At Kemp Herbs we are passionate about the environment, particularly the amazing Breckland landscape where we live and work. We are members of the Breckland Farmers Wildlife Network, a group of farmers who collaborate to preserve and enhance this unique area. Through the network we are participating in a DEFRA pilot for Landscape Recovery, the highest tier of the Environmental Land Management (ELM) system.

 

We are LEAF Marque accredited which certifies that we farm in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way using integrated management principles. An example of Integrated Pest Management in action is planting wild flower strips to encourage beneficial insects as part of a strategy to reduce the need to use pesticides. The LEAF certification process also includes an independent annual biodiversity audit which we use to monitor our conservation activities and guide future efforts.
 

Our East Harling farm is covered by a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement which sees us, amongst a range of activities, plant areas of wild bird food, pollen and nectar areas for insects, provide supplemental winter food for birds and cultivated arable margins to act as wildlife corridors.

In addition to this we have planted 700 trees and created new hedges around the farm.

In conjunction with Natural England we are working to restore East Harling Common SSSI from neglected scrub land to flourishing species rich grassland and ancient glacial pingo ponds.

 

We have an independent expert carry out regular bird counts on our farms. A total of 82 different species were recorded on the farms in 2022. These numbers include a number of rare species and we are particularly proud to host a number of breeding pairs of Stone Curlew.