James Rebanks, a Cumbrian shepherd and author, has raised urgent concerns over the future of upland farming and rural communities in England. Speaking amid the rolling hills and heather of Swaledale, Rebanks highlighted the mounting pressures threatening traditional agricultural lifestyles, warning that generations of farming heritage face abandonment.
In a new three-part BBC radio series titled Another Country, Rebanks explores the complex challenges confronting rural areas, including the competing demands of rewilding initiatives, wealthy newcomers, housing development, solar farm expansion, intensive agriculture, and carbon-offsetting schemes. The series comes amid a shifting policy landscape in which farming subsidies have largely disappeared, replaced by government-driven environmental schemes that he says fail to adequately support hill farmers.
Rebanks, whose family has farmed in Matterdale for six generations, described the current situation as dire. Farmers must now juggle the competing priorities of providing food, stewarding the landscape, and cultivating wildlife habitats, often relying in part on income from tourism and accommodation. Yet many feel sidelined, as he noted: “There are so many increasing demands on land, from housing to solar to ramblers; now the rewilders are looking for the least productive places to create their exciting experiments, saying we don’t need shepherds any more.”
He criticized some environmentalists who depict sheep farming as damaging to upland ecosystems, arguing that such views misunderstand both the economic and ecological roles of flocks. Managed well, Rebanks said, sheep contribute to sustainable land management and food production. “We kill nearly one million sheep a month for food, having lived a good outdoors life,” he said. “Well-managed flocks are necessary for the environment too.”
Rebanks also expressed strong opposition to carbon-capture companies purchasing farmland to create offset projects, labeling these efforts as ineffective distractions that undermine rural livelihoods. “Why should the countryside be used to whitewash others’ misuse of nature? It’s bollocks,” he said. “It’s just moving numbers on a spreadsheet for the rich, but for us it’s our heritage and for the country it’s providing food and survival.”
The shepherd lamented a lack of political will to address these challenges, noting a rapid turnover of Environment Secretaries and diminishing government investment in farming. He described the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme as inadequate, closing to new applicants after just six hours due to limited funding of £233 million. Rebanks warned that many of the promises made to rural communities have been broken, leaving farmers to balance environmental responsibilities with financial viability.
Despite these difficulties, Rebanks has continued to manage his own farm with a focus on nature restoration alongside food production. He has planted tens of thousands of trees, restored wetlands, and maintained traditional breeds, aiming to demonstrate how sustainable farming can coexist with ecological stewardship—if properly supported.
With traditional rural ways of life under pressure, Rebanks called for a more pragmatic and respectful approach by policymakers and society. “It took thousands of years of trial and error to create these extraordinary places and manage this land we are now desecrating,” he said. “We are making a huge mistake.” His series Another Country aims to give voice to farming communities confronting rapid and profound change in the English countryside.