Shed
My recycled shed :)

This morning I have been watching A Farm for the Future, which was broadcast on BBC 2 last night. It is a film by farmer’s daughter and wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking (who unfortunately has a bit of a dull voice) who wants to give her family farm a sustainable future.

After hearing about our fossil fuel dependence and the Peak Oil problem, Rebecca meets some people who are already trying to produce food in a different way. There’s Patrick Whitefield, a famous permaculturalist, and a beautiful smallholding in Wales that’s small fields in the midst of woodland instead of a few scattered trees in the midst of fields and produces more food than the family who lives there can eat.

And there’s the Hollins from Fordhall Farm, talking about how the right mixture of pasture grasses can eliminate the need for extra fodder for livestock entirely.

Permaculture makes an appearance 29 minutes in. Martin Crawford (from the Agroforesty Research Trust) is on at the 37 minute mark and there’s some lovely footage of his forest garden and nut orchard (which I think should be called a Nuttery).

By the end of the programme Rebecca appears to be convinced that ‘modern’ farming methods are going to have to come to an end and be replaced by something that models more closely the natural order – but that means more people are going to have to be engaged in food production. We need more gardeners, more farmers and more biodiversity – and less transport, machinery, pesticides and fertilisers.

Sign me up for that future, it looks lovely :)

If you’re trying to track down a DVD copy of A Farm for the Future, then try contacting Permaculture Magazine.

On a similar note, Monty Don has also been talking about growing your own food.