Farming has been through three phases since the end of the Second World War.

During the first phase, food was still rationed. Farmers were cajoled into producing all they could. It was a period that saw a rapid uptake in farm mechanisation and new production methods were beginning to make an impact on yields.

The second phase - through the 60s and into the 70s was a period when production rose by leaps and bounds. The end of that period, in which the UK joined the EU, saw the beginning of a growing interest in conservation and the formation of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) organisation.

The third phase came in the wake of the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2003. Before that, EU food production had out-stripped demand and the cost of disposing of the surpluses had become untenable, so there was a fundamental shift in policy. Franz Fischler, the EU Farm Commissioner, told farmers they would be paid to produce landscapes, not food.

That heralded the switch away from supporting production to environmental payments through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and then the Entry Level and Higher Level Environmental Schemes introduced two years ago.

Farmers can receive payments for carrying out tasks which protect and preserve wildlife habitats, landscape features and the environment.

This is a new ball game for farmers, and is where advice from groups such as LEAF and FWAG has been so important to help farmers adapt.

It was a point made by Janet Lomas, one of the three FWAG conservation officers in Herefordshire, during a visit arranged jointly by FWAG, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and HART, (Herefordshire Amphibian and Reptile Team) to Edward Davies' Ashperton farm.

Janet said: "FWAG has always been there for farmers to help wildlife on their farms and played an important part in advising them on taking up the grants relating to conservation. Farmers now look to FWAG advisers to guide them through the minefield of rules and new legislation."

It was evident during the walk around Mr Davies' farm that the advice he has received from FWAG, and the financial support he has received through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, has resulted in retaining many of the traditional features which characterise Herefordshire.

The scheme has enabled him to encourage and protect a wide range of plant species, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles that otherwise may well have disappeared.

It has also helped to preserve some traditions such as pollarding ash coppices and alders along stream banks and preserving old hay meadows. But there are problems ahead.

The Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which has been very successful in achieving its objectives, is being run down and has been closed to new entrants.

Of the new schemes, the Entry Level Scheme is not as all-encompassing as the Stewardship Scheme, but although the Higher Level Scheme covers much of what the Stewardship Scheme did, it is desperately short of funding.

Janet Lomas said: "The grants are supposed to replace income lost by farmers who farm in a more environmentally friendly way, but it is doubtful if the payments are really big enough to be attractive."

Perhaps we are beginning to see the fourth stage in farming as pressure builds to produce food against the backdrop of increasing world demand and the need to grow energy crops. That scenario will jeopardise the preservation of hay meadows unless funding to retain such assets is realistic.