Environmental Policy

Environmental stewardship

At Luffness Mains, we are committed to sustainable, integrated farming. We believe wholeheartedly in responsible stewardship of the land we farm, and strive not only to protect but to enhance the unrivalled beauty of the East Lothian countryside for the benefit of current and future generations.

Linking Environment And Farming logoWe are delighted to be accredited by LEAF, a government-supported initiative (Linking Environment And Farming) that helps farmers to integrate modern, profitable and efficient farming techniques with environmental conservation. In August 2006 we became the first potato farming enterprise in Scotland to be awarded LEAF Marque, recognising our commitment to this environmentally sound approach to farming. We also hold a Gold Standard for Nature's Choice, the Tesco farm accreditation standard. These standards are subject to an independent annual audit to ensure that we maintain the very highest standards of farming practice. We continue to push our standards ever higher – to the benefit of both our business and our environment. Our efforts were recognised recently with the award of the FWAG (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group) Lothians Cup for 2006 and we were third in the NFU Biodiversity Awards for Excellence for 2006 in Scotland.

Environmental policy

Our Environmental Policy is published for our staff and forms the basis of what we are trying to do. This can be summarised as follows:

  1. Promote biodiversity – protect and enhance habitats and species on the farm.
  2. Manage resources efficiently – such as water, energy, and raw materials and to minimise all waste.
  3. Minimise all possible sources of pollution – in water, soils and air by good management practices, use of new technologies and lots of common sense.

Luffness Mains biodiversity

"Biological Diversity" is the whole variety of life that surrounds and sustains us.
Luffness Mains supports a variety of habitats and species, some of which are of national and local significance. Key habitats include the watercourses and arable field margins. Key species on the farm and in the area include pipistrelle bat, water vole, brown hare, barn owl, grey partridge, linnet, skylark and yellowhammer. The priority is to maintain and enhance the habitats for these key species. Although Luffness Mains is intensively managed it still supports an excellent network of habitats, many of very high quality. The farm provides an extension from Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This association is most obvious through the network of watercourses that flow into the bay. It also emphasises the importance of good environmental practices on the farm.

National priority habitats on the farm include:

  • Arable field margins

Local priority habitats include:

  • Field boundaries (including hedgerow trees)
  • Watercourses
  • Hedgerows
  • Lowland mixed woodland

National priority species include:

  • Brown hare
  • Otter
  • Pipistrelle bat
  • Water vole
  • Grey partridge
  • Linnet
  • Skylark
  • Tree sparrow
  • Yellowhammer

Local priority species include:

  • Barn owl
  • Lapwing
  • Common frog

The 'flagship' species for Luffness Mains are the grey partridge, otter and barn owl

These represent the range of habitats on the farm. The desire is to see these beautiful creatures established and thriving on the farm or in the area. The key habitat is the watercourses, which are a priority for protection and enhancement.

Environmental features on the farm

Our approach is to create and maintain habitats that support and enhance the species that we want to encourage. To achieve this, we have created two key features plans:

  • Hedgerow Management Plan
  • Watercourse Management Plan

We also have several other feature types such as dykes, grassland, grass margins, ponds and wetlands, scrub, set-aside, wild bird cover and woodland. We have identified, mapped, and photographed 171 features at Luffness Mains and other land that the business owns nearby. Each feature is ascribed a management approach that determines what we want to achieve with it. For example, we have 30 hedge or tree features on the farm. For each we have a grid reference, description (e.g. hawthorn hedge), length, condition, identification for Rural Stewardship Scheme if applicable, and management action required (e.g. Connect hedges at junctions with new planting to improve habitat linkage).

Everything is managed using our own Environmental Management System which has been created with FWAG as an integrated database within MS Office. Demonstration of this tool is available to interested parties by Allan Stevenson.

Staff involvement

In order to make our environmental strategy real, we have invested in a practical in-field training and assessment programme. A team of eight staff became the first ever Lantra certified in a new course 'Environmental Management: Getting it right for your Farm Business', which was fun and has created a strong sense of ownership for this direction in our business.