Simon Derby

Exmoor Hill Farming by Simon Derby

Cattle on Molland Moor The first farmers on Exmoor (4000 - 2000 BC) cleared areas of forest, cultivated fields and kept cattle, sheep and pigs. Agriculture on Exmoor evolved through the centuries and the managed landscape of today shows the changing pattern of land use over several thousand years due to agriculture and field sports.

Today's farming economy is based on sheep and cattle rearing. Breeds such as Exmoor Horn Sheep and Red Devon Cattle were developed to suit local conditions. The dry stone walls around Simonsbath were built by shepherds who came south with their sheep, and many of the beech hedgebanks, so typical of Exmoor today were planted in the 19th century when much of the woodland was enclosed.

Until the mid 1980's, farmers were encouraged to reclaim land for food production. Today the situation has changed: Exmoor is now an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and there are incentives for farmers to adopt positive conservation measures.

However, income from the sale of stock and environmental grants in many cases are insufficient to support livelihoods. Exmoor farmers have had to diversify and many rely on 'sourcing' a percentage of their income from hunting, shooting and fishing. This form of income is vital at a time when hill and upland and farm incomes have dropped by two-thirds in the last two years. There are many serious implications of the farming crisis which would be further compounded by a ban on hunting, for example:

64% of hill farmers are over 50. The next generation is being discouraged from entering the industry by declining income levels.
Hunting provides the linking thread to a myriad of soial, sporting and cultural activities in the hill community.
Hunts provide the service of collecting and disposing of fallen and casualty stock. If this service disappeared it would cause potential environmental problems.

The farming industry manages the British landscape and much of the beneficial work undertaken is not paid for by grants but is undertaken by individuals in the name of good stewardship, and in the interests of providing and improving habitats for field sports.

Field sports and farmers are the linchpin of upland communities. If either/or disappear the upland economy will collapse with job losses and the destruction of the environment as we know today.

Endangered Emoor demands that acknowledgement is made of the vital importance field sports make to farming businesses, ancillary industries, tourism and the wider rural economy.

Simon Derby is Resident Land Agent to the Molland Estate, and an Associate Partner of Smiths Gore, Chartered Surveyors.