James Rebanks: is the future of farming the past?
Listen now
Description
Shepherd James Rebanks tends a flock of Herdwick sheep on a family-owned farm in the Lake District in northern England. He learned traditional farming ways from his grandfather; a man with a profound connection with his land. An OE in Australia introduced Rebanks to industrial farming practices, which he applied to his own farm in the 1990s. After a while he realised that he was in fact damaging the land, soil and local wildlife. So he started the laborious process of restoring features like hedgerows, pastures, meadows, and dry stone walls- and hasn't looked back. He's now a self declared 'old fashioned farmer' Following the success of his first book The Shepherd's Life, Rebanks' new one is called English Pastoral: An Inheritance.
More Episodes
When David Mitchell's son was diagnosed with autism at three years old, the British author and his wife Keiko Yoshida felt lost, unsure of what was happening inside their son's head. In an effort to find answers, Yoshida ordered a book from Japan written by non-verbal autistic teenager Naoki...
Published 07/24/21
Kim Hill reads and responds to listener feedback for 24 July 2021.
Published 07/23/21
From the Arcoroc mug to the Commodore 64, from the house that Norm Kirk built to the actions of his activist grandmother Connie Summers, writer John Summers has a curiosity for the wider resonance of objects and incidents in his personal history.
Published 07/23/21