A Helluva Hard Year

Sheffield Deer Farmer Stu Stokes – talks flooding, covid, mental health & navigating legislation

It’s been a tough one. A year of significant challenges has hit many Cantabrian farmers. Chatting to Stu Stokes and daughter Holly, I came to understand just how hard. Over the past two years Stu has lost a brother to cancer, lost his best mate, faced Covid market challenges, dealt with flooding and huge winds and to top it off the “bloody Sheffield Pub burnt down!”. Through all this, legislation changes requiring implementation of a Farm Environmental Plan (FEP), which is audited, is actually helping Stu with the direction and management of his business, “…to do nothing isn’t an option”.

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A collective issue

For the past 15 years, farmers have generally tackled compliance, environmental and social problems by themselves, occasionally engaging the help of a consultant. However, the issues arising in our environment is not from a single activity but a collection of activities. The Essential Freshwater Package has initiated a change, with focus on catchment context and catchment management.

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