A View from the Farm: Adam Henson

The future of farming lies in Social Sustainability

- By Adam Henson. Photographs Alamy and Sean Malyon

Hardly anyone had heard of sustainable farming 30 years ago. In just three decades, sustainability has become a major issue, the focus of endless debate, the spur for innovative ideas and soon it will be at the heart of how farmers in England are supported now that EU payments have ended.

I’m a second-generation tenant farmer, high on the Cotswold hills. Farming practices and attitudes have changed hugely since my Dad came here in the early 1960s. But I’m proud to say that we were early converts to the idea of crops and conservation working side by side. One area of the farm was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1996. The unimproved limestone grassland and scrub is home to two rare species: the Cotswold pennycress (a delicate whiteflowering plant) and the Duke of Burgundy butterfly.