Page 2 - Oxford Farming Conference Debate 2024

OFC 2024: 'Food production and nature recovery go hand in hand' - Farmers Weekly 10/01/2024, 10:21
Ben Goldsmith © Oxford Farming Conference
Referring to sheep as having “feet like stilettos at a festival”, Mr Goldsmith criticised the environmental damage done in upland areas, for little commercial or productive gain.
Quoting from the National Food Strategy report, he said less than 2% of food in Britain comes from the least-productive 28% of land – “in other words, our national parks”.
“It’s not for prosperity, and no one is making a decent living out of sheep,” he said. “Even with subsidies, which account for 80-90% of the average sheep farmers’ income, £6,000- £7,000 is the average net income in the uplands,” he said.
Yet sheep delivered little in the way of public goods. Indeed, aooding in the downstream catchments was a direct result of sheep farming in the uplands, he suggested.
Abandoning sheep farming would lead to an “explosion” of nature, Mr Goldsmith claimed, especially if they were replaced with native breeds of cattle, such as Belted Galloways and Longhorns, to provide a “mosaic” of pastures and wild fallow.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/events/ofc/ofc-2024-food-production-and-nature-recovery-go-hand-in-hand Page 2 of 5