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.
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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?
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