Do we need to rethink farming in the UK? Farmers are not just food producers; they are custodians of the land, businesses, innovators and partners in the hunt for the solutions to climate change. What does the Government’s new payment scheme mean for them? We catch up with Martin Lines, arable farmer in South Cambridgeshire and UK Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network and Dominic Buscall, Project Manager at Wild Ken Hill, who aims to restore nature, fight climate change and farm regeneratively at his family farm in Norfolk.
In our Animal, Vegetable, Mineral slot (where we explore the many astounding facts and feats of the natural world) we find out what can head butt a tree 20 times per second without getting a headache, each time withstanding deceleration 1000 times the force of gravity!
Dominic Buscall spent 5 years working in strategy consulting before leaving London to establish and manage Wild Ken Hill on his family-run farm in west Norfolk. Dominic is interested in how land use across the UK can be adapted to fight climate change and biodiversity decline, and hopes Wild Ken Hill will become a national exemplar with its pioneering mix of rewilding, regenerative farming and traditional conservation techniques.
Martin is a farmer and contractor in South Cambridgeshire, growing mainly arable crops on his family farm and rented land. He has a special interest in farm conservation management, currently running an ELS and HLS agreement and has Countryside Stewardship schemes on land he rents and manages. He also supports the delivery of Stewardship schemes for a number of other farmers. Martin is the NFFN UK Steering Group Chair and hopes to see the network grow with like-minded farmers and land managers who will work together, sharing best practices and demonstrating what can be accomplished for nature and the environment while producing great produce.