Audley End Estate is a good example of where Oakbank have worked with both the farming and game elements to both their advantage. Whilst we have worked with the Game Keeper, Geoff Garrod, for several years, it was only when Environmental Stewardship became available that Ian worked closely with the various farms on the Estate. There are now ELS agreements in place on all the farms and these minimize the effect on the farming whilst enhancing the habitat across the whole area.
Tom White, Agent, said that “ All those involved with the ELS project felt that their opinions were listened to and the end result was good for all of us. Oakbank were efficient and cost-effective, allowing us to complete the task very quickly.”
Geoff Garrod added “ We have some difficult plots on one or two important drives and Ian suggested that we use a perennial mix to give us a reliable cover. This has worked extremely well for three years now and Guns love to shoot these drives throughout the season.“

The Duke of Northumberland’s Purdey Award winning Ratcheugh Partridge Project has clearly demonstrated the success that can be achieved where you have first class ‘keepering combined with sympathetic farming. And by sympathetic we don’t mean less intensive! In fact, Velcourt farms pride themselves on their efficient, modern farming methods, producing high yields and quality. However, the intensive farming is kept to the middle of the fields whilst the field margins are left for game with the majority of arable fields having a 3-6m margin around them, sown to brood rearer and/or winter cover. To keep things simple the brood rearer is a spring cereal undersown with a lucerne/chicory mix whilst the winter cover is a spring cereal undersown with a kale/fodder radish/stubble turnip mix. Some of the margins are in the ELS scheme; some are set-aside and some simply taken out of production to benefit the partridges. The farm also leaves a few over-winter stubbles which benefit all farmland birds. The key to the habitat creation is not the overall amount of land but more the distribution. Partridges are a territorial bird but if they have the habitat and food they need in a small area then they only need a small territory. By utilizing the field margins in this way the Ratcheugh project has created exactly what the partridges require wherever they decide to nest. Partridge ‘keeper Kevan McCaig was delighted that, even in the dreadful summer of 2007, the average brood size was 5.9 and the young to old ratio in the autumn count was 2.74:1