Hello Y10!
The DVD we watched before half term was an excellent insight into how farms can continue to run in the future in a sustainable way. The reason I have set up this blog is to enable other people to hear about this way of farming. Its a kind of promotion of the documentary as this blog is searchable on google. I would like you all to blog the following:
1. Your thoughts on the DVD we watched, was it good? Which parts did you find particularly useful/interesting?
2. How can we let more farmers know about this type of farming? What methods could we use? e.g. have a stall at an agricultural fair, posters etc.
Remember to read everyone else's responses, make the blog flow like a conversation. That way, if you do your homework earlier you'll have less to read!!
Good Luck
Miss Parry
"Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family's farm in Devon into a low-energy farm for the future. Last year's high fuel prices were a wake-up call, and realising that food production in the UK is dependent on fossil fuel, particularly oil, Rebecca sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is. Alarmed by the answers, she explores other ways of farming and learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future." BBC
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The sounds interesting
ReplyDelete1.yes, i found the dvd very enjoyable to watch. i now know that there are other methods that can be used if oil runs out. eg. forest gardens can be used instead to grow higher yields and the fertile soil there can be also used to grow more crops in a packed space.
ReplyDelete2. the ways that i would spread the news about this is by either creating a website with all the information or to make posters about it.
From Freddie F
The vid was very interesting with lots of good facts & info, all of which make you wonder why it isn't a more common method of agriculture. As Freddie said, oil and fossil fuels are all set to run out in the next century or so, therefore we need to invest soon in more sustainable and economic agricultures like permaculture.
ReplyDeleteThe bit that probably made the most impact for me was when they showed photos of the field when it was first ploughed, with all the birds, and then when it was ploughed recently, and there were none because the soil was dead :( I think it's shocking that we've never really heard about this method before, as it seems so much more sustainable, cost-effective and productive than our current techniques, which conveniently brings me onto spreading the word...
Well, you could either preach to the masses at farmer's markets/fairs/supermarkets, or put leaflets through people's doors telling them where to find out about the method and most importantly, how to support it.
from Annarr ^_^
1. i thought that the DVD was very informative and i could take down a lot of notes from it. I learned a lot from it and was able to take down a lot of notes, one thing i found quite shocking was that there are only 150,000 farmers left in the UK and that their average age is 60 which was even more shocking. I also found that when the permiculture farmer was explaining that this method actually produced a bigger output than normal types of farming very surprising. But i didn't think that the part which actually explained about how they did the gardening part very interesting.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the problem is that farmers just don't know enough about permiculture, so they think that it is just an alternative method of farming and automatically think that it must have a lower output. But some ideas to get this method out there could be features in magazine articles that are popular with farmers, features in papers, if a society or group could gain enough money then possible radio or tv adverts could be considered although that would take a lot money. Although small posters would not be to hard to produce and could be put up around agricultural areas and on major routes where they would be seen. Although i think that the idea of a stall at an agricultural stall such as the bath and west or north somerset show would be a good idea.
Ollie :D
i agree with ollie about how shocking it is not having many farmers left in the uk, i never knew about that even though i am a farmer. most farmers are pretty old, around 60, so if we return back to the old ways of farming, they wouldnt cope because of the lack of labour and that wouldnt hold agriculturial system together. like i said about forset gardening, its very intense which means alot of output being produced. its much better than the farming techiques that we use today, so we should invest into doing it. these techiques have other advantages like it doesn't harm the environment much with pollution than the normal farming methods of using tractors which burn fossil fuels, and habitats of animals and insects wouldnt be harmed in the use of this. i would like to change my farm like it!!
