In the current debate about the @treesforlifeuk announcement to import 15 or so "Tauros" cattle to their Dundreggan site near Inverness, one thing has really come to light for me in terms of levels of support (or not) expressed here... a wee thread 1/ The majority of folk I have seen so far who are supportive of the announcement appear (and I know appearances can be deceiving) to know very little about managing cattle. 2/

This video from Matthew & the one he links to by @farmermat1 are really interesting as very practical applied examples of supply chain net zero aims and what a more land sparing approach looks like on actual farms.

What I find fascinating are the cross overs between systems 🧵1

https://twitter.com/thrimbyfarms/status/1764723633212035337

We hear @ThrimbyFarms talking about increasing output (quadrupling cattle numbers) and using profits to invest in nature positive outcomes - so production + a mostly “hedges and edges” approach…the net zero bit comes from intensification so the emissions are diluted by numbers 2

Some thoughts on biodiversity loss - and why I think farmers are feeling defensive… 🧵

The State of Nature report identified a 13% decline in the average abundance of wildlife in the UK since the 1970s

This means fewer plants, birds and invertebrates. 1/14 And many researchers point to the intensification of agriculture as a leading cause - which isn’t wrong for farmland birds for example, but there’s no doubt the increase in cars, built areas, rubbish and pollution have all had a huge impact on nature and ecosystem health 2/14

With the current debate between @GeorgeMonbiot and @AllanRSavory leaving folk on both sides struggling to feel heard (including me) I thought I’d try and explain a bit more about why the grazing GM refers to and the grazing AS refer to are not the same - bear with me! 🧵 1/20 Generally, research into grazing relies on models that are based on set stocked systems - simply number of animals per acre, with an assumption they are there continuously. And continuous grazing has been pretty standard for a lot of farmers for a fairly long time 2/20

Fascinating chat with colleagues over dinner tonight about decisions relating to food - every single food choice I make includes consideration of trade offs and impact…and I often forget that the vast majority of folk don’t live that way.

1/6 As farmers we ask consumers to make conscientious food purchasing decisions, we ask people to think about buying local, or shopping intentionally or eating seasonally.

2/6

I do quite a lot of webinars - and tonight’s was brilliant, for a number of reasons - a wee thread 🧵

1/6

https://twitter.com/scotlink/status/1635300049176637441

Firstly it was an all female panel 💃💃 💃
This is important because women’s voices are under represented in agriculture and ag policy - and have been for a LONG TIME - so this felt like strong solidarity for women in ag from @ScotLINK

2/6

I am frankly appalled that @NFUStweets are calling for those areas identified as Ecological Focus Areas to be brought into production as a response to a humanitarian crisis. And this is why 🧵/1 The horrendous situation in Ukraine is absolutely going to have an impact on global food commodities, and that is the real issue here - that our food is traded as a commodity, on a global scale leading, particularly in the UK’s case, to an over reliance on imported food /2

Today is #IWD2022 this year’s theme is #BreakTheBias - which I am going to celebrate with a thread of ten amazing women I have encountered in UK Agriculture & academia through my work as a farmer, PhD researcher, with @PastureForLife & as Co-founder of Regen Women on the Land. First up - the marvellously charismatic, passionate and extremely knowledgeable @DrDowhittle - what an incredible force for good in the ag and vet sectors 🙌