This week is the national Farm Safety Week and last week I met the campaign in Westminster, alongside the launch of their new book, "The Girl in the Yellow Wellies". Accidents on farms remain common, all too common, and often we forget how dangerous farming, and the production of our food can be. I am conscious that we have a large farming community in this constituency and the phrase, "No Farmers No Food" is much more than just a slogan.
So it has been a pleasure this week to visit a number of agricultural businesses, including the Lockerley Estate where I spent a fabulous morning talking about regenerative agriculture, rewilding, water and climate. This has been a very tough harvest for our local farmers, with rainfall at a record low and yields down as much as 40%. That may well mean a lack of investment over the coming year as farmers struggle to make ends meet.
It was a great opportunity for me to look at the areas of the estate that have been left to nature, including a herd of New Forest ponies who were a great deal friendlier than I had expected. I know there are several re-wilding groups in the immediate area, with both tiny and large scale projects, but all of them trying to make a difference for nature and wildlife. I was struggling to keep my natural urge to yank up the ragwort by its roots under control, but even ragwort can make a good food supply for pollinators.
The regenerative practices at Lockerley enable nature to thrive, and it was great to hear about how the farm has seen species like brown hares and nightingales return, as well as providing a perfect foraging ground for the rare barbastelle bat colony which can be found at Mottisfont. Clearly there are many advantages to this type of farming, and I will be conveying their concerns to the new Secretary of State at DEFRA who has taken up her position this week.