I AM writing in response to the letter from "Concerned townie" (Viewpoint, April 21) and would like to endorse the reply by K Wilkinson.

As a farmer's wife, I was heartened to learn that not all "townies" think we are destroying the countryside.

My view of our farm is poles apart to that of "Concerned townie".

Our farm has an abundance of wildlife. We regularly see badgers, deer, rabbits and hares – although two wet summers have had a serious impact on hare numbers – and the water vole is not an endangered species here. We have mallard and teal, moorhen and Canada geese, shelduck and curlew. We have plover, golden plover and even the occasional kingfisher. We have swallow and skylarks, woodpeckers and barn owls.

We have heron and even a pair of white egrets.

In addition, we have blackbirds and thrushes, occasional mistle thrushes, robins, chaffinch, goldfinch, great tit, blue tit, flocks of longtailed tits, marsh tit, wagtails and wren. We also have damselflies, dragonflies, butterflies and bees.

And, of course, we have foxes, kestrels, sparrowhawk, magpies and crows.

And where is this veritable paradise, you might ask? Actually, it's in the very place "Concerned townie" describes in his letter.

We do not over-use pesticides – they're far too expensive. We are not allowed to even trim hedges at certain times of the year and we are certainly not allowed to rip them out.

Most farmers abide by the saying "Live as if you would die tomorrow, farm as if you will live forever."

We are farming for future generations and we want to leave our land in good heart.

On our farm we grow the wheat for your bread, the barley for your beer, the oilseed rape for your cooking oil and the peas for your mushy peas.

I would urge "Concerned townie" to go along to an Open Farm Sunday event on June 7 – there are a number being held in the area – to find out what's really happening in the countryside or contact me through the Telegraph and I will happily give you a guided tour of our farm.

Mrs JM Hoyes, address supplied.