Farming doesn’t just mean growing crops. It should help us all to have:
- healthy, high quality food at a price which is fair to everyone;
- a beautiful, diverse and accessible countryside; and
- vibrant rural communities.
New farming methods are putting this at risk. Huge intensive, indoor production units and the equipment they bring with them threaten the landscape and surrounding farmlands. Without animals in fields, we are losing those vital landscape features such as hedgerows, drystone walls and wildlife habitats.
At the same time, many farmers are operating at such a loss that they are being forced to give up farming – with serious knock-on effects for the countryside.
Our viewBoth nationally and locally, we campaign to protect the interests of all who live, work and enjoy the countryside.We work to highlight the role of agriculture in the rural economy and its importance for the management of the countryside. We support sustainable farming and outdoor livestock production, as the best way to maintain a beautiful, living, working countryside, diverse in wildlife.We are supporting the campaigns to buy milk from local farmers, and for consumers to buy British beef and lamb. Livestock farming is essential to maintaining the character and quality of landscapes, our wildlife habitats and for our rural communities.We believe that farmers should get a fair price for their produce, which reflects the true cost of production. We are also campaigning to reform the Common Agricultural Policy so that it supports farmers’ conservation work in the countryside.
