Farming for our futures
SINCE the beginning of the 1980s, when I first had responsibility for managing some land in my own right at Highgrove, I have wanted to focus on an approach to food production that avoids the impact of the predominant, conventional system of industrialised agriculture, which, it is increasingly clear to see, is having a disastrous effect on soil fertility, biodiversity and animal and human health,’ declares The Prince of Wales of his decision to run the inhand operations of The Queen’s Norfolk estate at Sandringham—the management of which he took over from the Duke of Edinburgh in 2017—in a fully organic way.
‘It has always seemed to me somewhat logical to embrace a farming system that works with Nature and not against her, thus restoring the lost fertility and carbon-sequestration capacity of the soil on which we rely for our very existence upon this planet,’ The Prince explains. ‘At a global scale, it is becoming ever clearer to me that the very future of humanity may depend to a large extent on a mainstream transition to more sustainable farming practices, based on what are known as regenerative, agro-ecological principles, as well as innovative methods of agroforestry—something we are also putting into practice at Sandringham.
‘For instance, the impact of artificial, fossil-based fertilisers and chemical pesticides on the soil biome, mirrored in our own stomachs as a result of the excessive use of antibiotics, has been so devastating it is now being said that, if we carry on as we are, we only have enough fertility left for another 60 harvests. A transition to organic management means introducing measures that will allow ecosystems to flourish as Nature intended and to ensure that we always put back more than we take from the land. Apart from the ecological benefits, by focusing on building up the soil organic matter in order to better retain moisture in drier periods and to capture carbon, we will help ensure the soil’s health is improved and is as resilient as possible to respond to climate change and still be able to grow the quality, nutritious crops we need.’
‘The transition allows ecosystems to flourish as Nature intended’
Having begun Sandringham’s conversion to
