Some farmers are being encouraged to turn their fields over to clover and wild flowers rather than food production. An example of this being done is on the popular Harry's farm show on You Tube. Harry is a farmer in the Cotswold area of UK. Earlier in 2023, Harry made a Youtube video about how his farming business was doing , and possible food shortages.
Fast forward to Harry's Youtube show of 10th Aug 2023 and the weather has been terrible for Harry. He has lost about £50k on a failed rapeseed crop and is moving to a fallow field scheme.
The scheme
It's difficult to fathom. But anyway, Harry is most likely going to go for the "Legume fallow" AB15 option of the UK Government scheme.
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| Legume fallow scheme |
After you click on the above link , you have to scroll down carefully a long way to get to a section headed "Summary of SFI 2023 standards". There are around 24 main headings to scroll past before you reach the summary section which is a table summarising the main headings.
When you find that summarising table, look on the left column for "nutrient management" whilst on the right it'll say "AB15" So it means that for the 2 or 3 years of the contract, the farmer gets the guarenteed income from the fallow field rather than risk a crop that might fail.
Some additional Defra guidance has also been issued for farmers. It talks about Farming Incentives which provides a steady income and is aimed at helping farms grow food in a sustainable way. Here is Defras film from Youtube which relates to the subject.
Food security
Western countries and Russia will blame each other for attacks on shipping in the Black Sea area. Any ships in the Black Sea are at risk of attack from one side or the other. This makes grain exports from what was a prime wheat export area very difficult. Also the West is unlikely to finance or insure Russian shipping.
Positive future
To end this blog post on a positive note. There are of course many benefits of leaving fields fallow and planting legume mixes as per the Government schemes. As Defra (dept for rural affairs) points out, the benefits include :
- reduce black-grass populations, meaning you’ll need less herbicide in future crops
- provide food and habitat for pollinators
- help protect neighbouring crops by providing habitat for insects that feed on aphids and other pests
- provide food and shelter for farmland birds and their chicks
- improve soil health
Other related matters - Water security & resilience
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| Defra Blog 14 Aug 2023 |
The minister said that the Government has a Water Management Plan which includes funding on farm reservoirs for irrigation.
See also my previous blog about Harry's farm and the Government deals for farmers.