ReplyDeletefrom Freddie F
I agree with Ollie and Freddie, because I personally think it is very important that the UK has enough farmers to hold the agricultral system together. I found it very interesting about how the power of 400 horses is the same as the power we get from oil today, because I like interesting facts like that. As Anna said, it is shoocking that there are only 150 000 farmers left in the UK and that their average age is 60. Overall the video brought me to the decision that if we were to eat less meat in Britain, then our contry might become more self sufficient and I also learnt that permeculture challenges all normal approaches to farming. I think permeculture should be advertised to farmers through magazines and TV adverts as this may raise their awareness that permeculture is not just an alternative method of farming, but is in fact much more than that.
ReplyDeleteElise Davies
Hey guys :)
ReplyDeleteI thought the DVD was quite interesting although not something i would chose to watch at home on my own.Agreeing with freddy and ollie, i also found it shocking about how many farmers were left in the UK, but wasnt suprised about the age of farmers these days because younger people nowadays arnt so agricultural, they generally go into more technological jobs.
I found the fact that they said eating more meat and growing other foods quite interesting as im not sure it would work in the world now as most people hear in the UK do eat alot of meat (unless your a veggie of course)which would make eating less meat a good thing for them.
I think permeculture would be a good positive to the world because, as the others said, oils and ossils fuels are goingto run out, so we need to find a new way to farm, but this would only work if more farmers knew about it. To make people know about it, we would have to advertise the system, by either making posters or havng stalls at fairs, as you said, or advertising on TV could work. Also posting leaflets through doors, or handing them out in sreets (or feilds if thats where you would find farmers). I think it would be hard to get the word out about this type of farming, but if it did reach all ears, ten i beleive it would help the country alot.
Hope that makes a little bit of sense
Rachael.:)
sorry about all the spelling mistakes or missing out of letters in my words, my keyboard is a bit broken. :)
ReplyDeleterachael
Freddie, anna, Ollie, Elise, Rachael - Well done! What a great start to our first blog. Freddie excellent for writing twice! Anna, really liked your comments about sustainability. Ollie, Elise, Rachael excellent use of facts from the DVD. Well done!!
ReplyDeleteHey everyone
ReplyDeleteI thought the DVD contained lots of good information but was not presented in the most thrilling of ways. Like everyone else I did not realise the extent of the decrease in the number of farmers. I was also surprised at how easy it seemed to employ permiculture as a technique of farming but still it is very rare. If the farming world is going to survive with the rapid decrease in the amount of oil then permiculture is the way forward. GO PERMICULTURE!!!!!
To get farmers informed about permiculture I would write an article about it and send it to local newspapers and popular farming magazines.
From Will S :)
excuse me for the misspelling of permeculture.
ReplyDeleteEvening comrades,
ReplyDeleteThe video was really interesting, a good explanation into alternative farming methods that may have to become mainstream in the near future. It also kept the language understandable for people who don't have much of an idea about farming processes.
Spreading the message could be difficult as transferring from the current style to permaculture is such a complete opposite. Farmers themselves may take some convincing to stop using methods that have been employed for hundreds of years. As others have said, creating some posters and a leaflet to hand out at farmers markets would be a good first step. Perhaps getting in contact with local MP's would be an idea too, we could get a petition then get an early day motion or private member's bill proposed in the House of Commons. Obviously this would require considerable support beforehand but it's a possible development.
Even MEP's could be contacted as a lot of agricultural subsidies come from the EU. With the European elections tomorrow any newly elected MEP's might be pleased to have something to get started on when they come into office. Although if we end up with any more damned UKIP members then I wouldn't count on anything; all UKIP MEP's do is make themselves look silly by shouting a lot in the European Parliament.
I'll stop before I end up in a rant now...but not before a shameless plug for my blog
http://redfred-ired.blogspot.com/
Solidarity to all.
Heya
ReplyDeleteI thought the dvd was very interesting and had a lot of good facts in. The oil is running out so we need to change our ways of farming, such as, permiculture. This is a great way to carry on farming in the future. The amount of farmers are so low and the people who do farm normally use lots of oil. This is why permiculture is a good idea.
It should be advertised by leaflets and maybe a advert on TV.
