Meet Ed Bramham-Jones

In brief

Who  Ed Bramham-Jones

Where  Pensthorpe, Fakenham, Norfolk

How big  500 acres

Grows  Oats (for Jordans) & malting barley, rears English Longhorn cattle & Norfolk Horn sheep.

New kid on the block, or from a farming family?

My parents weren’t farmers but I always had a passion for wildlife and farming. As a kid I’d get mum and dad to stop the car so I could watch the combines, and I loved coming to Pensthorpe Nature Reserve to feed the geese and ducks. I went birdwatching with my dad too. After leaving school I studied Countryside Management in Norwich while also working at Pensthorpe part time. Eventually a full time job came up for a warden, and that later extended to managing the farm too.

Pensthorpe – that’s owned by Bill Jordan isn’t it?

Yes, Bill took it over in 2003 and he runs the reserve with his wife Deb, both of them are very hands on deck.

Most satisfying parts of your job?

Seeing the wild flower meadows getting better every year, and still getting surprises. I also enjoy the challenge of proving that farming and wildlife can go together.

Most irritating parts?

The weather. A storm can destroy a bird’s carefully built nest, or some newborn chicks, overnight.

What keeps you awake in the middle of the night?

Wondering if I’ve made the right farming decisions, and planning the following day’s work.

How does the way you farm create homes for wildlife?

One of the reasons Bill was interested in Pensthorpe was because it gave him the opportunity to show modern farming can work hand in hand with conservation. Bill helped pioneer Conservation Grade farming over 25 years ago as a sustainable farming method and we’re now carrying out habitat trials to find out how farms in the scheme can create even more homes for wildlife. Conservation Grade Farmers use 10% of their land for conservation projects like planting or maintaining hedgerows which means wildlife can thrive. One of our projects was to converted 50 acres of poor yielding stony land to wildflower meadows. They’re grazed by traditional-breed cattle and sheep which helps ensure they remain rich in flowering plants and invertebrates. We’ve also created lakes which attract an impressive range of wildfowl and waders. In addition, we leave fields fallow, with the earth raked up, so that lapwings have somewhere to nest in spring.

 Any specific things you’re proud of?

Our wildflower meadows, which have four species of orchid, as well as cuckoo flower, common cudweed, yellow rattle, ragged robin, tufted vetch, field scabious, musk mallow, birds foot trefoil, hare’s-foot clover, meadowsweet and viper’s bugloss. The meadows are also a haven for dragonflies, butterflies and banded demoiselle damselflies.

 What difference have these conservation measures made?

Our birdlife is outstanding all year round – as anyone who watched Springwatch in 2010 and previous years knows. Last year alone we recorded 136 species!  In our lakes and water meadows, you’ll find all sorts of waders and waterfowl, as well as bitterns and cranes – we just had nine cranes fly in on New Year’s Day. In spring, our drained Wader Scrape provides ideal nesting sites for little ringed plover, avocets and lapwings. The hedgerows along our fields teem with fieldfares, redwings and all sorts of finches, including chaffinches, greenfinches, linnets and bramblings. On the open fields you can spot skylarks, lapwings, grey partridges and barn owls. We also have plenty of birds of prey, including honey buzzards, sparrowhawks, hobbies and marsh harriers.

What are you doing when you’re not farming?

Sleeping probably. Or taking my dog for a run to calm her down.

Come the floods, what would you save apart from your family and friends?

My dog, Belle, of course.

Favourite breakfast cereal?

In the winter, porridge, served with Pensthorpe honey. In summer, strawberry Country Crisp.

 If you hadn’t become a farmer, what would you be doing?

I can’t imagine not working with wildlife, conservation or farming. It’s what I love.