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I always think this Devon landscape
is the most beautiful place on Earth
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and to me this is a very special
farm, because it's where I grew up
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and it's the only place
I've ever really called home.
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My name is Rebecca Hosking
and I'm from a long line of farmers.
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But it was the wildlife here
more than the farming that really
fascinated me as a child.
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And this led me into a career
as a wildlife filmmaker.
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But now I'm back here
to be a farmer...
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and in very interesting times.
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An approaching energy crisis will
likely force a revolution in farming
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and change the British countryside
for ever.
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It will affect what we eat,
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where it comes from,
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and even the alarming question
of whether there will be enough food
to keep us fed.
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If our farm is to survive,
it will have to change.
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In this film I'm going to find out
how to make my family farm in Devon
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a farm that's fit for the future.
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I think when people sort of
find out I was brought up
on a small South Devon farm,
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they always think I must have had
the most amazing childhood ever.
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When I think back to when
I was brought up here,
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I just think of a load of
bloody hard work really.
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We were just small time farmers and
with that is involved not much money
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and a lot of hard work, to the
point that it's almost drudgery.
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Dad often describes farmers
as glorified lavatory attendants.
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And my family,
like many farming families I think
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up and down the country, wanted
something better for their children
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and I was actively encouraged to get
out of farming, go and find a job,
go and make a decent living.
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'So that's what I did.'
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And while I was away pursuing my
career, my dad and my uncle Phil
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carried on, as ever,
farming in a pretty traditional way.
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But now it's time
for me to come back.
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The thing is,
both Phil and I now, we...
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I was going to say we're several
years beyond retiring age and should
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have retired, and most farmers have
done that, but we've kept the farm
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going and, um...kept it going
as long as we can,
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trying to keep it as we found it,
as we sort of inherited it.
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You know, I'm delighted to think
somebody will take it on now
and keep it going, hopefully.
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But it's not going to be easy
because of pressures
of all sorts of things...
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food shortages,
oil prices going up...
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it's not going to be easy at all.
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Many would say, "Just sell it.
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"That would make more
money in a heartbeat than
a lifetime of working the land."
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But how can I turn my back
on somewhere so beautiful,
and a place that made me who I am?
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However, making a living
while continuing
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to preserve all the wildlife
on the farm, as Dad has done,
is going to be a major challenge.
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The inconvenient truth
is that this farm,
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despite being a haven
for wildlife, is no more
sustainable than any other.
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All the farms I know,
including organic ones,
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are utterly dependent
on fossil fuel, particularly oil.
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This dependence is dangerous
for two reasons...
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climate change we all know about,
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but there is also growing evidence
that the oil we need may soon be
in short supply.
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Last year's fuel prices hit us badly
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and for me it was a bit of
a wake-up call.
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I recently learned that
those crippling fuel prices
may be just a tiny
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taster of what's to come as world
oil production begins to decline.
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If there's any truth to this matter,
then this will be my
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biggest challenge in keeping our
farm going into the near future.
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So I decided to track down
one of the world's most respected
authorities on the subject.
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After a distinguished 40-year career
as a geologist in the oil industry,
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he continues his research
from a small village
in the west of Ireland.
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To Dr Colin Campbell, the facts
about our oil supply are simple.
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Despite searching the world
with all the advances
in technology and knowledge
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and incentive and everything,
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we've been finding less and less
for 40 years.
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And in 1981 was a kind of turning
point when we started using more
than we found in new fields,
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as we started sucking down what
had been found in the past...
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eating into our inheritance,
you could say.
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So I don't think there's really
any serious doubt that we're close
to this turning point.
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A sort of turning point for mankind,
you could say, when this critical
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energy for agriculture in particular,
which means food, which means people,
is heading on down.
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And there's a huge debate raging
of exactly the date and the height
of the peak of production.
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And really I think
this misses the point.
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It doesn't matter whether it's this
year, next year, five years out.
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What matters is the vision that
after this peak you have a decline
of only 2% or 3% a year,
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but there's a huge difference
between climbing for 150 years
and descending for 150 years.
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What Colin is saying is this decline
will mean fuel shortages
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and prolonged economic turmoil.
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I tend to agree with him.
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It doesn't matter whether
it's two years or ten years away,
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the impact it will have on pretty
much every part of our lives
is huge.
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But for me the biggest concern
is how it will affect farming...
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which means our food.
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I don't think most people have given
it much thought how much fossil fuel
goes into our everyday food.
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I just bought this garage sandwich
just before we got on board...
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and I'm going to pull it apart
and go through all the ingredients.
