upland farms

On Farm Injuries up by 9%

We recently finished our report on Upland Farming Poverty for Oxfam. It was featured in a 2 page spread by Farmers Weekly. It also made it onto the BBC Politics Show (North West) and we are working with Oxfam and Stuart Burgess the former Rural Advocate (he is still that to us!!) to raise awareness of the issue. We met Prince Charles last week in County Durham and gave him a copy of the report. He showed his support by announcing a new grant from the Princes Countryside Fund to Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services a phenomenal charity which supports upland farming communities.

Many upland farmers are working past retirement age, often without insurance and having to rely on old and poorly serviced equipment. This story, with the recession making things worse, comes as no surprise. It does however provide some real “food for thought”!

Hay Festival 2012: Britain should ‘rewild the countryside’ with wolves, lynx and moose

George Monbiot is being controversial. I think he is always good value for money if you pardon the pun. According to this article:

“Speaking at The Telegraph Hay Festival, he said that sheep farming in places like Wales, Dartmoor and the Yorkshire Dales is likely to retreat as it becomes more and more difficult to compete in a global market. Instead he said the uplands and other areas currently used for farming should be allowed to ‘re-wild’.

This would mean re-introducing wolves to the Highlands, beavers to rivers, moose and lynx to forests, wild boar across the country and a range of insects and birds. It would also mean replanting land with native species like oak, ash, willow and alder.

“As agricultural subsidies begin to disappear – which they will within a decade, we are going to see a retreat from farming on the uplands whether we like it or not,” he said. “The question is what do we do with it? I would like to see lost specie re-introduced, removal of fences, blocking of drains and the restoration of whole eco-systems.”

The controversial idea, put forward in his new book ‘Feral: Rewilding the land, the sea and the human world’, is likely to upset many conservationists.

I once saw a lynx at a wildlife park and I have to say it was a bit bigger than the average pussycat – rather George than me if it comes to camping in a rewilded Dartmoor haunted at present only by the odd imaginary black cat!