing stresses me anymore.
How do you create homes for wildlife on your farm?
We leave margins planted with nectar- and pollen-rich plants around our fields, and we’ve planted new woodlands and over 2 kilometres of new hedgerows. To complement our dozen ponds we created a freshwater lake, which water voles absolutely love. We’ve also created 80 acres of new permanent grassland around the coastal fringes of the farm. They’re grazed by sheep, as they would have been from medieval times right up until the Second World War.
Any specific stuff you’re proud of?
Our greatest achievement has been turning the arable land on the edges of the farm back into coastal marshes. We’ve done this by breaching the seawall so that the land inside it is tidally flooded once again. Because of rising sea levels and other factors, in Essex we’ve lost up to 60% of our naturally occurring salt marshes over the past 20 years. The salt marshes are vital for birdlife and are home to some unique plants and invertebrates, many of which are a key food source for the birds. We’ve demonstrated that a natural coastline is possible in Essex.
Doesn’t all this mean you’re less profitable?
No. Thanks to schemes like Conservation Grade, which pays us to create homes for wildlife, one doesn’t need to be out of pocket by caring for wildlife. But you do need to have the will to make it work.
What difference have these conservation measures made?
The restored marshes are teeming with wildfowl like brent geese, wigeon, teal, pintail, shellduck, little grebe and mallard. These in turn bring in raptors like marsh harriers. You’ll also spot plants like glasswort, sea purslane, sea aster, sea lavender and golden samphire. The grasslands have provided habitats for skylarks and lapwings, as well as hares. Other bird species include fieldfares, linnets, barn owls, reed buntings, whitethroats, yellowhammers and short-eared owls.
Any measurable successes?
Yes. Our yellowhammer population has increased from three pairs to 10, and our skylarks from 18 to 36 pairs. We’ve counted up to 18 different species of wader on the coastal marshes.
What are you doing when you’re not farming?
Fishing – it’s one of the main reasons I live on the coast. I also take the kids out foraging on the foreshore for oysters, mussels and cockles.
Come the floods, what would you save apart from your family and friends?
Our photos and videos of the kids
Favourite breakfast cereal
Muesli – we make our own from oats, dried fruits and seeds.
If you hadn’t become a farmer, what would you be doing?
I’d be a primary school teacher. I enjoy being with small children and showing them all the wonderful stuff that’s outdoors.