New information boards explaining the environmental benefits of organic farming are going up on footpaths at two farms.

The notices at Manor Farm, Marcham, near Abingdon, and Step Farm, near Faringdon, will tell walkers how organic methods have enhanced the countryside.

Research shows the removal of chemical pesticides from some farms has allowed wildlife to thrive.

The new signs are part of an advertising initiative by the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (OMSCo), a group of 350 British farmers supplying 75 per cent of the organic milk produced in this country. Four Oxfordshire farmers are members.

Dairy farmer Miles Saunders has farmed organically at Step Farm since 1989 and said his land now attracted large numbers of badgers, deer, and birds such as the peewit.