It is always a pleasure to visit the beautiful South Downs Way. I teamed up with Alan Johnson from the RSPB to go in search of Yellowhammers as I have been made the MP Species Champion for this bright yellow farmland bird.
Apparently the Yellowhammer is renowned for its singing all day long but despite this and its bright coloured plumage we searched high and low in vain.
We were assured by farmer Caroline Harriott, Chair of West Sussex's NFU, that they are usually around in abundance but just not for me!
It was good to see how much birdlife is thriving on the Downs helped by the environmentally friendly practices followed by Caroline.
It is essential that as we leave the Common Agricultural Policy our own approach to agriculture is based on sustainable and sympathetic management of the land whilst producing many more things that we have almost forgotten how to grow thereby cutting down on ‘food miles.’