Manhood Farmers Cluster Group
The MFCG is a group of eight farmers, managing around 2000ha of land on the Manhood Peninsula. This is an area of land to the south of Chichester, which is bordered by water on three sides, by Chichester Harbour to the West, the English Channel to the South, and Pagham Harbour to the East.
The farmers were originally united by their desire to increase the local population of the red-listed, native, grey partridge. They also represent a diverse range of farming enterprises, across mostly family farms, with a strong desire to grow good quality food, whilst also leaving a positive environmental legacy for future generations.
The group has so far been funded by the Chichester Harbour Conservancy’s Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme, and we have been pleased to work with several other local partners on various activities.
Key projects and actions include:
Hedge restoration through planting and hedge laying
Planting up large areas of GWCT’s Advanced Partridge mix, which provides seed sources and insect rich habitat for adult partridges and their chicks
Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds
Farm surveys and conservation plans for all member farms
Community outreach, including a “Meet the Farmers” project, where we put up signs around the peninsula with QR codes linking to video interviews with member farmers
A bat recording project in partnership with Chichester Natural History Group
More info can be found on the website: Home - Farming With Wildlife
