In conversation with a farming family committed to balancing farming and nature conservation

Read a raw and emotional insight into life as a farmer amidst a political climate that doesn’t always support nature-friendly farming practices.

Our Q&A series is about shining a spotlight on different voices involved in nature, and in particular, badger conservation. This month is no exception.

We are delighted to share with you the voices of a farming family from the West Country that have been involved in the dairy industry for generations and are also committed to working with the land and making sure farming is sustainable for generations to come.

In the ongoing debate of bovine TB (bTB), there can often be a divide of opinions between farmers and conservationists on how this sensitive subject should be best handled. This Q&A will hopefully show you that it doesn’t have to be this way and that there is a balance to be had between making farming sustainable for current families and for future generations whilst protecting nature. Ultimately we all want the same thing; to stop the spread of bTB and unnecessary killings of both badgers and cattle.

Join us today as we talk to a farming family who manages to balance nature conservation with a raw and emotional insight into life as a farmer amidst a political climate that doesn’t always support this balance.

And some incredibly cute footage of the badgers on their farm.

We are keeping their identities anonymous to protect the badgers on their land.

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Thank you for agreeing to take part in our interview series, where we shine a spotlight on people’s relationships with badgers.

First off, can you please tell us how long have you been a farmer and why you choose to dedicate yourself to this way of life?

We are 4th generation farmers at our current farm, where we’ve been for 120 years, and our family has farmed in the county since time began. We have been involved in farming all our lives. Our belief is that we are in the privileged position of being custodians of the land we manage, this comes with considerable responsibility but equally exciting opportunities.

Whatever any of us has chosen to do in life, it is about the land and the ecosystems it supports. We took over management control of the land in 2000 and committed to improving farm infrastructure and fertility for the future. To do this, all of us involved in the farm continue to work outside of the farm to help finance change. This has enabled us to focus on creating sustainable farming practices that are respectful to and for all that inhabit the land, ensuring there is a future for our land and the next generation of farmers embodying our belief systems and care of the planet.

Tell us a little bit about your herd. You used to have over 100 cattle, but now you have just a few. Can you tell us a little about this transition and if any of your perceptions or management style of farming has changed as a result?

We had 100 pedigree South Devon cows but reduced herd numbers following a period of family illness. It was clear that maintaining full-time roles, driving change and managing the transition as well as the practical side of running a 250-acre farm was taking its toll.

The sale of the bulk of the herd was extremely difficult emotionally. However, to ensure we could continue and for us all to thrive, it was a courageous but unsettling decision and took a while to get used to. As much as we are active in preserving the natural landscape and farm practices, we are committed to ensuring our old breed lines survive; as such, we have retained a small number of breeding cows and some DNA is preserved.

Following the herd reduction, to give us the space to further develop our long-term approach, we temporarily rented more land for vegetable production and introduced a small area of cereals whilst we worked on a new business plan to diversify farm income streams to drive change in our business practices and enable us to deliver on our overall goals.

We have always (from a variety of perspectives) been a family that looks at and behind evidence and data. A key trigger – that was first discussed in the 1950s but resurged in the early 2000 at the time we started to manage the farm – wasn’t directly farming related but had a massive impact on us were the Peak Oil reports. These were so profound that we knew change was essential and not a choice.

Our management style changed considerably as we created time to think about the future and plan. By looking at research and policy, consumer trends and environmental considerations, we decided to focus on tackling the harsh reality of climate change.

Have you always been a nature-friendly cattle farmer, and what led to you considering the wider landscape in your farming practices?

We have always tried to be respectful of nature; we do not agree with hunting without robust evidence of impact, including that of unintended consequences – this philosophy has meant we have had positive experiences with nature.

We have always acknowledged the complex ecosystems we are working with and protecting. We managed our hedgerows to encourage plenty of birds and other wildlife. Vibrant and healthy hedgerows offer many benefits to a livestock farmer beyond the wildlife, offering shelter and a barrier to wandering animals.

Allowing our cattle to graze diverse grass swards as they are designed to do, reduces the costs of production and produces high-quality, nutrient-dense meat. Little or no artificial fertilisers are required with good grassland management, and little or no herbicides are required other than to control invasive weeds.

We started to introduce non-inversion tillage for numerous practical reasons, such as managing soil compaction and improving soil structure, the consequence of which cuts costs. All of this is helping us retain and sequester carbon more effectively. It helps keep carbon locked in the soil, and we aim to have living roots in the soil as much as possible, using cover crops in between vegetable or cereal crops to achieve this.

