Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 64

life COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING Changing Face of Countryside? Part 3 By Tony Ridd - [email protected] It now appears that more money is spent on more people involved in telling us how to run the countryside, than actually work in the countryside. Unless you are a university graduate the time will come when you won’t even be considered as a volunteer, let alone for a career in any part of countryside management. In this issue Tony Ridd speaks to some of the key players involved in advising and maintaining the Island’s landscape. 64 As we have learnt, farmers are happy to take on the role of ‘custodians of the countryside’, but they are tightly governed and manipulated into what they grow, how much of their land they leave fallow, and the livestock they produce. This control is further influenced by so called 'consumer demand' by the supermarkets. The majority of us shop at supermarkets because of the convenience and low prices. But are we really getting value for money and what is the cost to our landscape? I spent a morning with a very busy David Langford, Regional Director for the CLA (Country Landowners Association) and recently appointed High Sheriff for the Island. He explained to me that we have the most highly regulated farming community in the world, with all kinds of legislation that must be adhered to. Many of the agency people making decisions about agriculture have no practical farming experience and have never tried to earn a living from the land. "We think the Isle of Wight is a rural county, but in reality very few people work on the land. "We need to educate the public to ask where its food comes from and how it is produced. Eighty-five percent of all meat sold nationally is bought from supermarkets. Some of this 85% comes from foreign countries, the consumer having no idea of the conditions under which this livestock has been raised and what they have been injected with or fed. The Isle of Wight has over 375 miles of well signed footpaths, excellently maintained by successive councils, and our network is said to be the best in the UK. Seventy-five percent of the country’s coastline is open to the public. So why do we need more access? Will this encourage more people into the great outdoors, probably not? Island Life - www.islandlife.tv