An interesting article by an experienced farmer in the Weekend Financial Times on how farmers are caught in a vicious cycle of low margin, environmentally damaging farming underwritten by a subsidy regime which is to be phased out.
John Cherry noted that the price of wheat is much the same as when he started farming in the 1980s, but input prices have shot up. 'Yields are a bit higher, but not enough to keep the margin remotely generous. Many livestock farmers are similarly trapped in a high-input/high-output/low-return system.'
On his farm they have adopted a regenerative approach that focuses on improving the soil rather than chasing yields. 'Healthy soil will absorb all but the heaviest downpours of rain, which can prevent floods and store water to keep plants growing through droughts. It also enables farmers to grow nutrient-dense food with a minimum of artificial inputs.'
He co-founded the charity Groundswell to explore ways in which farmers can work with nature in a profitable way: https://groundswellag.com/about/
No comments:
Post a Comment