We held the second meeting of the Chilton Wildlife Group in the Village Hall on 2nd March, well attended by many members of the local community. The talk was entitled “From Farm to Fork” with three local speakers, Jim Hynes, Duncan Lee and Tim Clarke giving us an insight into the global challenges being faced currently by the agricultural industry and how local farmers are responding to these unprecedented conditions.
Our evening started with a talk by Jim Hynes, a local agronomist, who outlined how the war in Ukraine had caused the price of wheat and fertilizer to quadruple last year, and although prices have slowly decreased since last autumn there is still considerable uncertainty and volatility in the market which has created significant financial risks to UK agriculture. Climate change and an increasing global population have also added mounting pressures on food security, increasing affluence worldwide means people are demanding more meat and a wider range of foodstuffs. It also raises ethical issues with more areas in Europe and the Americas being used to grow crops for biodiesel while other parts of the world are starving. Food miles are also a continuing global problem as more people now expect to be able to buy fruit and vegetables all year round rather than local products that are in season.
So how is UK agriculture meeting these challenges at the same time as becoming more sensitive to environmental issues? The UK population has increased by over 30% in the last seventy years putting unprecedented pressure on the farming industry to become more efficient, and while Duncan will outline how technology is helping to meet these demands, Tim will show how new farming techniques such as regenerative farming are helping to improve yields and improve soil condition whilst using less fertilizer. The use of pesticides and their effects on insect life is another controversial area, in particular the use of glyphosates and their possible effects on bees was actively discussed.
An area where we can all help in improving food security is by reducing the amount of food that we throw away. In the UK pre-Covid over 6 million tons of food per year was wasted by households, more than the combined total of waste from retailers, food manufacturers and the farming industry. In 2020 during the pandemic this level dropped by over 50% as people made fewer shopping trips and used items that would previously have been thrown away, however since 2020 the level of waste has started to creep up again.
Another area where we can all help is by ‘growing our own’. Jim showed a picture of Chilton Foliat from the 1960s and it was very noticeable how many of the gardens had vegetable patches, by comparison a picture from 2021 showed virtually none and highlighted just how we have seemingly lost this ability to grow our own food.
Duncan then outlined some of the modern land management techniques used at Ramsbury Estates, such as creating field margins to prevent the spread of fertiliser and pesticides into hedgerows and river courses, planting cover crops to help prevent soil erosion and reducing rainwater run-off and reducing ploughing to minimise carbon release. Longer crop rotation cycles using 5 or 6 differing crops also help to minimise disturbance of the soil and prevent loss of valuable nutrients. In addition to these natural ways to reduce dependence on fertilizers, Duncan showed us pictures from modern cloud penetrating satellite imagery that can help the farm manager plan exactly which areas of a field need more or less fertilizer or how to manage the amount of seed that is needed. Modern combine harvesters can now record the variations in crop yield as they traverse a field, again helping to improve efficiency in management of the land and optimising yields.
Duncan emphasised how land management for the future is now key, with farming a crucial part of maintaining the health of the countryside for our benefit and for all wildlife. Ramsbury Estates, both through hosting school field trips and by involving volunteers in tree planting projects, is enabling more people to get actively involved in the local environment.
Tim Clarke, a consultant with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, gave us an insight into the principles of regenerative farming. Tim stressed the importance of keeping plant roots in the soil all year round by drilling crops directly into cover plants or stubble, hence helping to prevent soil creep and waterlogging of agricultural land.
Yield management is also crucial to improve efficiency, north facing slopes for example may produce poor yields and rather than waste money on expensive seed and fertilizer it is better to convert to either meadowland or plant other crops such as sunflowers. Diversity of crops is another important feature so that each crop can add or retain different nutrients in the soil rather than monocultures that require large amounts of fertilizer.
The evening was another great success and gave rise to some interesting discussions which continued after the talks over a glass of wine. If you missed the talk but would still like to get involved in our group please contact us on info@chiltonfoliatwildlife.com or paul.outridge@chiltonfoliat.com and we will keep you updated on future events.
Paul Outridge, Chilton Foliat Parish Council
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