Today, the farming industry faces significant challenges. The impacts of climate change, rising costs and a lack of clarity in legislation following our departure from the EU have created a period of great uncertainty. The mounting and urgent pressure to restore our rapidly declining biodiversity has presented further challenges for farmers who continue to play a crucial role as both food producers and stewards of the land. Rooted documents a year on our family farm, capturing the shared experiences as we consider the changes we are making to adapt and secure a future in this rapidly evolving industry.

 

Author and photographer Jacqueline Sarsby’s documentation of Sweetstone Farm serves as a key reference point for this project. Her documentation of the Rowden family during the 1990's highlights a unique resistance to ‘modern farming’. Traditional methods endured in a self-reliant practice, less dependent on monocultures, sprays and artificial fertilisers, because in the words of Sarsby “at one time, no-one had thought of poisoning vital parts of the whole system”. Their small-scale approach led to a more diverse and richer ecosystem and provides a powerful benchmark of how farming has evolved over the past 30 years.

 

I grew up on a farm in Devon and my earliest memories are tied to the rhythms of country life. The cyclical nature of farm life shaped my childhood and has allowed me to share many of these experiences with my own children. Yet now, as an adult, I often find myself asking: What will the future of farming look like for them?