Farmers Weekly Charlie Flindt the National Trust and End of an Era

[Farmer Roy]

Oh Oh! it sounds like the Ozzy is having a bit of a (God forbid!) WHINGE!

No, just a quite chuckle to myself at the double standards & hypocrisy

got nothing to whinge about in regards to this topic at all, so I dunno where that comment comes from

 

[Farmer Roy]

Oh Oh! it sounds like the Ozzy is having a bit of a (God forbid!) WHINGE!

Oh oh. It sounds like the Pom is making a personal attack over a generalised observation that wasn’t aimed at any one individual . . .

touched a raw nerve did it

wanting to sell off “farmland” for housing development & an easy retirement are we ?

 

[teslacoils]

Oh oh. It sounds like the Pom is making a personal attack over a generalised observation that wasn’t aimed at any one individual . . .

touched a raw nerve did it

wanting to sell off “farmland” for housing development & an easy retirement are we ?

My goal is an easy retirement. Im not sweeping 1960s bins out when im 80. Best way for an easy retirement is to make as much money as possible as early as possible.

 

[Farmer Roy]

My goal is an easy retirement. Im not sweeping 1960s bins out when im 80. Best way for an easy retirement is to make as much money as possible as early as possible.

fair enough, I have no argument with that

just seems a bit double standards when some complain about re wilding & tree plantings, but housing development seems desirable ( as long as they are the one making the ££££ from it )

 

[Farmer Roy]

My goal is an easy retirement. Im not sweeping 1960s bins out when im 80. Best way for an easy retirement is to make as much money as possible as early as possible.

IF I’m still farming in my 80’s, I’ll be using 2020’s bins as the oldest

 

[Sharpy]

Oh oh. It sounds like the Pom is making a personal attack over a generalised observation that wasn’t aimed at any one individual . . .

touched a raw nerve did it

wanting to sell off “farmland” for housing development & an easy retirement are we ?

Wee bit off topic but years ago I was discussing the sale of some ground for housing by a local farmer and the likely price he received with a neighbour. He agreed with me that it sounded like a lot of money, but realistically it was standard agricultural value plus a wodge of compensation for the hassle of farming tight to the edge of town with all the attendant problems. Probably the best way to look at it.

 

[delilah]

Not interested in engaging with you - with all your weird issues, sorry.

Yeah, you said, so why start again ? You just can't cope with the fact that I am your worst nightmare; a lentil knitter who is on your side.

 

[beardface]

I wonder if there new take on farms breaches the rules stated when the land was gifted.

 

[Abi Kay]

Who wrote the article @Abi Kay can we get them on here to expand on this?

I think it might have been Alex Black in the biz section. She's off today, but I've sent her an email to ask

 

[Hindsight]

This country is a joke.

While China and Russia have identified food as a potential weapon of the future and are either amassing large stockpiles of the stuff or attempting to steal the land of another country to gain control over it our powers that be think taking land out of food production for rewilding is the way to go.

Those thinking what NT does on their own land is up to them might well change their tune when all the beavers they release dam up the watercourses and make the neighbouring land un-farmable.

This is already happening in parts of Scotland. Fortunately for the time being Scot Gov/Nature Scot are catching beavers in arable areas for rehoming largely in England where they are to do wonderful things but as their numbers increase either naturally or by catch and release spread by the numerous pro beaver vigilante groups that have popped up it‘s a loosing battle until the point those in charge realise what they’ve done.

In the Fens it is the bloomin Badgers. There 'homes' underminng railway liines, roads, ditch and drain banks - some pretty important Drain banks too when the land here relies on a pumped drainage system. They are everywhere. Along with the Deer and Buzzards. All three species I never saw apart from in picture books as a child, youth or young man. So whatever destruction farming in The Fens has done in the past thirty years it has certainly been beneficial for those three species.