~Amie~ :)
Thank you Will, Fred and Amie, just to verify... spelling of PERMACULTURE - NOT permiculture and NOT permeculture.... Think of a curly hair style - a - culture... Permaculture.
ReplyDeleteQ1) I think the video was useful as it shown the view point of those passionate about permaculture, it also highlighted the dangers associated with peak oil and our reliance on a fuel that will soon run out. However, as the video was rather biased I think its usefulness has limits.
ReplyDeleteThe video put forward that without arguing that in the future we may be able to replace our reliance on fossil fuels in exchange for renewable energy. For example oil is a finite resource and we are running out quickly, however considering the fact that “necessity is the mother of invention” the video overlooked the fact that we may come up with an alterative to oil. Yes, modern agriculture is dependent on oil, however if we come up with an alterative, for example hydrogen fuel cells, then we will have the ability to replace our oil fuelled equipment with an alternative power source, allowing us to carry on farming in a similar way without that major environmental damage that come with burning fossil fuels.
The video made a valid point about the need to use less chemicals, such as pesticides and inorganic fertilisers. However, again I personally feel that the video overlooked the fact that we are globally dependent on these chemicals and if we suddenly remove these from our agricultural industries then I fear they will collapse, making less farm outputs.
Considering the fact that today many people in the LEDW are malnourished even with our modern technology, taking away these inventions may produce lower yields, I am aware that on the video the farmer said that permaculture can produce higher yields, however I personally feel that that this view point could possible be seen a naïve and with an ever growing population it is unlikely that permacultrue will be widespread in the future.
Q2.) I would market permaculture solely within the MEDW as if we told farmers in the LEDW about permaculture then I think they will ignore us. To advertise the benefits of this style of farming I would place adverts in agricultural magazines, talk about it on local radio or television and hold meetings with the local farming community.
CATHY!!
I agree with ollie, fred, rachel. i am shocked by how few farmers there are left in the U.K. I particullary liked how the DVD showed us how permeculture. worked and it surprised me how productive it could be. It is also interesting how few farmers have thought about biodiversity in their feilds. I have asked a freind, who is a farmer, and he confessed he never thought about it.
ReplyDeleteThis makes it very important thaT THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND MORE ABOUT IT EASly. (sorry about the capitals i wasn't lookin) I feel we should have a link to this on the chewvalley website and we could write to the chew valley gazete and explain how it works.
srry about not posting my name it is onathan fenn
ReplyDelete( my h,i,...k key isnt working caues i spilt tea on it)
Hiaa jake here
ReplyDeleteI'm having a little bit of trouble writing this, im using my ipod and the page is flashing White and moving.....and anyway thought the video was quite interesting, I am also amazed at how many farmers
are left in The uk. I really like the idea of letting it grow naturally but planting different plants to help other plants to grow - I was amazed that the output was more than the other womans farm.
I'm not sure if that way would sustain the economy, we would have to change our diet.
Yes i agree with most people as i say the video was most interesting and ives a good insite of how it is indeed possible to farm without fossil fuels.
ReplyDeleteReffering back to the video some of the facts which were included were very interessting about the power of oil and what it does for us today but i do think that when it does run out then permeculture is definately the way forward.
To get farmers up to speed on the idea there shoud definately be a mass campaign to get across what is different in permeculture and also how it is indeed just as effectful. TV adverts to flyers posted through peoples doors should be made.
andyyyyy
Hey Dudes =]
ReplyDeleteAgain like Andy said, i also agree with most people and the video was very interesting. i also thought that there were a lot of shocking facts in is, especially how most farmers are aged over 60! what happened to retirement?!
i think the video was a good wake up call for people to start looking for farming alternatives and awareness of the situation should be made. this could be done by having stalls at farmers markets and making leaflets with some of the key facts and ideas on them. or maybe even more blogs like these....
