4. The context, cont.
21,870 people in food poverty in
Brighton & Hove2
Demand for local and ecological
food exceeds supply
Veg and fruit consumption is less
than half of what’s recommended1
5. The context, cont.
Agricultural subsidies
due to change6
Water, soil and biodiversity
require more protection3
1/3 of farms under 50ha closed
between 2005 and 20155
26% of ecological footprint in
B&H relates to food4
6. The Downland Estate
10,153 acres (4,109 ha) of farmland
Purchased via 1913 and 1931
Brighton Corporation Acts
to protect the water supply
7. The Downland Initiative
- Developed in 2005
- 4 themes
- Agriculture and Land Use
- Access
- Wildlife
- Landscape and Education
- Agriculture and Land Use aim:
- “Establish a sustainable agricultural system on the Downs, with a greater
emphasis on local, healthy food production, diversification and farming
practices that are sympathetic to wider downland objectives”7
8. Estate management
- Overall estate managed by Savills, based on Downland Initiative, in
coordination with the BHCC
- 29 tenancies, including AHAs and FBTs:
3,384
6,769
BHCC Downland Estate by Tenancy
Acres of farmland under FBTs
Acres of farmland under AHAs
15 Agricultural Holding
Act (AHA) Tenancies
AHA tenancies (1948 act)
Can be passed on for up
to 3 generations
14 Farm Business Tenancies
(FBTs)
FBT lengths range from 3-
15 years
9. Typical practices on farmland around B&H
Majority is:
• Arable
• Livestock
Some is:
• Agroecological
• Agroecology ‘on farms’ refers to reducing external inputs (especially
synthetics), increasing biodiversity, building soil, producing healthy food
10. Crops:
• Spring Barley
• Winter Wheat
• Oilseed Rape
Practices:
• Stewardship schemes conserving monuments, monitoring birds8
• Lack of cover cropping loss of fertility + contamination of water supplies
• Significant pesticide use decreased biodiversity and resilience9
• Wildflower margins food for pollinators, but compromised by pesticides10
• Fertiliser usage Large amount of nitrates (45% leach into groundwater) 11
Consumption:
• Primarily for national or export markets
• Some barley used for local brewing (?)12
Arable farming around B&H
11. Livestock farming around B&H
Animals:
- Sheep
- Suckling cows
Practices:
- Stewardship conserving monuments, monitoring birds8
- Conservation grazing protects chalk grasslands; healthy diet for ruminants
- Deworming / Sheep dip
Consumption:
- Some lamb sold locally (CSA and butchers)12
- Suckling cows sold to other parts of
country for fattening13
12. Agroecological Farming around B&H
Products:
• Veg and fruit
• Meat, Eggs
• Dairy
Practices:
• Intercropping / companion planting
• Green manures and soil covers
• Integration of crops and livestock
• Natural pest management
• Integration of trees (windbreaks, food forest, orchards, etc.)
Consumption:
• Most are extremely local
• Some sell to Brighton & Hove
25 agroecological farms identified within a 50km radius of Brighton & Hove14
13. Agroecological farming in the UK
• Yields15
• Comparable to conventional field scale for
veg
• Higher than average in some crops
(beetroot, kale, cabbage, carrots, broad
beans, calabrese, French beans and
spinach)
• Livelihoods15
• 3.2 full time equivalent farm workers per
hectare (annual work units, AWUs)
• UK farming average is 0.028 AWUs
• Access and Education
• CSA schemes
• School groups
• High biodiversity / vibrant ecosystems
14. Case study: Fork & Dig It
• Cultivating 0.2ha (on a 1ha site) in Stanmer
• Producing parsnips, celeriac, kales, cabbages,
garden cress, chard, rocket, cos, lettuce,
coriander, garlic, spinach, oriental gooseberry,
carrots, potatoes, rhubarb, aubergine,
tomatoes, beetroot, courgette, redcurrants,
raspberries, etc.16
• Distributing 108 kg of own veg and fruit per
week17
• ‘7 a day’ for 36 people
• Average 179 people per ha18
15. Who wants to farm?
• 20% drop in farmers between 2000
and 201019
• 1/3 of existing farmers over 65
• Yet enrolment in agricultural training
up 20% in last 10 years20
• Access to land is one of top barriers
to new entrants21
• Availability
• Affordability
• Appropriateness
• 125 individuals and families
registered interest in small-scale
farmland for agroecology in East
Sussex22
16. Other councils…
Suffolk County Council County
Farm Estate23
Norfolk County Council
County Farms Estate24
Brighton & Hove City
Council Downland Estate
Size of
farmland
estate
12,947 acres 16,061 acres 10,153 acres
No. of farmer
tenants
94 tenants 145 tenants 29 tenants
Uses of
farmland
estate
Farm-related businesses
Community woodlands
Allotments
Footpaths
Farm-related businesses
Community woodlands
Allotments
Footpaths
Farm-related businesses
Community woodlands
Allotments
Footpaths
Supports new entrants
Affordable housing for
farmers
Supports new entrants
Affordable housing for
farmers
X Supports existing farmers
X No housing aims
Average return on investment for council farmland estates in England is 0.83%;
Some councils generate up to £2.5M surplus per year25
17. Possibilities for the Downland Estate to
contribute to more sustainable food systems
• Dedicate a portion of the estate to agroecological production
• 122ha (3%) managed like F&DI 7 a day for people in food poverty25
• Even 1% could make a difference
• Next new tenancy?