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I'm gonna start with the bread.
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So somewhere in the world some
farmer has had to plant the cereal.
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First off,
he's in a diesel-run tractor.
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So he has to plough the field...
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then harrow the field. Then he has
to drill the seeds into the earth.
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And then to get the cereal to grow,
he's probably had to add a load of
chemicals. To protect the crop...
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fungicides, herbicides,
insecticides - all made from oil.
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And for the nutrients,
chemical fertilizers...
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and at the moment
most of the farmers' fertilizer
is derived from natural gas.
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Once the cereal has ripened,
it needs to be harvested.
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Then the grain is dried using big
heaters and then it's driven using
even more diesel to be processed.
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And it isn't some little granny
in a corner shop doing this.
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This is huge industrial buckets
making this kind of bread.
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So then we move on to the inside
and ham obviously comes from a pig
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and that's even more energy hungry
because pigs are fed on grain.
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And one pig can eat nearly
half a tonne of the stuff.
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And then, just to add to it,
we've got a little token
very sad piece of salad in there
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which was either shipped in, flown
in or grown in a heated greenhouse.
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Once again a huge amount of energy.
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All of these ingredients were either
cooked or cooled or both and driven
mile after mile in a refrigerated
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lorry before they were assembled
into a sandwich.
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Basically, this sandwich, like most
of the food that we're eating today,
is absolutely dripping in oil.
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And the way that our food production
is today, if we didn't
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have places like this, then in this
country we'd pretty much starve.
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My visit to Ireland has given me
a lot to think about.
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Even on our little farm,
without fossil fuel energy,
farming and food production
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would grind to a halt pretty quickly
and we would be left with, well,
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a nature reserve. And nature
reserves don't feed people.
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This is such a serious issue,
I'm guessing the rest
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of the farming world
must be as concerned as I am.
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Perhaps some of them have some ideas
on how to move forward.
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A major Soil Association conference
on the future of British farming
seems like a good place to start.
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We may all think we're immune here
because we can nip along
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to Tesco Metro whenever we like in
the middle of the night
and buy something...
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that whole system is in jeopardy.
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How are you going to feed Britain?
How are you going to feed London?
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40% of the world's production
comes from the 500 or so giant oil
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fields, half billion barrel
oilfields. Most of those...
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They're certainly worried.
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And from what I'm hearing, the
energy problem seems, well,
imminent.
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It will hit us by 2013 at the latest,
not just as an oil crisis
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but actually as an oil
and indeed energy famine.
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Farmers are going to have to move
from using ancient sunlight...
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using oil and gas...
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to using current sunlight.
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And that seems to me the most
enormous challenge that agriculture
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has ever faced, certainly since
the Industrial Revolution because
we have so little time to do it.
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If we can get government to be part
of that, so much the better,
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but if government won't be part of
that, we'll have to do it
without them.
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These are the new fundamentals
on which the food system
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is going to have to be based
or else we are buggered.
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The farmers' conference
made it clear to me
there are no easy answers.
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If our farms and machinery
are so energy-hungry,
what are the options without oil?
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Alternative energies are coming on
leaps and bounds nowadays.
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Which one is likely to fit the bill?
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Over in California
at the Post Carbon Institute,
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there is a man who has advised
business, industry and governments
on how to cope with oil depletion.
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Richard Heinberg kindly agreed
to talk to me via the internet.
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I mean, surely with wind and solar
and nuclear we could use all of this
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and the depletion of oil
really isn't a problem?
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We've waited too long to develop
alternative energy sources
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and there's also the likelihood that
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even all of these alternative energy
sources put together won't be able to
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power industrial societies
in the way that we've become
accustomed to with fossil fuels.
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People have to understand
that we've created a way of life
that's fundamentally unsustainable.
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And that doesn't mean that it's just,
you know, ecologically irresponsible,
it means that it can't continue.
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The scale of the challenge ahead
Richard is talking about becomes
clear when you look at bio-fuels.
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Oil seed rape is the most productive
bio-fuel crop in our climate.
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At Britain's current rate of oil
use, a whole year's harvest from
a four-acre field like this
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would be used up
in less than one third of a second.
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That would be little help
to agriculture as it stands today.
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Aside from transport, cars, trucks
and airplanes,
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agriculture is the
most fossil fuel intensive industry.
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We use in the industrial world about
ten calories of fossil fuel energy
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for every calorie of food we produce.
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So this is an enormous problem
we've created for ourselves.
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We have solved enormous problems
in agriculture before.
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In the past 50 years,
agricultural technology
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has tripled crop yields and overcome
everything nature has thrown at us.