 

[teslacoils]

fair enough, I have no argument with that

just seems a bit double standards when some complain about re wilding & tree plantings, but housing development seems desirable ( as long as they are the one making the ££££ from it )

Its British disease. We cant stand the idea of anyone being successful. The NT business model of "get free stuff given to us, then gain maximum money from it" cant really be argued with.

Tree planting is a bit different as once you plant trees here......youre stuck with them forever.

 

[egbert]

So, I always find it amusing the anger here towards rewilding, or growing trees, on “farmland”, when so many on TFF seem to think that selling their land for housing development is the ultimate goal to aim for . . .

I wouldn't say that's true.

 

[BrianV]

I've still not read the article.
FW not arrived for two weeks and they won't let me log in online.
I saw the clickbait Charlie Flindts "Last ever harvest" headline last week on my news page, and nearly posted a question on here but felt it might be inappropriate to do so as he is a fellow member.
Sad if the above is true, but I don't blame the Flindts at all, it's hard work being a tenant, even a secure one, when the landowner wants you gone. When the joy is gone out of the job, it is natural to ask the question, how long do I want to keep going.
Wish them both well.with whatever chapter comes next.

Flindt on Friday: A wild new era begins at Manor Farm​

© Kathy Horniblow
Two very significant things happened last autumn. First, our youngest set off for his placement year in the City, and within a matter of days, it became blindingly obvious that he had found his vocation.
Obvious – but no surprise – he’s returning to the Flindt roots.
He’s working a few yards away from his Uncle Ian, a couple of buildings away from where his great-grandfather spent his working life, and not far from where Gustavus Flindt set up as a foreign exchange broker after arriving on these shores from Germany at the very end of the 18th century.
Jonathan was simply following his brother and sister away from the farm.
See also: How a Family Charter can help farm succession plans
It’s sad in many ways, not least because the two boys are the most instinctive tractor drivers I’ve ever come across, and Diana is the only person to come close to having Hazel’s supernatural affinity with livestock.
All three of them should really be putting wellies on every morning. But that’s it and all about it – as Jonathan’s grandfather would often say when debate is done.

Team Ginger: Hazel, Anthony (home for harvest), Charlie and brother-in-law Noel load the last lorry © Charlie Flindt
Hazel and I had a bit of a moment when the truth dawned on us: we have no third generation to take on our tenancy.

I’m 60, she’s 21 (again), and time is creeping on. Bits of me (some of them mentionable, some of them not) don’t work anymore, and another 10 or 15 years aren’t going to improve things.
The farm is in dire need of infrastructure overhaul, and the money involved (all from our own pockets, of course) would need far longer than a decade to pay itself off.

(Re)wild idea​

Then the second thing happened. There was a phone call from the landlord. They said they’d like to come and see us. Curious, we thought. “Come on round,” we said, “we’ll put the kettle on.”
Out came the tea and Hobnobs, and the Trust got straight to the point. “We’re on a mission to plant 20m trees and commit 25,000ha to assorted ‘nature recovery’ projects. And we’re looking for farmers to help us out.”
“Hmmm,” I said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.
“Nice idea, but where would we live? We’re tenants with no savings and nothing to sell to raise funds. I’m content to stop arable farming after 38 years, but Hazel can’t live without her cattle and sheep.”
The next few weeks were a frenzied blur of negotiations, suggestions and countersuggestions – all of which are highly confidential, of course.
I think I’m allowed to say, however, that both sides emerged content with the outcome.
The sacred AHA is intact, although the farm itself will shrink to about 100 acres come Michaelmas. Hazel is now the third “generation”, and we’re secure in the house where I was born.
We are keeping barns and 15 acres of permanent pasture, and the arable land we’re retaining will be grassed over for assorted environmental schemes. And I can sell the sprayer.

Nature, nature, nature​

Meanwhile, the Trust can press ahead with its very public promises, most of which involve overuse of the word “nature”.

