Ards man Roy Lyttle has been crowned Northern Ireland’s most Wildlife-Friendly Farmer at the prestigious Farming Life and Danske Bank Awards.
This is the third year RSPB Northern Ireland has sponsored the Wildlife Friendly Farmer of the Year award and, as always, the competition was fierce.
More than 300 people from across Northern Ireland attended the event at the Ramada Hotel at Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast, including the three finalists in the RSPB NI sponsored category.
From left, Philip Watson, Joanne Sherwood, RSPB NI Director; Roy Little, winner; Clive Mellon, RSPB NI Committee Chair; and Sam Bonnar.
With such worthy nominees the judges had a really difficult decision but, in the end, it was Roy Lyttle from Newtownards who was crowned the winner and presented with the prestigious welly boot trophy!
Hot on Roy’s heels were the category’s two highly commended farmers –Philip Bell from Ballynahinch and Sam Bonnar from Glenwherry in the Antrim Hills.
Roy is a first-generation farmer who started farming in 1980. He now farms around 140 acres along the Portaferry Road outside Newtownards and has been working closely with RSPB NI Conservation Advisor Philip Carson to make his land as nature-friendly as possible. On his farm, Roy grows scallions in summer and leeks in winter, and processes, packs an delivers them to customers.
But he also grows other vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, swedes, purple broccoli and has grown organic portions and also chives and beetroot. Tesco alone takes 6000 packs of leeks a week and 2000 bags of loose leeks.
For example, he has planted a large area of wild bird cover – a spring-sown crop mixture which is left unharvested over winter to provide food for seed-eating farmland birds like yellowhammers and linnets.
Claire Barnett from RSPB NI said: “Good food, great entertainment and a chance to meet so many custodians of the countryside made it a very special night indeed.
“All of the farmers who were nominated do amazing things for nature but we’re delighted that Roy, who goes the extra mile to help wildlife thrive on his land, has been recognised.
“With 2017 fast approaching we’re looking forward to working even more closely with Northern Ireland’s farmers to ensure that nature has a home in our countryside.”
