Samantha Schneider

David Hubert
POLS 1100 TR 8:30
October 9, 2014
A Farm for the Future, can it be done? A review of the official documentary

In the documentary A Farm for the Future, Rebecca Hosking takes us on a journey of
agriculture. She grew up on a farm in Devon, Britain this family owned farm has been passed
down through generations of her family. Like many farmers in the industry, her father made sure
she was to move away from the farm and follow her dreams. When Rebecca was old enough to
do so, she did just that. She worked as a wildlife filmmaker but, eventually returned to the farm
knowing that her father should soon retire. If Rebeccas family was to keep the farm she would
have to become the next generation to take it on. The movie begins with this backstory to her life
and I enjoyed learning about what takes place on this farm.
She soon received a wake-up call when last years oil prices skyrocketed, impacting their
family farm. Upon returning to the farm she was also returning with the burden of the oil crisis
we are in today. As you may know, the majority of agriculture in the United Kingdom is reliant
on oil. Based on data found in Taking a Bite out of Climate Change, industrial farms are fossilfuel addicted places, from their reliance on fossil fuels for powering machinery to petroleumbased chemicals used to create artificial soil fertility, protect against pests, and stave off weeds.
Rebeccas reasoning for this documentary is to discover new techniques she could use to develop
her family farm into a farm for the future. This film began pulling me in even more when she
began speaking with many people who are in the same industry she is in.

Rebecca speaks with Dr. Colin Campbell, a geologist in the oil industry, who has been
working with research for nearly 40 years. He states, Theres a huge debate ranging of exactly
the date and height of the peak of production. And really I think that misses the point. Dr. Colin
Campbell is referring to the idea that regardless of when we will run out of oil, it is going to
change things and it may be a greater change then we are ready for. He describes the fact that we
are taking a 2 to 3 percent decline in oil each and every year, it will soon run out. This really
grabbed my attention, I had no idea oil was depleting so quickly. Colin Campbell makes an
astounding argument that we arent prepared or equipped to deal with this oil crisis and it may be
too late to develop new alternatives. It may even be too late to implement these new ideas
because the oil is running out, and its running out quick.
This was eye opening to me, someone who knows nothing about agriculture, how
incredibly reliant we are on these fossil fuels for food. As a society we have been taking
advantage of these fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. We never made any sort of
backup plan for when this necessity would run out. Due to the most recent statistics on oil we
are nearing the end of our ability to constantly replenish fossil fuels. Rebecca is taking this
information and doing something about it, something many others are turning a blind eye to. She
begins by tackling the idea of what is a way to reduce or completely cut out fossil fuels when it
comes to livestock.
I learned that during the winter season the cattle is kept in the barn where Rebecca has to
bring their hay to them for them to feed upon. In contrast to the summer season, cattle can
maintain themselves on the fields and graze there naturally. I had no idea cattle did not
constantly stay on the fields to graze, that was interesting. They are put into the barns because
the cattle dig up the grass and damage it for the future season. In other words, for the grass to

continue through the winter months they have to move the cattle into the barn. In response to this
use of fossil fuels to round up and distribute the hay for the cattle, she visits a farm where cattle
are left to graze on the fields all year long. Except this cattle has no chance of turning up the soil,
which is something that is rarely to never seen in this type of agriculture.
It is here that Rebecca discovers the father of the current owners of the farm planted over
twelve different types of grass in the fields. This planting process differentiates from the norm of
farming. Farmers are regularly accustomed to only 3 different types of grass. These unique fields
are filled with healthy grass that the cows graze on all year long. This creates no need to put
them in a barn and constant use of oil for machinery and man labor to clean the barns. When
looking closer you are able to see how the grass is embedded into the soil with different types of
roots all over the place. This is nutritious grass that the cows and the grass itself thrive on with
no need of synthetic fertilizer or energy to keep it healthy. Stepping outside the boundaries of
what farmers are accustomed to, this is a perfect example of the difference it can make. By one
farmers aspiration to move away from the norm and create something magnificent, that is a
change we are looking for in the routine.
A clip from the documentary that grabbed my attention was from the early 80s where
Rebeccas father was plowing the fields and flocks of birds were attacking the newly turned up
soil for worms. Then, the video replays plowing the same land but in the present time with no
birds to be seen, highlighting the fact that the soil is lifeless. You might ask how something that
was thriving in the early 80s could have no living organisms in it 20 to 30 years later. It is found
in Hidden Costs of Industrial Agriculture, overuse of herbicides and insecticides has led to
rapidly developing resistance among pests that is rendering these chemicals increasingly
ineffective. In other words, farmers constant use of pesticides the soil has become immune to the