Explore moreKnow How​

Visit our Know How centre for practical farming advice
What exactly will they do? Who knows? It’s their land, and they can do what they want. We will watch with interest.
It would be mischievous of us to add to the rumour mill that’s outraging the neighbouring White Settlers by suggesting wind farms, solar panels and car parks, so we’re making do with “free-range beaver” and “organic wildebeest”.
“Really?” ask some White Settlers, whose smart accents cover up remarkable rural ignorance.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for the Trust’s agents (and there’s a phrase I never thought I’d write) who are being summoned to explain themselves to local parish councils, and being harangued by frightfully important people who have lots of money, demanding land for their llamas. (And there’s Hampshire in one sentence.)

Autumn years​

So what of the future? I haven’t given it much thought, concentrating instead of getting our last-ever harvest in. There’s already a big hole in the mental calendar we all live with where the multitude of autumn jobs should be.
I’m going to be sowing grass seed for the first time ever, so there’s a whole new set of challenges – as well as some shopping for kit.
The rest of the now-superfluous machinery will be examined, valued, and put on the market to top up the pension fund.
Hazel is already filling her diary with more bookkeeping and dog-training jobs, which will fit nicely around her livestock plans.
Meanwhile, there are indications that selling my tractor might be a bit premature; the Trust are looking for someone to help look after the land I’m giving up.
I’m hopeful of popping up in these pages now and then, although Flindt on Friday will cease in a few weeks; I can’t do a “grumpy farmer in his cab, battling the elements” column if I am no longer doing any of that.
Come October I will have a third book to polish up. Rather spookily, I started it last Michaelmas, thinking it would be just another mundane diary.
I hadn’t expected that phone call from the Trust. (I do need to clear some room in the west wing for it, though, so if you haven’t got your copies of books one and two, look lively; Christmas is coming.)

Eco untrendy​

Don’t go thinking (and I have had to make this clear to my wonderful landlord, which was keen to suggest otherwise in press releases) that I have had some Damascene conversion to eco-farming, and now worship at the shrine of St Greta.
Far from it. I think all forms of reducing food production – including tree planting, rewilding, organic and regenerative – are lunacy.
What we’re doing is borne of pragmatism, not green dogma.
We’ll have a front-row seat as land into which I have (literally) shed blood, sweat and tears enters a new phase in its centuries-old agricultural journey, and I will watch (and, I hope, report) with great interest.
My little package of 1,800 annual tonnes of stuff will be off the market. The more farmers who are in the lucky position to do what we’re doing, the sooner the cry will go out for a return to food production.
Don’t laugh; consider how public opinion on rewilding has changed in a few short months – as the Trust is finding out on its social meeja pages.
Who knows – farming’s golden days may be on the way back. Too late for Anthony, Diana and Jonathan, of course. But that’s it and all about it.

 

[egbert]

fair enough, I have no argument with that

just seems a bit double standards when some complain about re wilding & tree plantings, but housing development seems desirable ( as long as they are the one making the ££££ from it )

Hang on Roy.

Some of us are tenant hill farmers, some of us are livestock men of many many generations.
You may not see it from down under, but our entire culture is under direct threat from the rewilding lobby- which has recently infiltrated right to the highest level in gov. as well as all kinds of institutions and charities...inc the NT.

5 out of 6 of my farming neighbours are tenants- to whom your suggestions about housing developments cannot apply, and the 6th is a freeholder of centuries standing.
We're all squarely in the target, and pretty tetchy about it.

 

[BrianV]

Whilst Charles becoming king is a fine thing & I'm sure he will do well I do fear it gives cover to this government & future ones to continue the shrinking of farm production in this country & further reliance on food imports in a world with diminishing food production opportunities, to me this seems almost criminal as with the World warming countries able to produce food should do all the can to do so & countries that are becoming too dry for crops to be grown should be where all these trees should be planted to retain moisture.
As is often the case green eco nuts like many others need to show that they "care" even if what they are doing achieves very little benefit for the earth as a whole but it still gives them a warm fuzzy feeling whatever the cost to others!!

