How a farmer followed his dream to rewilding his acres

Susie Kearley talks to a man who delights in his new lifestyle and explains how it is sustainable in every sense of the word

- 

"In 1989 I sold my first sheep," he said. "And the price was not dissimilar all the way through my sheep farming career. The BSE crisis triggered a rise in prices for sheep meat but before that prices were pretty stagnant at around £50 per sheep. Perhaps if prices had been better I'd have kept going, but the incentive wasn't there.

"Since Brexit lamb prices have gone sky high. I sold one of my last sheep for £120 and might have been tempted to stay in the game but my knees are getting worn out and I've only got so much mileage on my personal clock.

"I started raising pigs 14 years ago in a grass field. I put up some electric fencing and put some pigs in there. Now I raise pigs on the allotments and they'll tidy up someone's allotment by eating all the weeds when someone's given up."

Patrick showed me a plot strewn with chest-high weeds and said he'd offered to put the pigs on the allotment to tidy it up, but the owners said they'd come and tidy it up themselves. I wonder whether they realised how much of a state it's in!

GARDENERS ON FOUR LEGS

Patrick then showed me the pigs, who had literally reduced another overgrown allotment to soil, ready for new vegetable planting when someone wants to take it on again.

"The pigs are Oxford Sandy and Black crossed with Large Black, crossed with Gloucester Old Spot," said Patrick.

People find spending 66 time with the pigs calming

"They love rolling in the mud - it's their sunscreen. They particularly love overgrown rhubarb - slugs, snails, and other things hide under the leaves. The pigs enjoy them. They demolish the large rhubarb first.