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But all of these advances
rely on abundant fossil fuel.
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In a sense, they have taken us
exactly in the wrong direction
to deal with this new problem.
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Even the latest technologies, like
GM crops, regardless of the other
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arguments, are as utterly dependent
on fossil fuel as any other.
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So where does this leave us?
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It's possible in fact
that food systems could collapse
not just in the poor countries,
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but also in the wealthy current
food exporting countries like the
United States, Canada and Australia.
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And we are going to have to transform
our entire agricultural system
very quickly
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if we're going to avert
a global food calamity.
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So, does this mean a return to
horses, carts and hand tools
on our farm?
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I personally wouldn't know how to do
this, nor would most farmers today.
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The knowledge of how to farm
in this manner is all but gone.
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However, on the next door farm
is a woman who knows a thing or two
about it.
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My dear old friend, Pearl.
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'Ello darlins, you waitin' for tea?
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You little beggars.
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They're handsome looking.
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Oh, they are. They're sweet.
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Do you know what that's for?
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No idea. Well, years ago
we used to make hayricks.
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Right, yeah,
and put all the hay out to dry.
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Out to dry. Well, then you'd go up
with your wagon, you see,
and you'd want a wagon load of hay.
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And you'd have to cut the hay
across to take away a section
to put on the wagon...
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and that you have to go like this.
Oh, and literally cut like that?
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Yeah, like that.
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It's a good old weight,
though, isn't it? We weren't mice.
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I wasn't big but boy I was strong.
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The Lord gave me a lot of strength.
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He certainly did, He gave
you all a lot of strength
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and we don't realise how easy
we've got it now I think, do we?
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You don't.
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For those tasks too heavy
for people, there were horses...
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and Pearl was an
incredible horsewoman.
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Oh, Pearl, look at that, wow.
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Look at those.
Yeah, that's me bridles...
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Those are bridles.
How many have you got, Pearl?
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Well, we had you see
three big shires...
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Of course you did.
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When you had a horse and cart,
well, it often was too big a load
for one
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so you'd put that on the fore
harness and that horse had a collar,
that on it and two chains that came
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back and hooked into the front
of the cart...
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So when you needed a bit more extra
horsepower, literally... That's
right, that one was there to pull.
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To get you up a hill. Yeah.
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At best,
Pearl had a two horsepower system
to help her with the heavy work.
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Today, farmers' tractors
can be up to 400 horsepower.
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Trips off the tongue, doesn't it?
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400 horsepower...
but think what it actually means...
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400 horses...
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00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:23,600
that's the power we get
from oil today.
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00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,520
Do you know, today's energy supply
is equivalent in energy terms
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00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,440
to 22 billion slaves
working round the clock.
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So we're basically living with
this enormous stock of slaves
working for us in the form of oil.
217
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:44,160
But by the end of this century,
there ain't any more of them. And
that's a huge change we're facing.
218
00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,680
It affects just absolutely
every aspect of the modern world.
219
00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,800
I often think how times have changed
220
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,800
because you see we do all this work
just to keep our cows going but now
221
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:05,120
a bit of silage boy and
it's all done mechanically
and you can go and sit down.
222
00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:10,400
Your sons,
if they had to farm like you did,
do you think they would do it now?
223
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,680
No, I don't think they would,
I think they'd have more sense.
224
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:15,400
But I was happy.
225
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,960
This way of farming is something
we couldn't go back to
even if we wanted to.
226
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:27,680
When Pearl was young,
there was ten times as many
farmers in this country
227
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,320
and only half the number
of mouths to feed.
228
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:38,840
Also, most British farmers today
just don't have the physical
strength for hard manual labour.
229
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:44,000
The average age of a farmer
in Britain now is 60.
230
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:50,240
And even worse,
there's only 150,000 of them left.
231
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:57,040
As an industry, British farming
has effectively been left to die.
232
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,520
And in recent years, more and more
of our food is coming from abroad.
233
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:11,920
The UK is a net food importer
by a long shot, so this is a...
This is a very perilous situation.
234
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:17,720
Because of course all of that import
has to come by way of fossil fuelled
235
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,280
vehicles of one kind or another,
whether it's ships or airplanes.
236
00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:27,240
And as fossil fuels again become
more scarce and expensive, that
means that that food is going
237
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:33,720
to become more expensive and
the whole system will start to
creak and groan around the edges.
238
00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:40,560
Realistically, the only changes
I can make are right here.
239
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,960
And even that isn't as
straightforward as it may seem.