Jaay
Hey everyone
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I was shocked to hear about how much fossil fuels are used for commercial farming, and how little input goes into permaculture. On the video, it said that gardening with hand tools is up to five times more productive than gardening with tractors, and only involves one days work a week. It's amazing how the farmers managed to find natural solutions to the problems like planting mint to attract hoverflies to eat the aphids.
I think the video was actually quite inspirational, even though the woman presenting it had an incredibly boring voice :P If we tried showing it to some of the farmers who seemed interested, it could really help :)
~*~ Louise ~*~
I watched the video (largely because I was in the class at time)
ReplyDeleteI was amazed they said the output would be greater than a normal farm (although this may be the quantity and variety of food rather than the same one)
Also when they said without Oil, they meant as a common ingredient (Fertilizers and Machinery) for example Quadbikes (If your farm is a paticularly large one) and trucks (The food isnt going to be much use when its a long distance away from its consumers) although these can use other types of energy (Electric, Hydrogen etc)
It shold also be noted that the current lifestyle/diet may not suit permaculture and the fast food industry may not be paticularly pleased either.
P.S: This blog is nothing without a link to the video, I may find one.
~Steven Bucknell
i agree that the video was good and quite informative, and that the amount of oil we use is shocking!!!! but did any1 else think that the american guy telling us we're all BAD was slightly hypocritical given that americas gonna have enen bigger problems than us, coz have u seen their way of farming???... its just fields and fields of exactly the same. so as much as i think its important that WE stop using oil, can the americans sort out their own problems before making stupid little comments on ours!
ReplyDeleteRhiannon
hi everyone
ReplyDeletein the video they were going on about ploughing was really bad for the soil and how it kills all the organisms however when gardeners do all there double diggen ready for the next season they are doing adsactly the same killing the organisms! so it can't be helped but its just being done in a bigger way cause theres more to do unless anyones volunteerin to dig a hundred ackers !!!!
nice comments guys
rosie xxx
hello there
ReplyDeleteI thought that one of the most interesting points on the video was that the average farmer is aged 60. As well as the decrease in farmers and increase of demand.
I also was impressed by the output of permaculture was greater than the output of regular farming methods. However ,due to the current demand for more variety in our diet, permaculture could be unpopular among a great many consumers, since we cannot grow bannanas naturaly in our country.
From Paatrick!
P.S exactly isn't spelt ADSACTLY
I felt that the video was very useful for us to watch as it gave us lots of informatoin about agriculuture and ways in which we can change the way we farm to suit a future decline in oil. As mentioned by othe people above, the video highlighted that we definately need to reduce the amount of fossil feuls we use in this country and find sustaniable alternatives.
ReplyDeleteAnother point that came across to me in the video was that we need to reduce how much meat we eat and grow more crops. We also need to use our land more resourcefully, for example using every layer of a forest garden to produce a higher yield.
A problem of farming is that the avreage age of a farmer is 60, therefore they are not as strong so the work tends to rely on machinery (using more oil). However, if farming was promoted among the younger generation with posters and TV and magazine adverts then more of the work would be able to be done "by hand." This would reduce the amount of oil needed due to less use of machinery. It would also increase the amount of farmers in general so that more crops could be produced.
Also, in our country we eat a lot of meat. It takes a lot more land to rear cattle than it does to grow crops. If we reduced the amount of land used for animals and used it to grow crops, then every farm would produce a much higher output.
Another solution is to have small allotments and gardens but more of them. More local growers would be able to provide markets nearby, quickly and with little transport (using less oil).
To try and encourage farmers to reduce the amount of oil they use, i suggest, that websites should be set up with information on them; adverts should be published in local magazines, such as "the mendip times"; campaigns could be set up and adverts could appear on billboards and on the TV. Once a few farmers catch on then maybe it will encourage everyone to improve the way they farm to use less oil.
