Farming Nick Green

The balance between the environment and food production

AS farmers look after 75% of the UK land mass they are quite rightly known as custodians of the countryside. This has been the case ever since the Enclosures Acts. Consider the uplands of England. The stones walls that criss-cross the dales, fells and high fields were all built by someone. The sheep that graze there are all managed.

As you move away from the Mendip plateau to the Wrington Vale, the Chew Valley and the Somerset Levels you see a different landscape but one that is managed. The common theme with all these different landscapes is that as well as looking nice and providing habitat they produce food.

The sheep grazing the uplands produce fine lamb. The lowland grass provides feed for cattle that produce beef and milk. Look at some of the “broad acre” areas like Salisbury Plain and they are part of the bread basket of the UK. But change is afoot.

With Britain exiting the European Union it has given the British government the chance to break away from the shackles of the Common Agricultural Policy. Farmer opinion is divided on this. Some like the thought of free trade whilst others have relied on CAP payments for so long it will be hard to be weaned off them.

The British government have decided there will still be public payments made to farmers but they will be based on “public money for public goods”. To date, the public goods include countryside access and improving the natural environment.

This is to be applauded. However, if farmers are tempted by the dangling carrot of farming the environment rather than producing food, where is our food going to

come from? Easy, say the politicians. If we need the consumer to have access to cheap food, we can import it from other parts of the world. All this will do is export our environmental woes abroad. What we need is a balanced plan securing food With NICK GREEN production and improving the environment. Given the opportunity, UK farmers could do just that. They are proud of being custodians of the countryside and being able to feed our nation.

Nick Green is Farms Director for Alvis Bros Ltd based at Lye Cross Farm. He is responsible for the farming and estate business and is passionate about British food and farming. As well as the business, he is involved with a number of local and national farming charities.

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