Government policy is in the process of shifting towards a new model of agricultural funding. Going forward, land managers will receive public money for public goods. In other words, they will be rewarded for managing land in a way that produces environmental benefits.
This change does not mean an end to farming, but it does mean a change to the way that we farm. Intensive farming may have contributed to many environmental problems, but farming itself, when done sensitively and in harmony with Nature, can play an important role in Nature’s recovery.
Gentle transformations
Anyone who has visited the Lowther Estate in recent years will see that a transformation has begun. On the land which we own and manage directly, the sheep have gone, replaced by native herbivores, including Longhorn Cattle, Tamworth Pigs and Fell Ponies.
Tens of thousands of trees and many miles of new hedgerow have been planted. We have restored grasslands, rivers and floodplains to their former glory. Piece by piece, we are rebuilding the ecosystem, bringing back missing species and allowing Nature to express itself in a way it has been prevented from doing for a great many years.