We now measure organic matter levels in our soils and aim to increase levels to further improve soil structure and water retention to try and alleviate the effects of a changing climate causing more extreme rainfall events as well as periods of low rainfall. We were early adopters of regenerative power opportunities such as solar.

We have planted around 4,000 trees in various locations around the farm to link the fractured nature of tree cover and to provide wildlife corridors as part of our next-stage strategy to address climate change.

We are now seeking to engage with and improve public understanding of the role of farmers in preserving and improving the landscape whilst producing increased levels of high-quality food for a growing population.

What are some of the challenges as a cattle farmer in England today, and how have you seen that change over time?

With no coherent policy of future support from HM Government, the industry is in a very precarious position. Whilst the EU farming subsidies had their faults, they [subsidies] supported loss-making businesses to produce low-cost food for consumers (voters!).

HM Government is lauding trade agreements with countries such as the USA, Australia, New Zealand, countries with much lower animal welfare standards than the UK and much fewer restrictions on PPP and environmental protections. The main aim of these trade agreements is to import food at low cost. UK farmers cannot produce high-welfare meat with higher environmental protections and compete with these lower-standard, lower-priced imports.

The political and media attention directed at the impact on climate change of cattle methane emissions, for example, is highly charged but fails to articulate the relative scale and impact of ruminant farming in the UK compared to other worldwide production systems, which release more impactful gases and carbon than UK systems.

Identifying cattle production in the same debate as transport (and not discussing the impact of carbon released by our digital lives and Cloud usage, for example) is skewing opinion against cattle farmers. So opening up farms to the public, as the NFU is advocating, may help us with public opinion.

Do you feel like the farming community and the government are supportive of nature-friendly farming practices? What are your biggest challenges in farming in this way?

There has been a significant shift to more nature-friendly farming and Regenerative farming practices over the last few years.

We have to recognise that political and economic drivers monopolised post-war systems creating many of the challenges we have today. Hedgerows were seen as a hindrance, wildlife secondary to production, forcing farmers to change. Production systems prior to this worked with the environment, and regenerative production was at the core of farming practice.

However, it still feels as though the bulk of farm businesses in the UK are still controlled by older generations, brought up and trained/educated in the years following WW2 through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, where production/yield/output had primacy with all of the associated behaviours and attitudes that went with that. Huge amounts of artificial fertilisers and PPP were thrown at crop and livestock production, all to the detriment of the soil and the wider environment.

We still don’t believe HM Government is truly committed to supporting farmers in the transition away from ‘conventional farming’ to a more nature-friendly, environmentally sensitive production system that still feeds an ever-increasing population.

The main challenge to farming in this way is making a living that can feed and clothe a family as well as being able to re-invest into the business. Everyone has a right to make a living; farming, however, is complex and significant numbers of factors are outside of the direct control of the farmer, often pressuring them to work in ways they may not want to.

Changing subsidies are hugely complex and remain as bureaucratic as previous support. The new regime does not yet provide sufficient levels of support to replace lost production, and we are concerned that only those currently working to address change themselves will act.

There is a saying in the community: ‘You can’t be green when you are in the red!’

Are you a member of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, NFU, or similar? What led to your decision to join or not join a farming community?

NFU (National Farmers Union)

FWAG (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group)

You have chosen to protect the badgers on your land, despite a sea of cull zones around you. How does it make you feel knowing that you are protecting badger families, and what led to you making this decision?

The badger issue is an extremely emotive one. They look very cute. The general public sees farmers as murderers of innocent wild animals, but to a farmer who has lost large numbers of cattle to bTB, it is an extremely stressful, soul-destroying, career-limiting, overwhelming issue that has caused mental breakdowns and suicides and the demise of many businesses.

We have on only one occasion been subject to a movement restriction as the result of a bTB test result, never having to cull any animals. Our father always told us that if we have ‘clean badgers’ on the farm, we should leave them well alone; if they were removed, then ‘dirty’ ones may move in – very sage advice in our opinion.

We choose to protect the badgers on our land for this reason, but also because they are a crucial part of a varied ecosystem. There are concerns around their appetite for hedgehogs, ground-nesting birds and solitary bees, but farming in the way that we do, we can help these prey species as well, so things should balance out. Far more concerning is the house building, road building, road traffic and its effect on wildlife, all of which are concerns counter to the capitalist political narrative.

