Another nail in to the coffin of UK agriculture?

Bald Rick · Oct 10, 2021

Study by Natueal History Museum states that the UK has lost 47 percent of its biodiversity due to "development and intensive farming " and potentially we are teetering on a biological disaster

The UK is ranked lowest of the G7 countries for biodiversity and of course BBC (who may well be following the government line to protect their licence fee) have jumped on this.

What a time to be alive

Martin Holden · Oct 10, 2021

Bald Rick said:
Study by Natueal History Museum states that the UK has lost 47 percent of its biodiversity due to "development and intensive farming " and potentially we are teetering on a biological disaster

The UK is ranked lowest of the G7 countries for biodiversity and of course BBC (who may well be following the government line to protect their licence fee) have jumped on this.

What a time to be alive

It was ever thus. I suspect the focus on farmings effect on the environment is deflecting comment from other polluters. Has everyone forgotten the improvement in the ozone layer when planes weren’t flying so much last year?

Bald Rick · Oct 10, 2021

Martin Holden said:
It was ever thus. I suspect the focus on farmings effect on the environment is deflecting comment from other polluters. Has everyone forgotten the improvement in the ozone layer when planes weren’t flying so much last year?

Do you not find it strange that almost daily some report or study is released that could fundamentally change current farming practices?

I suspect that this is leading up to an announcement at COP26

Martin Holden · Oct 10, 2021

Bald Rick said:
Do you not find it strange that almost daily some report or study is released that could fundamentally change current farming practices?

I suspect that this is leading up to an announcement at COP26

No doubt you could be right. Farming is a fragmented industry so easy to attack as it’s defences are, well, fragmented too.

holwellcourtfarm · Oct 10, 2021

Bald Rick said:
Study by Natueal History Museum states that the UK has lost 47 percent of its biodiversity due to "development and intensive farming " and potentially we are teetering on a biological disaster

The UK is ranked lowest of the G7 countries for biodiversity and of course BBC (who may well be following the government line to protect their licence fee) have jumped on this.

What a time to be alive

It does quietly admit that most of the loss occurred in the industrial revolution......

And why do they include a picture of a tropical forest being cleared? I can't think of any tropical forest in the UK....

It would have been more accurate to include photos of HS2 and a road scheme.

ajd132 · Oct 10, 2021

holwellcourtfarm said:
It does quietly admit that most of the loss occurred in the industrial revolution......

And why do they include a picture of a tropical forest being cleared? I can't think of any tropical forest in the UK....

It would have been more accurate to include photos of HS2 and a road scheme.

Farming is not perfect by any stretch and there is much more we can all do, whilst still producing food and providing other benefits (and probably make more money in the process than the current standard production system of conventional ag!).
We do seem to get unfairly vilified but then at the same time go into a lot of ‘whataboutism’, I suspect the majority of farmers are still have this post war attitude that they are growing food and should be put on a pedestal, ‘thank a farmer’ etc type crap!

egbert · Oct 10, 2021

Bald Rick said:
Do you not find it strange that almost daily some report or study is released that could fundamentally change current farming practices?

I suspect that this is leading up to an announcement at COP26

I'm more than a bit dubious that the news came as Packveg was petitioning HM.
(for which I personally feel he should have his ticket clipped)

Meanwhile, I'm hearing I'll be able to 'sell' my 'bio-diversity' for industry to trade off against what they concrete.

It won't change how much is lost, merely make them feel OK about it.

JP1 · Oct 10, 2021

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

robs1 · Oct 10, 2021

Did they forget the fact we are by far the smallest by area of the G7, that fact alone means we have far great density of population and less areas of diversity.. never let facts get in the way of a good story, could also ask how did they compile this research in the last 18 months when travel was restricted ?

7610 super q · Oct 10, 2021

Unattended bits of ground here end up as monoculture brambles. Not that wildlife friendly ? Maybe it is, I don't know.
I can see a future where food production has been exported, much like steel and other industries, meanwhile our farmland turns into a thicket of scrub with park rangers hacking paths through it for ~~doggers~~ dog walkers.
As said, what a time to be alive.

