I’m leaning against the gate having just walked the cattle back to their leased grazing. With their TB tests all clear, they’re here to make the most of the still plentiful grass. I’m always looking to delay winter feeding for as long as possible, but especially this year. This year’s strange weather conditions have meant more silage has been made than hay, and the barn is not as full as I would like. However, I won’t need to be feeding late into the spring to accommodate calving – the bull spent the summer working, but not effectively. A 25% conception rate is a disheartening return, especially in a small suckler herd.
I position the “cattle grazing” notice at the field entrance, careful not to leave it sticking out – too irresistible for a bovine head in search of a satisfying scratch. I’m meticulous about my notices, as a courtesy to walkers but above all to protect my stock, and I always date them so that people know to take them seriously. Not, of course, that they always do and, like every farmer, I have more stories than there is space to recount here.
But the public footpath that runs along the bottom perimeter of the farm is much cherished and the notion that we should seek to limit access to it unthinkable. Unfortunately, this sense of responsibility is seemingly not shared by all as an application has been made by a local landowner to reroute a similarly popular footpath, essentially in the interests of “privacy”.
There is a fundamental principle at stake here. Footpaths are ancient rights of way, not to be altered at the whim of one to deny the enjoyment of the many. Objections have been lodged and due process is being followed, but I’m left wondering what would have happened if opposition had not been rallied. Natural England apparently “consulted”, but saw no problem, nor did one of the two parish councils involved.
As I see it, being lucky enough to live in an area of natural beauty requires a necessary acceptance that it will attract many visitors. I do not shy away from requesting respect for the tranquillity and I am uncompromising when it comes to the welfare of my animals, but denying others the chance to walk this landscape is unconscionable.
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