Farming
Photo © Dave Smith
The Brexit vote offers chance for farming to become more diverse and environmentally resilient, say countryside campaigners
A new report released by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) argues that farming in England needs to become more diverse to prove environmentally resilient and publicly accessible over the coming years.
Major recent activity has been to object to two solar farm applications. Both are very close to another recently approved by the neighbouring authority, Wealden, at Ninfield. Rother’s are in Catsfield. Because 80% of Rother is in the High Weald AONB, Rother had never had to deal with a solar farm before the first one, at St Francis Farm. Through ignorance perhaps, they approved it, and now the countryside is reaping the consequences. Fortunately the second application 1km away from the Wealden and the St Francis one was rejected, but the applicants have now put in another slightly amended version for Rother to deal with.
By Graeme Willis
We talk of ‘soiled’ sheets, of night ‘soil’. 
The American version isn’t much better. They call it ‘dirt’ which recalls grime and smut. It might be one reason why we consistently fail to appreciate how precious and extraordinary soil is. As a consequence, we give poor protection to this fundamental natural asset.
