By Chris Smaje, A Small Farm Future
With a no deal Brexit looming and the Government’s farm subsidy regimen shifting towards payments only for delivering ‘public goods’, it looks like hard times may lie ahead for many commercial farmers in the UK, none more so than for upland livestock farmers.
With only a few months remaining before our scheduled departure from the European Union, Brexit is looming large on the horizon. As talk of transition, hard borders and ‘no-deal’ spreads, we wanted to find out how farmers and food businesses across the country were feeling about the future of UK agriculture.
By Catherine Broomfield, Sustainable Food Trust
Viewed over centuries, the beneficial role of upland farmers as stewards of both the landscape and their local communities is clear. However, George Monbiot, spoke for rewilding largely from an ideological standpoint.
By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future
George Monbiot – for indeed, it is he – has made a strong case against sheep farming in the UK in general, and upland sheep farming in particular. In this post I argue against his position.
By Hannah Steenbergen, Sustainable Food Trust
Does hill farming have a place in the management of moorland or as George Monbiot argues, is it the scourge of the countryside?
By Patrick Noble, A Convivial Economy
If firstly, we glance around us, and then secondly into history, we’ll not escape the problems of sheep.