240
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,480
Ours is a traditional
livestock farm.
241
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:54,160
Raising beef and lamb on pasture
may not look that fuel intensive,
242
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,920
but there is one major problem.
243
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:06,360
Bringing the cattle in in the winter
for beef farming or dairy farming
is just part and parcel
244
00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,120
of what we do in this country
because of our climate.
245
00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:11,440
If we were to leave
them out on the land,
246
00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:15,800
it's actually bad for the pastures
because they carve up the grass
247
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,960
and it hasn't got enough time
to recover for the next spring.
248
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:24,560
And obviously
with the cattle in the barn,
then they can't get to their grass.
249
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,000
So we then have to bring their grass
to them in the form of this hay.
250
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:38,040
And the hay harvest by far
is our biggest single use of
machinery and fuel on this farm.
251
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,600
This is why I was fascinated to
hear about a farm up in Shropshire
252
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,720
run by Charlotte Hollins
and her brother Ben.
253
00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:02,320
Fordhall Farm is much the same size
as our farm and like us,
they raise cattle and sheep.
254
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:09,760
But at Fordhall, the cattle stay
out on the pasture all winter with
little need for additional feed.
255
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:16,960
I found it hard to believe,
but as a result, the only machinery
they have is a quad bike.
256
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,920
The secret to this is underfoot.
257
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,200
The grass.
258
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:30,640
Even though we have hundreds of
species of wild grass in this
country, most farmers only use four,
259
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,760
which they buy in a bag
from a seed merchant.
260
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,680
But not at Fordhall.
261
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,120
And we've probably got almost 20
different species of grass here.
262
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:45,680
Some are hardier than others, some
will grow quicker than others and
some have roots which go deeper down
263
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,640
in the soil and bring minerals up
and some have got much shallower
264
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,000
roots which help then protect
the soil across the surface.
265
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,880
If you come down and have a look
at the grasses here,
266
00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,280
you can see straight away
that you've got a great big tight
structure there at the bottom.
267
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:01,960
It's like Scottish Tweed.
268
00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:07,800
Exactly. And even when you get to the
soil, it's so matted up with roots,
269
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,560
it takes an awful lot of force
and effort to break through it.
270
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,880
So it doesn't get trodden up
to a muddy mess straight away.
271
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,360
Then the cows and the sheep
get the benefit of it
272
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,440
and you get the benefit because you
don't have to buy so much feed in.
273
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,440
We know year on year it will work,
there will be feed...
274
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,680
We can produce beef,
we can produce lamb, and we can
sell it and we can make a living.
275
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:36,520
And whatever happens to oil
prices or anything else, we know
we can keep going on that system.
276
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:41,040
But these amazing grasses
didn't happen by chance.
277
00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:48,880
Charlotte and Ben's late father,
Arthur Hollins, was a bit of a local
legend and a farming visionary.
278
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,840
Dad started his way of farming
279
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,880
just after the war but he spent his
whole lifetime developing the system.
280
00:22:54,880 --> 00:23:00,880
And it was only just before he died
in 2005 that he actually said,
"I'm happy with this.
281
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:06,080
"I think I've got the grasses right,
I'm happy with the pastures."
282
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,200
The soils on our farm
are completely different
283
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:16,720
to the ones here at Fordhall,
so the grasses Arthur encouraged may
not suit our fields back in Devon.
284
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,240
But that's not to say we couldn't
try something similar
with other types of grass.
285
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:27,720
Knowing which species to encourage
may be just a case
of careful observation.
286
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,160
And that's exactly what
old Arthur had to do
287
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,080
because the pastures here
weren't always so rich.
288
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,280
Dad was always a great observer
and he came through the woodland
289
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,320
and he saw how much was
growing here, especially
during the summer months,
290
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:48,200
and he wasn't touching it. But more
importantly he wasn't paying for any
of it to grow, it was just doing it.
291
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,960
And he saw straightaway in the
top few inches of leaf litter
on the soil there was life,
292
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,720
whether it be spiders,
or woodlice or centipedes.
293
00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,080
And then you go down a little bit
further and you start to see worms.
294
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,600
But he couldn't see any of that
in his soil he was ploughing
and cultivating year on year.
295
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,680
There was no sign of any life.
It was dead.
296
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,440
It was dead. And he got to then learn
about all the millions of different
297
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:15,320
bacteria and fungi that were
also in the soil that keep it
fertile, cycle the nutrients,
298
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:21,320
that hold those nutrients in
their bodies and release them to the
plants, and they weren't in his soil.