level of chemicals provided causing the increased use of even more toxic materials. With the
incredible amount of pesticides and synthetic fertilizer that is used each and every harvesting
season, no living organisms want to or can thrive here. Farming as we know it erodes fertile land
far faster than nature can replace it (Montgomery, 2012). So in a sense, to keep the farm running
they continue to kill their fields.
The most griping part of this documentary is the final farm that Rebecca visits. In a
regular farm you will always find a small woodland area among many planting and grazing
fields, something I did not know. At this final farm I was surprised to discover this small
woodland area is actually what makes up the entire farm. This woodland area consists of many
harvestable crops and is where ecosystems are flourishing. Birds, squirrels, insects, you name it
are scattered all throughout this area. These organisms make for functioning ecosystems that
produces crops with no use of pesticides or fertilizer. With the help from all the natural
organisms living there everything coexists with another and it is prosperous. In contrast to, a
normal farm where hard labor is required each and every day this habitat requires minimal
upkeep. The only labor that is necessary consists of harvesting the crops that have grown in the
woodland area. Other than that, it is estimated only about 10 days worth of labor is required
with the upkeep of the woodland area. As seen in Carbon (2012) Farmers should reduce their
use of pesticides in favor of integrated pest management systems that rely primarily on
biological, cultural and physical controls.
Rebecca discovers that with this type of farming, there is a low-energy alternative to
farming and she has found exactly what she is looking for. This proves the idea that farms d not
to be reliant on fossil fuels to be successful. There is a massive amount of research that confirms
this type of farming is the least energy and fossil fuel consuming. This farming is exactly what

you would call a farm for the future. So why isnt this idea popularly accepted and used all
over the world? I learned that this ecosystem was developed over years of planting, gardening,
and upkeep to make this a fully functioning system. Is it too late to incorporate this into present
day farms? The answer to that is no, there is still a chance for them. If farmers begin using these
small woodland areas that already exist on their current farms and expand them, they can
transform their farms. This is exactly what we need to cause the shift from oil reliance to
agriculture resilience. In other words, there are low-energy alternatives to farming and not all
hope is lost when it comes to agricultures reliance on fossil fuels. Developing fully functioning
ecosystems into the current farm land that exists will be the defining element in changing
agriculture.
This documentary had me feeling completely stunned and helpless feeling at the
beginning that our food supply would soon run up the same time fossil fuels do. Instead, by the
end of it I felt hopeful and excited that there was something we could do to make a change. This
farm film has changed my whole perspective on the farming industry and all the hard work it
takes to run a farm. It was refreshing to learn this information from someone who is a farmer
themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and Im grateful I had to opportunity to watch it. I
would highly recommend this film to others who do or do not know much about agriculture. It is
filled with information that can be learned and give some the sense of hope. Overall, I believe
this film is highly educational and very enjoyable to watch.

Works Cited
A Farm for the Future [Motion picture]. (2008). United Kingdom: BBC Natural World.
Carbon, P. (2011, December 21). How Oil Prices Affect the Price of Food. Retrieved October 1,
2014, from http://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/How-Oil-Prices-Affect-The-Price-OfFood.html
Hidden Costs of Industrial Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from
http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrialagriculture/hidden-costs-of-industrial.html#.VCtq9ZUtDIU
Montgomery, D. (2012, October 5). Three cheers for expensive oil. Retrieved October 1, 2014,
from
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444812704577607363988222678
Taking a Bite out of Climate Change. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from
http://www.sustainabletable.org/982/agriculture-energy-climate-change