TWO Herefordshire farms and one in Shropshire are in line for the UK's most prestigious conservation award.

Lower Hope at Ullingswick, The Leen at Pembridge, near Leominster, and Langley Farm at Stanton Lacy, near Ludlow, have won through to the second round of the prestigious Silver Lapwing competition which aims to find the farmer who through skilful management has done most to encourage wildlife and enrich the countryside on a commercially-run holding.

The farms are among just 23 entries chosen to compete against the best in the country and judges have already started drawing up a shortlist of six finalists to be visited in July.

During the 25 years the national competition has been running, farms in the county have featured prominently and on two occasions the competition has been won by James and Emma Lambe of Castle Farm, Upton Bishop. They were also runners-up in 1998. The national winner of the silver-jubilee competition, being organised by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and Farmcare, will be presented with the trophy and prize of £1,000 at a ceremony to be held in London later this year.

Lower Hope is a mixed estate of 2,300 acres which aims to strike a careful balance between livestock - beef, sheep and pigs - arable production, potatoes and a variety of fruit.

Clive and Sylvia Richards also run the Lower Hope herd of pedigree Hereford cattle that has triumphed at major agricultural shows.

Mr Richards has entered the estate into the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and adopted the sound policy of linking up all the major habitats, ponds, woodland and game cover with grass and hedge wildlife corridors utilising six-metre field margins.

Ponds and lakes have been constructed with shallow margins where the water level is maintained to help aquatic life to thrive.

The main enterprise on the 450 acres of The Leen, farmed organically by Tony Norman, is the dairy herd.

More than a million litres of milk are produced each year and the farm also grows field-scale vegetables.

Some six miles of field margins have been created which, with veteran and newly-planted trees, help to provide good habitat for wildlife. Two superb pools have been provided for duck, swans and little grebe.

At Stanton Lacy, Peter Brereton took over the running of the 345-acre family farm 31 years ago and has turned it into a successful all-arable enterprise. He has carried out a major programme of habitat creation for wildlife.