 

[Charlie Flindt]

Charlie Flindt had a right go at me on here. He identified me as a lentil knitter and chucked all sorts of crap at me, playing to his audience, seeing me as anti farming.

Has he made every effort to keep his farm in productive use ? To pass on his farming skills and knowledge ? Or has he just taken the easy route, trousered the payout, and had some easy copy to keep the lazy stereotype of farming v's the green lobby going ?

As charming (and sensitive) as ever, Delilah.

 

[Lowland1]

I read the article and I can’t disagree with his decision. I’ve done all I can to get my kids nice City trader jobs and they don’t want them so we are moving onwards and upwards but if there’s more money in trees than farming then most will follow the money.

 

[David.]

Flindt on Friday: A wild new era begins at Manor Farm​

© Kathy Horniblow
Two very significant things happened last autumn. First, our youngest set off for his placement year in the City, and within a matter of days, it became blindingly obvious that he had found his vocation.
Obvious – but no surprise – he’s returning to the Flindt roots.
He’s working a few yards away from his Uncle Ian, a couple of buildings away from where his great-grandfather spent his working life, and not far from where Gustavus Flindt set up as a foreign exchange broker after arriving on these shores from Germany at the very end of the 18th century.
Jonathan was simply following his brother and sister away from the farm.
See also: How a Family Charter can help farm succession plans
It’s sad in many ways, not least because the two boys are the most instinctive tractor drivers I’ve ever come across, and Diana is the only person to come close to having Hazel’s supernatural affinity with livestock.
All three of them should really be putting wellies on every morning. But that’s it and all about it – as Jonathan’s grandfather would often say when debate is done.

Team Ginger: Hazel, Anthony (home for harvest), Charlie and brother-in-law Noel load the last lorry © Charlie Flindt
Hazel and I had a bit of a moment when the truth dawned on us: we have no third generation to take on our tenancy.

I’m 60, she’s 21 (again), and time is creeping on. Bits of me (some of them mentionable, some of them not) don’t work anymore, and another 10 or 15 years aren’t going to improve things.
The farm is in dire need of infrastructure overhaul, and the money involved (all from our own pockets, of course) would need far longer than a decade to pay itself off.

(Re)wild idea​

Then the second thing happened. There was a phone call from the landlord. They said they’d like to come and see us. Curious, we thought. “Come on round,” we said, “we’ll put the kettle on.”
Out came the tea and Hobnobs, and the Trust got straight to the point. “We’re on a mission to plant 20m trees and commit 25,000ha to assorted ‘nature recovery’ projects. And we’re looking for farmers to help us out.”
“Hmmm,” I said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.
“Nice idea, but where would we live? We’re tenants with no savings and nothing to sell to raise funds. I’m content to stop arable farming after 38 years, but Hazel can’t live without her cattle and sheep.”
The next few weeks were a frenzied blur of negotiations, suggestions and countersuggestions – all of which are highly confidential, of course.
I think I’m allowed to say, however, that both sides emerged content with the outcome.
The sacred AHA is intact, although the farm itself will shrink to about 100 acres come Michaelmas. Hazel is now the third “generation”, and we’re secure in the house where I was born.
We are keeping barns and 15 acres of permanent pasture, and the arable land we’re retaining will be grassed over for assorted environmental schemes. And I can sell the sprayer.

Nature, nature, nature​

Meanwhile, the Trust can press ahead with its very public promises, most of which involve overuse of the word “nature”.

