Clodhoppers

In this mini-series I’m visiting 4 nature-friendly farmers in the north of England and asking why nature is important to them and their farm businesses. In this fourth and final episode I talk to Sam Beaumont on his beautiful farm in the Lake District.Sam and his wife Clare have established a productive beef enterprise while positively encouraging nature back on to their land in a bid to make it wilder - two approaches that are often seen and presented as being contradictory but for Sam and Clare definitely complement one another. We also talk about building a resilient farm business by nurturing diversity and trying new things and the importance of low input agricultural systems to both financial and mental health. Finally we discuss the challenges of raising a family in a community dominated by tourism.Sam and Clare are thoroughly thoughtful farmers and their creative, bold and ethically-guided decisions are just what we need if we want to have both productive farms and mitigate the climate and biodiversity crises we’re all facing.Music: "In The Forest" by Cael Forrest, from Free Music Archive under Attribution 4.0 International License. 

In this series, I speak to livestock farmers in the north of England who are farming in a nature-friendly way. In this third episode, I visit James Robinson on his organic dairy farm near Kendal in Cumbria. James, his parents, and his son are the fifth, fourth, and sixth generations of Robinsons to farm at Strickley.More than anyone I've met, and perhaps because of this, James takes an exceptionally long term view of the farm. He looks both back to the traditional practices and knowledge that have passed down through the generations, and forwards to a future when his son might have to farm in a more extreme climate.And as well as being an excellent farmer, James is also a first rate ecologist. He clearly gets deep joy from understanding the abundant wildlife and habitats on his farm and his knowledge and his enthusiasm are truly inspiring. But more than that, I think he also sees connections and dependencies that means he really feels the consequences of his decisions. And good decisions, with a long term view, have benefitted his livestock, the wildlife on his farm, and his neighbours and community.Music: "In The Forest" by Cael Forrest, from Free Music Archive under Attribution 4.0 International License. 

In this series, I speak to livestock farmers in the north of England who are farming in a nature-friendly way.In this episode I chat to Charlie and Gina Parker at Hill Gill, an upland stock farm in county durham.Charlie and Gina are passionate about native breeds of livestock and are rooted in traditional farming and forestry practices.We talk about how Charlie's forestry training has influenced the way he approaches planting trees and hedges on their farm and the benefits to wildlife that those plantings have brought, which has been recognised with a recent Nature Friendly farming award. We also discuss their working Dales ponies and their role in both present, past and future farming and forestry systems.It was a privilege and a pleasure to visit Charlie and Gina on their farm. I really hope you enjoy the conversation.Music: "In The Forest" by Cael Forrest, from Free Music Archive under Attribution 4.0 International License. 

In this first series, I speak to livestock farmers in the north of England who are farming in a nature-friendly way.In the first episode, I chat to Sue Seymour, who lives and farms on an internationally important bog in Northumberland.Sue is balancing producing food with restoring and protecting a unique ecosystem that also stores carbon and manages water for everyone's benefit. She's also sensitively introducing trees to appropriate parts of the farm in a strict right tree in the right place approach.It was a pleasure to chat with Sue and learn more about this great example of land sharing. I hope you enjoy it.Music: "In The Forest" by Cael Forrest, from Free Music Archive under Attribution 4.0 International License.