FARMER John Walton is through to the finals of a major wildlife conservation award.

Mr Walton farms 200 acres at Park Farm, Little Newsham, between Darlington and Barnard Castle, in County Durham, and has been named Tyne Tees area winner of the Tye Trophy.

He will discover if he is the Yorkshire and North-East winner at next month's Great Yorkshire Show, in Harrogate, but can already enter next year's national Silver Lapwing Award.

He said: "Environmental issues are very much to the forefront today, but they have always been carried out here.

"For the past ten years, we have been in Countryside Stewardship and now we can really see the difference, the farm is looking better and wildlife populations have increased.

"Our farm is our business, but conservation is our hobby.

They go hand-in-hand."

Married to Christine, and with a son and two daughters, he is a third generation tenant at Park Farm and has an assured tenancy for the next two generations.

The couple have planted hedges and field margins, and more than 100 hedgerow trees.

They have erected barn owl boxes and there is also a good population of tawny owls.

Future plans include a pond.

Mr Walton releases 230 pheasants a year and is also encouraging partridges by planting 121/2 acres of field margins and game bird plots with wild bird seed.

He buys 200 to 400 eightmonth-old weaned continental calves each year, selling them privately at 18 to 20 months, and has a flock of 100 ewes.

This year, Mr Walton also took on the running of Bell House, which dramatically increased his arable enterprise. He now has 240 acres of winter wheat, 91 acres of winter barley, 110 acres of oilseed rape and 36 acres of set-aside, woodland, tracks and buildings. He also does summer contract combining.

Mr Walton is chairman of Barnard Castle National Farmers' Union and will also be next year's chairman of Durham Grassland Society.