“I hate that word habitat” Pete Ritchie Nourish Scotland
Its about values • Soft • Hard • Messy • Neat • Complicated • Simple • Co-operation • Control • Negotiation • Autonomy
(re)production “The agricultural and poultry industries are primarily concerned with the production of basic foodstuffs on farms, but also include the supply of inputs for farming such as fertiliser, seeds, animal feeds and machinery.” SRUC agriculture landing page
Welcome to farming Find an agriculture course
Zero sum factory • Fixed costs: land, buildings, bank; limited area • Variable costs: inputs • Strategy – maximise yield In this mindset, EFAs or reducing inputs simply constraining production
Two values • Functional biodiversity: pollinators, predator habitats, dung beetles, fluke control, water management • Intrinsic biodiversity: rethinking what it is to be a farmer – redefining the profession
What has nature ever done for me?
“I get to look after this amazing planet” • “ Beetles perform a little dance (yes, a dance) atop their dung balls, and during this dance, they're actually recording a mental snapshot of the current positions of the stars, the Moon, and the Sun. • With the snapshot securely memorised, the beetle then goes about its day. • If it happens to get lost, it pulls up this mental image and navigates back home. So basically the dung beetle can recall its exact position based on the location of the Moon, the Sun and stars, which is pretty incredible when you consider it's just a simple insect that doesn't even know what stars are “ • (nor did sailors for most of human history..)
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