Flo
P.S. sorry about my bad spelling and typing :S
ReplyDeleteFlo
Hello fellow blog-buddies…
ReplyDeleteWhile I thought the video was very interesting in highlighting just how much oil we use in agriculture, forgive me for being a little sceptical about a permaculture revelution in the near future...and for posting my heretical views on the net!
Farming in this country already involves massive subsidies from the Eu and our government, who are really out of touch with agriculture anyway :( and would not fund this change on a large scale unless it was absolutely necessary. In the meantime, I think it will be the preserve of the kind of people who like to buy hyper-organic carrots-that-care etc. Why?
Farmland is expensive in this country. Poorer people, therefore, do not have the means to buy it; they probably can’t even afford the farm houses. Yet they are the ones who are more likely to undertake this hard manual low paid job. Farming is not easy, as the video would have us believe. Richer families have the means to buy it, and do buy smallholdings huge numbers (about a third of farms are smallhodings). But this is supplemented by city careers; they have neither the time or inclination to do real farming. We don’t need romantic yet idle farmers, we need the real deal. Romanticising will not feed Britain.
And of course, the aristocracy own vast amounts of land which they don’t need to farm efficiently to be filthy rich. To back up my arguments here are some jolly statistics; 6000 landowners own 16 out the 25 million hectares of UK land. I don’t know what our local Marxist has to say on the subject, but we need URGENT LAND REFORM. No wonder no one picks strawberries and they rot in the fields; farm workers are being exploited!!! The youth of today are too ambitious to be stuck as farm labourers all their lives.
But sadly, our government are really out of touch with farming and would not fund this essential change unless it was really nessesary…in the meantime thoughtless EU subsidies will have to suffice.
So basically small, utopian farms won’t fail to not prosper unless they don’t stop not existing. In Cuba 50 percent of food is produced in Havana’s city limits. By the people for the people and all that jazz…
Vive la révolution!
Bon voyarrrrrge
Jamie :)
PS I’m going to annoy loads of people by saying GM is awesome and will be a huge success here like in the US sooner than we might hope…blue carrots, here we come!
Sorry only havanas food is produced in its limtits. j
ReplyDeleteCan I also just add that it would be a good idea to stop burming fossil fuels whether we run out or not or we will meet our dooooom through climate change? And farmland that is underwater or desert or both wont do anyone any good.
ReplyDeleteI think farming will still be more effient using oil however much exists (even if its ridiculously expensive) but if we burn all reserves wildlife permiculture tries to help will be dead anyway :(
Hi everyone
ReplyDeleteThe video which we watched was very interesting in the way that it showed some differnet tpyes of farming which you would not seen before. such like the forset gardening, i think that forset gardening is the way forward but it will not meet the demands of our diets which is like we would not be able to grow the ceral which is a hige part of our diets.
There is a promble with the amount of farmers is decreasing and the produt demand is increasing there is not enough farmer to farm.
SEB!!
Hey everyone,
ReplyDeleteThe video was very good in showing differnt ways of farming without using even more of our oil. Before the video i didnt even know about some of those types of farming. The video was useful. The Forest gardening part was very good and i liked it because they didnt use very much oil but produced lots of food and animals.
To show this to farmers i would suggest putting it into a newspaper or something like that. Or do lots of posters and hand outs and post them to farmers.
Tom S
Hey,
ReplyDelete1.I found the video intresting, with all the ways you can farm without harming anything. Even though the oil is running out the majority of farmers wont do anything. As people wouldn't work as hard as the did back in the 70's. The most shocking fact I found was that there's only 15,000 farmers left in the UK. With the amount of the countryside in the UK, I thought there would be a lot more farmers. Im not suprised that the average age is 60, because when they were younger they would of been happy to go into farming and pass on their generation but nowadays people want to be with the "times" to get a job in a office or something.
2. To spread the word about different ways like 'Permaculture' you could go around to varies farms to teach them on ways to produce more output and harming less organisms while their at it. Or you could go around to their closest villages and write about 'Permaculture' in their weekley or monthly newsletter.
Becky=)!