Derrick Hughes · Oct 10, 2021

7610 super q said:
Unattended bits of ground here end up as monoculture brambles. Not that wildlife friendly ? Maybe it is, I don't know.
I can see a future where food production has been exported, much like steel and other industries, meanwhile our farmland turns into a thicket of scrub with park rangers hacking paths through it for ~~doggers~~ dog walkers.
As said, what a time to be alive.

You best make the best of it as it's the only life you will get
Don't you like blackberry pie !

Bald Rick · Oct 10, 2021

robs1 said:
Did they forget the fact we are by far the smallest by area of the G7, that fact alone means we have far great density of population and less areas of diversity.. never let facts get in the way of a good story, could also ask how did they compile this research in the last 18 months when travel was restricted ?

BBC tranny news have updated to say that we are in the global bottom 10 percent.

GeorgeK · Oct 10, 2021

And this presumably has nothing to do with it

The population density of the EU is 117 people per km2.

The population density in the United States is 36 per Km2.

The population density in the United Kingdom is 281 per Km2.

holwellcourtfarm · Oct 10, 2021

GeorgeK said:
The population density in the United Kingdom is 281 per Km2.

and rising...

hoff135 · Oct 10, 2021

Not a word on the BBC article about this on population. Listed all the species in decline yet failed to list the one species on the increase. Not only increasing numbers but increasing living standards which demands more resources.

Can they not see that if there was half of us there would be half the stress put on the planet, half of the emissions would be gone.

neilo · Oct 10, 2021

holwellcourtfarm said:
It does quietly admit that most of the loss occurred in the industrial revolution......

And why do they include a picture of a tropical forest being cleared? I can't think of any tropical forest in the UK....

It would have been more accurate to include photos of HS2 and a road scheme.

Or more housing in the Home Counties?

holwellcourtfarm · Oct 10, 2021

ajd132 said:
Farming is not perfect by any stretch and there is much more we can all do, whilst still producing food and providing other benefits (and probably make more money in the process than the current standard production system of conventional ag!).

Agreed.
Noticeable that the livestock areas of Suffolk appear much more biodiverse than the arable areas though. Extensive pastoral farming generally delivers more for nature in my experience. We need all types of farming to feed ourselves but we also need a good balance.

Your comment that "I suspect the majority of farmers are still have this post war attitude that they are growing food and should be put on a pedestal, ‘thank a farmer’ etc type crap" reflects my experience too.

PSQ · Oct 10, 2021

Bald Rick said:
BBC tranny news have updated to say that we are in the global bottom 10 percent.

Between the OP's story, the Chris Packham / Balmoral 'rewinding' story, and now the cutting edge news that world porridge making competition has "been won by a vegan", you don't have have to think too hard to understand what the agenda is at the BBC.

The real story should be, that it's time to defund the BBC.

holwellcourtfarm · Oct 10, 2021

hoff135 said:
Not a word on the BBC article about this on population. Listed all the species in decline yet failed to list the one species on the increase. Not only increasing numbers but increasing living standards which demands more resources.

Can they not see that if there was half of us there would be half the stress put on the planet, half of the emissions would be gone.

Sure David Attenborough was correct in observing that all of our environmental problems become harder, and ultimately impossible, to solve with ever more people on the planet. Population is the biggest "elephant in the room" but politically unacceptable to discuss....

holwellcourtfarm · Oct 10, 2021

PSQ said:
Between the OP's story, the Chris Packham / Balmoral 'rewinding' story, and now the cutting edge news that world porridge making competition has "been won by a vegan", you don't have have to think too hard to understand what the agenda is at the BBC.

The real story should be, that it's time to defund the BBC.

When you read that story, what relevance has her veganism to it? The food she created isn't even porridge, it just include porridge oats as one ingredient. On that basis I could have entered our flapjacks!

Another nail in to the coffin of UK agriculture?

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