The public and others do need to understand the massive implications to any farmer and their families of a positive test result. It devastates them mentally and financially.

In our view, culling isn’t the answer. The science and research remain inconclusive, and like many other potential diseases, we have less than satisfactory controls. Vaccination is an accepted and effective approach for most notifiable/serious diseases, but the bTB debate continues causing pain, stress and ruin to an awful lot of people and the slaughter of thousands of badgers.

Farmers (and the public) need a solution acceptable to all, otherwise, this devastating disease will continue.

Have you received much pushback or support from local farmers regarding your choice not to cull on your land?

Overall, our views are respected, as we respect those who hold different views than ours. There was a suggestion for us to allow a cull on the land a few years ago; we chose not to allow this.

What do you think the local badger population levels are like in your area, and have you noticed a difference since before the cull began?

We have no idea how badgers are doing on neighbouring farms, but on ours, we have numbers consistent with previous years. We have lost one sett during the past five years but have seen another take off. As you will see from the short videos, they seem to be healthy and in good condition. Unfortunately, some other local farms have taken part in culls, and others had bTB reactors.

What is the biggest lesson that you have learnt from watching the badgers on your land?

The videos have shown the badgers to be family orientated, with the youngsters being quite boisterous and playful.

They change their bedding regularly, and we have seen this being carried out by the adults. They seem to have a range of set paths that they travel each night. One key factor is that roads present the biggest risk to the future of our badger families.

Can you tell us about your experience, if any, of bovine TB (bTB) with your herd. How has your experience with bTB compared to that of your neighbours, and do they cull badgers on their land?

We undergo an annual bTB test, and as mentioned previously, we have only once been subject to a movement restriction and retesting, never having had to cull any animals. We know of farmers in our area whose herds have been subject to culls and restrictions and constant testing. Some remain under restrictions for years which is devastating for those farmers, the impact of which should never be underestimated.

What measures do you take to prevent bTB in your herd and how easy are they to implement?

As mentioned previously we leave our badgers alone so as not to encourage new populations to move in.

When providing supplementary feed for our cattle, we used troughs on legs to keep the feed out of reach. We cropped land where the setts were located with vegetables or cereals rather than grass used for grazing or for hay/silage, all of which helped in our view.

Have you ever considered vaccinating the badgers on your land? Do you think that badger vaccination is an effective way of tackling bTB in cattle?

If we were to increase cattle numbers in the future, we would consider vaccination. Despite the huge numbers of cattle and badgers culled the issue of bTB has not improved for decades and certainly isn’t under control, so it makes sense to vaccinate.

The challenge is to understand why vaccination isn’t more widely available or promoted as the UK approach. We don’t see HM Government taking the issue seriously and clearly not creating or driving policy that offers farmers or the public with an acceptable solution to this highly charged agenda.

What do you believe are the biggest opportunities for farmers looking to prevent bTB being contracted by their cattle?

The perception is that farmers do nothing to prevent the spread of bTB other than to cull badgers.

A farmer could use posters or be visible on social media to inform the public that vaccination of both cattle and badger is ongoing, or how high troughs and feeders are used, or cattle and badger are kept apart by cropping choice or by fencing. Anything to try and put a more positive spin on the situation that affects them.

However, unless HM Government sorts this out, individual farmers will continue to be faced with this problem. To us, wholesale vaccination is the only long-term solution, but we have to have Government commit to actually doing something to eradicate the impact of bTB.

What is the key thing that you would like the public to know about bTB in cattle?

The public should be aware of the numbers of cattle culled due to bTB and the cost to them as taxpayers for compensation to the affected farm businesses, whilst the Government does very little to help eradicate the disease.

Also, to understand that most farmers probably don’t want to see badgers wiped out, but that they are trying to prevent losing their cattle and years of pedigree breeding, to protect large investment in their farming business, and the emotional toll it takes on the affected individuals.

Is there anything that you think farmers, politicians, campaigners, or supporters could be doing more of to reduce bTB in cattle in England?

HM Government should take the lead and fully invest in a nationwide vaccination programme.

Research into the spread of bTB via other means, e.g. deer; culling them isn’t an answer either, of course.

Farmers need to introduce whatever methods possible to prevent contact between cattle and badgers on their own farms, to show they have made attempts to stop the spread rather than just wanting culling and tales of woe.

Ultimately, our Government must stop the draconian practices of culling and create a universally acceptable vaccine. Killing Badgers will never solve the issue.