• Portion of existing tenancy?
• Incentives to existing famers?
• Learn from other councils
• Collaborate with land trusts
• E.g. Ecological Land Cooperative26
Image credits (left to right):
Jim Barker, Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Jeremy Keith, Flickr CC BY 2.0
http://fareshare.org.uk
References:
1. Food Foundation, 2016 ‘Veg Facts’
2. Brighton & Hove Connected, 2017 City Tracker Survey
Image credits (Left to Right):
Argus (http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10398253.Nitrates_in_water_twice_the_legal_level__on_South_Downs/)
Graham and Dairne
CPRE -https://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/latest-news-releases/item/4648-smaller-farms-heading-towards-a-cliff-edge
Elionas2 / Pixabay / Creative Commons
References:
3 Davies, G. 2013 ‘Nitrates in water twice the legal level on South Downs.’ The Argus. Available from: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10398253.Nitrates_in_water_twice_the_legal_level__on_South_Downs/
4 Brighton & Hove Food Partnership (2012) ‘Spade to Spoon: Digging Deeper’
5 CPRE, Uncertain harvest, does the loss of farms matter?, August 2017 p. 8, Table 2. Available from https://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/farming-and-food/farming/item/4647-uncertain-harvest-does-the-loss-of-farms-matter (Accessed August 2018)
6 Defra 2018 Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit
Image and statistics: Savills
7. Beedell, J. (2006) Downland Initiative Feasibility Study, Prepared by the University of Reading and Smiths Gore for The Brighton & Hove City Council and The Countryside Agency
Data source: Savills Estate Terrier, interview November 2017 and correspondence November 2017 – July 2018
Photo - N Chadwick and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
8 Natural England, Forestry Commission and EU Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2016. Countryside Stewardship Manual. www.gov.uk/countrysidestewardship
9 Goulson, D., Thompson, J. and Croombs, A. (2018) ‘Rapid rise in toxic load for bees revealed by analysis of pesticide use in Great Britain.’ PeerJ, Volume 6, doi 10.7717/peerj.5255
10 Botias, C., David, A., Horwood, J., Abdul-Sada, A., Nicholls, E., Hill, E., Goulson, D. 2015 ‘Neonicotinoid Residues in Wildflowers, a Potential Route of Chronic Exposure for Bees’ Environmental Science & Technology, doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b03459
11 Gilad, S. (2018) ‘Brighton ChaMP for Water: Rural Issues and Interventions’, https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/care-for/water/brighton-champ-for-water/rural-issues-and-interventions/ (Accessed 16 February 2018)
12 Food Matters (2011) ‘Brighton and Hove CSA: Feasibility Study: Interim Report’ , also backed up by interviews conducted between November 2017 and June 2018
Photo - ast House Archive and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
13. Interviews conducted between November 2017 and June 2018
Photo: Elise Wach
14. Practices, products and consumption ascertained via interviews conducted with producers between October 2016 to May 2017 confirming practices noted by Pretty et al 2006, Altieri and Toledo 2010; Gliessman 1998
Photo: From Andy of Fork & Dig It, ‘Tim with Beans’
15 Laughton, R. (2017) ‘A Matter of Scale’ A study of the productivity, financial viability and multifunctional benefits of small farms (20 ha and less). Land Workers’ Alliance and Centre for Agroecology, Coventry University
Photo - Andy Redfearn Fork & Dig It
16. Interview conducted October 2016
17. Figures received from Fork & Dig It in July 2017
18. Based on 80g per portion for adults and 50g per portion for children, and government guidelines that we should eat 7 portions of vegetables and fruit per day. These assumptions are an over-simplification as different crops differ in weight and nutritional value. They also average production over the year, without taking seasonal differences into account. Further consideration may be needed for less productive times of the year (the so-called ‘hungry gap’).
Photo - Andy Redfearn Fork & Dig It
19 European Union (EU) Farm structure survey (FSS) 2010
20 Universities UK & Higher Education Statistics Agency (2017) Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education
21 Wach, E., Ferguson, C. and Smaje, C. (2017) ‘Why access to land is vital for sustainable, healthy and fair food systems: strategies for increasing access to land for agroecological farming.’ Transitions to Agroecological Food Systems Briefing, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
22 Ecological Land Cooperative (2017) ‘Addressing the Crisis for New Entrants to Farming in East Sussex’
23 Chambers, S. (2014) ‘Farming feature: Suffolk farms reform to fit county-owned farmland to wider council aims’, East Anglian Daily Times, 01 October 2014. See also http://www.greensuffolk.org/wildlife-and-landscape/county-farms/ (Accessed August 2018)
24 Norfolk County Council (2018) ‘County Farms’ https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/business/business-development-opportunities/county-farms (Accessed August 2018)
25 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair (2015) Sixty-fifth annual report to Parliament on smallholdings in England April 2014 – March 2015
Photo: Helen, Whitehawk Community Food Project
25 Based on calculations noted on slide 14. Note that not all land is the same on the Downland Estate, and a mapping of suitable areas is recommended.
26 The Ecological Land Cooperative has experience with managing and supporting new entrants and young farmers practicing agroecology on small to medium sized farms. See http://ecologicalland.coop/ for more details.