⁕ Love the British countryside? Enjoy taking photos?
If so, we’ve got the perfect opportunity for you to combine two of your passions – and perhaps even win a cash prize – by taking part in our new photography competition.
Farmers Weekly has teamed up with The Woodland Trust to run a “Beautiful British Landscapes” photo contest.
The idea is simple – to celebrate our wonderful countryside in all its many forms. From beautiful trees to stunning coastlines and from rolling downland to fertile arable land, we’d love to see your best pictures.
Farmers Weekly readers are, after all, uniquely placed as custodians of the countryside to capture it in all its glory. You get to see nature and the landscape through every season and in every weather condition. No one knows the land better than the people who, over generations, have maintained and shaped it.
So whether what’s caught your eye is a skilfully ploughed field in autumn or a windswept winter hillside, send us your favourite shots. Whether it’s a wood in a spring or a summer meadow, we can’t wait to see them.
The competition opens today (3 June, 2016) and entries will be accepted anytime before Friday 15 July 2016, so there’s plenty of time to get out and about with your camera – but you can also raid your archives and enter images you’ve previously taken.
The winner will net £500 and the top shot will be published in FarmersWeekly, so it will be a great way to showcase your photography skills.
“This is a great chance to capture our unique and fantastic countryside on camera,” says Farmers Weekly’s editorial projects manager James Williams.
“The goalposts are very wide. We’re particularly keen to see pictures that feature trees – but it’s by no means limited to this. We want pictures that show the diversity of our landscapes, the different seasons, and farming and the countryside in all its guises.
“We see some great pictures taken on smartphones these days so you don’t necessarily even need a swanky camera to enter the competition.”
There are no limits on how many pictures any one person can enter. The best way is to upload them direct to the gallery at www.fwi.co.uk/woodland-trust-photos. This is quick and simple to do.
Alternatively, email them to fwfarmlife@rbi.co.uk
HOW TO ENTER
⁕ Select your best shots
⁕ Upload them into the gallery at www.fwi.co.uk/woodlandtrust-competition (there are easy-to-follow instructions there as to how to use the gallery)
⁕ OR email them to fwfarmlife@ rbi.co.uk
⁕ You can submit as many pictures as you like, but no one picture should be bigger than 4MB
⁕ Full terms and conditions are at www.fwi.co.uk/woodland–
PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE
The Woodland Trust is working with farmers to protect local landscapes and make land more resilient.
Rural landscapes, woodlands and trees are in jeopardy from a perfect storm of climate change, pests, diseases and pollution which threaten Trees can, however, play a crucial part in fighting back. They support pollinators, protect soil from wind and water, improve the drainage of fields and improve water quality. They also provide shade and shelter for livestock which can lead to increased productivity. By taking action now, you can join the fight to avoid millions of trees being lost to tree disease, which could change our landscapes forever.
By planting a wide mix of native broad-leaved species in hedgerows, copses and field corners, you can help to improve landscapes and join up isolated patches of habitat. Doing this will build more resilience into the natural systems we all depend on.
You can get help and advice on tree planting on farms, as well as a wide range of subsidised tree planting products at woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant
12 ways to spot a farmer on a summer holiday
✱ For many farmers, holidays are not a regular occurrence. Between all the busy times, there are only a few weeks of the year when anyone working in agriculture might be able to get away for a break.
And for a lot of farmers, an active adventure or a skiing trip is preferred, but on the occasions that they venture to warmer climes for a sunny vacation, here are 12 ways to spot them in the crowd.
CLEVER TREVOR
1 They’ll be wearing ankle boots with board shorts. Doubtful anybody would want to see their feet anyway – they won’t have seen the sun for almost 12 months.
REX SHUTTERSTOCK
2 Their shirts are always brand new, especially bought for the holiday, because all the rest are worn. But their Speedos are from the 70s because they’re only donned once every few years.
REX SHUTTERSTOCK
3 Their tans are as good as the locals’, until they take their tops off. No matter how much sun they get the “farmers tan” will never fade.
4 And their hands are still covered in oil and sheep marker even though they haven’t been on the farm for a week.
5 They will be the one fidgeting about in the midst of those relaxing on sun beds or building a proper sand castle construction, to scale, probably trying to entertain themselves.
6 They are more interested in watching the construction of the hotel next door than the poolside entertainment.
7 On any excursions, they will stare from the window of the car/coach at every field they pass, fascinated by exotic crops and strange-looking animals.
8 They will be able to immediately identify any other farmer happening to stay in same hotel and will proceed to spend the following few days discussing livestock/grain prices.
9 They’ll always queue up for seconds in the restaurant, but if it looks too “foreign” or if they can’t pronounce it, they won’t eat it.
10 With their dinner, they’d rather have a pint of ale or a cider than any fancy sangria or mojitos.
11 In the bar, on the beach or poolside, they’ll be reading Farmers Weekly…
12 When they return home, for a few weeks every sentence will begin: “The farmers in *insert country as appropriate* do…” For months they will also complain about the British weather and say how better off the farmers are in *insert country as appropriate* because it is so warm.