John Turner (Oakham meeting)

Traditional Farm buildings o Original house & buildings constructed 1868 o Part of the Holywell Estate o Construction reflected a self-contained, multifunctional purpose o Traditional buildings are not well suited to today’s farming The Grange

100 ha / 250 acres Soils - Grade 2 / Grade 3 Soil types range from alluvial sands through to boulder clay Field sizes range from 2 acres to 19 acres, with a farm average of 10 acres Conversion to Organic 1999 The Grange

7 year rotation: Year 1: Wheat Year 2:Barley Year 3: Oats Year 4:Grass / Clover mix Year 5:Grass / Clover mix Year 6:Grass / Clover mix Year 7:Grass / Clover mix The Grange

The Mixed Farm A Symbiosis between Livestock & Crops Crops Energy Sunlight Machinery Water Macro Nutrients N P K Air Micro Nutrients Ca Mg S B Zn Fe Cu Mn Mo Se Biomass Grain / Roots Market Sub-market Market Soil Soil Organic Matter Livestock Air Minerals Ca P Mg K Na Fe Mo Cl S Mn Cu Zn Co Se Feed Protein Energy Water Energy Machinery ManuresMeat Milk Fibre Soil Market Straw Grain

The Mixed Farm A Symbiosis between Livestock & Crops

Benefits of Pasture and Crops in Rotation Manures – Improve SOM – Re-cycle Macro-nutrients – N P K – Re-cycle micro nutrients – Provides nutrients for worms – Encourages soil bacteria and beneficial fungi Weed Control Nitrogen fixation by leguminous crops, principally clover Increased microbiological activity: – Mobilisation of nutrients – Mobilisation of Minerals – Building organic mater content The Mixed Farm A Symbiosis between Livestock & Crops

Rothamsted Classic Experiments – Hoosefield Barley yield The Mixed Farm A Symbiosis between Livestock & Crops

Farming in the news

“Area of farm soil the size of France lost to salinisation” Wednesday 29 October 2014 An area of farm soil the size of France has been lost to salinisation of soils, according to experts at the UN University. Pollution causing 'massive' harm to countryside Tuesday 28 October 2014 Atmospheric nitrogen from fossil fuel emissions and agriculture are leading to "massive" declines in the biodiversity of plants across Britain, according to new research Farming in the news

Who &What Shapes Farming?

What Shapes Farming?

Economics: Markets Support payments Commodity trading Customer’s buying habits Farm Assurance Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (Applied at National level by RPA) Government Food Standards Agency Trading Standards Labour & Machinery: Size Workrate Cost Efficiency Logistics: Transport Storage Timliness Supply Industries R&D spending Who &What Shapes Farming?

What Shapes Farming?

Economics: Markets Support payments Commodity trading Customer’s buying habits Farm Assurance Policy: Government Food Standards Agency Trading Standards Labour & Machinery: Size Workrate Cost Efficiency Logistics: Transport Storage Timeliness Supply Industries R&D spending

Farmers Weekly Friday 17 February 2012 “A combination of high grain prices and onerous CAP reform proposals mean many farmers are planning to plough up their permanent pasture.” “Current CAP reform proposals will force farmers to retain the area of permanent pasture and other unimproved land at the level indicated on their 2014 Single Payment Scheme form - within a tolerance of 5%, says Tony Hargreaves of rural consultant Brown & Co. "Growers want to have flexibility for the future - at the moment there are some areas of land that are slightly marginal for arable use, but in five or 10 years time may be more profitable due to higher grain prices.” What Shapes Farming?

Economics: Markets Support payments Commodity trading Customer’s buying habits Farm Assurance Policy: Government Food Standards Agency Trading Standards Labour & Machinery: Size Workrate Cost Efficiency Logistics: Transport Storage Timliness Supply Industries R&D spending

“What would a food chain that reflected Quaker Values look like?” Quaker values in farming

Economics: Markets Support payments Commodity trading Customer’s buying habits Farm Assurance Policy: Government Food Standards Agency Trading Standards Labour & Machinery: New Entrants Training Market awareness Logistics: Transport Storage Timliness Supply Industries R&D spending Quaker values in farming

What do we mean by “good” and “bad” in farming ? Markets Alternatives to supermarkets - a force for change? What is the effect of using price to control supply and demand? Support payments How do we target these to ensure we encourage good practice? Should these be scrapped and instead allow the market to prevail? Commodity trading Does speculation fuel hunger and poverty? Why do we have volatility and who benefits? Customer’s buying habits – How do we provide information about the impact of buying decisions? Are labels Fair & Honest ? Farm Assurance Are they fit for purpose and if not what changes are needed? Quaker values in farming

“.... The exploiter is a specialist, an expert; the nurturer is not. The standard of an exploiter is efficiency; the standard of a nurturer is care. The exploiter’s goal is money, profit; the nurturer’s goal is health—his land’s health, his own, his family’s, his community’s, his country’s. Whereas the exploiter asks of a piece of land only how much and how quickly it can be made to produce, the nurturer asks a question that is much more complex and difficult: What is its carrying capacity? (That is: How much can be taken from it without diminishing it? What can it produce dependably for an indefinite time?) ….” Wendell Berry,“The Unsettling of America” Quaker values in farming