A family-owned farm in Wiltshire, England, is changing its approach after years of unpredictable conditions brought on by a changing climate.
Lower Pertwood Farm is set to transform its 2,800-acre arable farm into the largest grassland rewilding project in southern England, with hopes to not only cut rising agriculture costs but to also encourage the growth of declining plant species and the presence of endangered animals.
According to the Guardian, the farm had seen low profits and even significant losses in recent years. The rewilding project will see fertilizer costs significantly reduced, while expensive machinery used for previous day-to-day operations will be sold off.
Land management company Restore is assisting in bringing the project to fruition. Pigs and cattle will roam freely, helping to deliver a flower-rich chalk grassland, while new roles like graziers — someone who rears sheep or cattle on grazing land — will be created.
"It's enormously exciting," project leader Benedict Macdonald told the Guardian. "Salisbury Plain on the horizon is like a giant, free seed bank of species, some of which – such as the reintroduced great bustard – might naturally explore Pertwood as it begins to recover."
With global heating making farming conditions increasingly difficult, farmers are looking at alternative practices to either supplement income or completely adjust output. Planet-warming pollution produced by industry, transportation, and — ironically — agriculture is leading to rising temperatures that exacerbate extreme weather conditions, such as drought, intense storms, and flooding, which all harm crop health and farming production.
That's why a number of farms are embracing the presence of solar panels and wind turbines on their land, allowing for the generation of clean, pollution-free electricity that will help reduce pollution and provide cheaper energy for customers.
But rewilding is also an option, and Lower Pertwood Farm is hoping to increase biodiversity with its land transformation.
"We have been looking, almost subconsciously, for a long time for an all-embracing blueprint for the future," farm director Tamara Webster said. "One that can deliver environmental restoration, truly sustainable food production and achieve financial stability and profitability."
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