Explore moreKnow How​

Visit our Know How centre for practical farming advice
What exactly will they do? Who knows? It’s their land, and they can do what they want. We will watch with interest.
It would be mischievous of us to add to the rumour mill that’s outraging the neighbouring White Settlers by suggesting wind farms, solar panels and car parks, so we’re making do with “free-range beaver” and “organic wildebeest”.
“Really?” ask some White Settlers, whose smart accents cover up remarkable rural ignorance.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for the Trust’s agents (and there’s a phrase I never thought I’d write) who are being summoned to explain themselves to local parish councils, and being harangued by frightfully important people who have lots of money, demanding land for their llamas. (And there’s Hampshire in one sentence.)

Autumn years​

So what of the future? I haven’t given it much thought, concentrating instead of getting our last-ever harvest in. There’s already a big hole in the mental calendar we all live with where the multitude of autumn jobs should be.
I’m going to be sowing grass seed for the first time ever, so there’s a whole new set of challenges – as well as some shopping for kit.
The rest of the now-superfluous machinery will be examined, valued, and put on the market to top up the pension fund.
Hazel is already filling her diary with more bookkeeping and dog-training jobs, which will fit nicely around her livestock plans.
Meanwhile, there are indications that selling my tractor might be a bit premature; the Trust are looking for someone to help look after the land I’m giving up.
I’m hopeful of popping up in these pages now and then, although Flindt on Friday will cease in a few weeks; I can’t do a “grumpy farmer in his cab, battling the elements” column if I am no longer doing any of that.
Come October I will have a third book to polish up. Rather spookily, I started it last Michaelmas, thinking it would be just another mundane diary.
I hadn’t expected that phone call from the Trust. (I do need to clear some room in the west wing for it, though, so if you haven’t got your copies of books one and two, look lively; Christmas is coming.)

Eco untrendy​

Don’t go thinking (and I have had to make this clear to my wonderful landlord, which was keen to suggest otherwise in press releases) that I have had some Damascene conversion to eco-farming, and now worship at the shrine of St Greta.
Far from it. I think all forms of reducing food production – including tree planting, rewilding, organic and regenerative – are lunacy.
What we’re doing is borne of pragmatism, not green dogma.
We’ll have a front-row seat as land into which I have (literally) shed blood, sweat and tears enters a new phase in its centuries-old agricultural journey, and I will watch (and, I hope, report) with great interest.
My little package of 1,800 annual tonnes of stuff will be off the market. The more farmers who are in the lucky position to do what we’re doing, the sooner the cry will go out for a return to food production.
Don’t laugh; consider how public opinion on rewilding has changed in a few short months – as the Trust is finding out on its social meeja pages.
Who knows – farming’s golden days may be on the way back. Too late for Anthony, Diana and Jonathan, of course. But that’s it and all about it.

Thankyou for that.
Sounds pragmatic and amicable enough.
We all need to lose the ingrained mantra that it is our job to feed the world regardless of the cost.
Fair play to the Flindts for actually doing something about it.

 

[Werzle]

Just read that Charlie Flindt is effectively surrendering his tenancy of his NT farm and it will be taken back for tree planting and rewilding with a relatively small area planted with grass with him probably becoming the Park keeper.

Having seen other farms owned by the NT being left to rack and ruin, is this really acceptable when the world is short of food?
Charlie questions whether the loss of his 1800 tons of crop is acceptable but as he has no successors why does he need to keep grinding away at 60.

It is one of his best articles and I believe reflects the position many farmers find themselves in at the present time.
I hope he continues to write about how these changes work out.
Although I fear he won't be very critical of his landlords as it looks as if he has a good retirement package!

Best bit of the FW is reading charlies latest calamity. World seems happy to be sleep walking into food shortages with all these schemes and the crippling input prices. It will go full circle and we will be paid to clear scrub land to plough before we know it.

 

[No wot]

Has he made every effort to keep his farm in productive use ? To pass on his farming skills and knowledge ? Or has he just taken the easy route, trousered the payout, and had some easy copy to keep the lazy stereotype of farming v's the green lobby going ?

I think people are realising that a combination of their age and diminishing farm support and buoyant commodity prices at present , now is the time to call it a day