299
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:26,040
I mean, if you just look down, I
mean, this is classic woodland soil,
look how rich this is.
300
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,880
Yeah. Exactly. And it's
gorgeous, gorgeous rich topsoil.
301
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,000
I mean, even there in that soil
you've got bits of twig,
302
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,840
the bits of leaf that are slowly
being broken down to create soil.
303
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,400
And the worms and everything
else do that job for you.
304
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,360
They eat it, process it through their
bodies and you end up with worm poo,
305
00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:45,280
you know, which is soil,
which feeds the plants.
306
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:50,280
And without that life,
you've got nothing to feed the
plants to keep that system going.
307
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:58,120
Taking the lessons he learned
from the woodland, Arthur realised
that to rejuvenate his fields
308
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:05,880
he would have to go against
one of the most fundamental
principles of agriculture.
309
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,400
The biggest thing Dad found was
damaging the soil
310
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,440
was exposure to sunlight.
Overturning through ploughing.
311
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,520
And Dad always said it would be like
humans ripping off their skin...
You know, it's not nice. No.
312
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,960
And you know, and you don't survive.
313
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,560
So why do it to the soil and why
kill all those organisms in the soil
314
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:26,160
that, at the end of the day,
are your best friends?
315
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,440
Are you telling us not to plough?.
316
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,600
Yes.
317
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,840
We've been ploughing for 10,000
years. It's what farmers do.
318
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,200
Not ploughing is a pretty radical
idea for any farmer.
319
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,880
But looking at some old footage
from our farm, the damage it causes
is now pretty obvious.
320
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:52,440
This is one of our fields
back in the 80s.
321
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,240
The life in the soil
is a feast for the birds.
322
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,520
After 20 years
of the same treatment...
323
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,480
No birds, the soil is dead.
324
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:09,800
Turning the soil has been part
of agriculture for millennia,
325
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:14,200
but I guess with muscle power alone,
the damage was slow to show.
326
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:19,440
With diesel power,
the destruction is much faster.
327
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,680
The only reason modern agriculture
can get away with killing the life
328
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,760
in the soil is through
another use of fossil fuel.
329
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,840
This time it's by turning
it into chemical fertilizer.
330
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,880
These granules contain three
essential plant nutrients.
331
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,440
Nitrates, phosphate and potash.
332
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,920
Over 95% of all the food grown
in this country
333
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,280
is totally reliant
on synthetic fertilizer.
334
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:56,800
Without it,
we'd be in serious trouble.
335
00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:59,480
We've used fossil fuels,
336
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:05,240
essentially, to grow plants
in soil that is otherwise dead.
337
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,640
And that works as long
as we have
338
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,520
the cheap fossil fuels with which
to make the nitrogen fertilizer
339
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:13,720
and to transport all the inputs
and so on.
340
00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,400
But in the end, you know, when we
don't have the cheap fossil fuels,
341
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,360
we're going to need
living soil once again.
342
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:24,920
And that living soil is something
that requires time and care to build,
343
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,200
it doesn't just happen overnight.
344
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,240
BUZZING
345
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:35,240
This field is far more typical for
our farm. It's called Orchid Meadow.
346
00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:39,000
And it's never been ploughed
or dosed with synthetic fertilizer,
347
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,200
yet it's clearly thriving.
348
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,800
It just does feel like the whole
thing's heaving with life,
349
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,920
there's so many flowers, on a sunny
day the whole place comes alive.
350
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:54,440
And you've got the birds
in the trees, but it just buzzes -
351
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,800
the whole thing buzzes and you've
just got so many insects.
352
00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,800
If you step over this,
especially in an evening,
353
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:05,880
and you walk through this, the
insects come up in great big clouds.
354
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,960
And it's all built on the foundation
of healthy, living soil.
355
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,440
After seeing Fordhall Farm, I can
see by developing these pastures,
356
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,920
we could reduce
our dependence on oil.
357
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,120
But, no matter how good
the grasses are,
358
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:25,080
rearing cattle takes a lot of land.
359
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:30,640
Every study on the matter concludes
that if Britain is to become
more self-sufficient,
360
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,800
we need to eat less meat.
361
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:37,640
Now I'm realising,
we'll probably have to diversify,
362
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:42,240
changing not just how we farm,
but what we farm.
363
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,440
And this where I get stuck.
364
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,720
Because I can see how you can
farm cattle without ploughing
365
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,560
and using natural fertility,
366
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:53,480
but how do you grow
everything else we need?
367
00:28:53,480 --> 00:29:00,200
Well, it seems there are a number
of people around the world who have
already grappled with this problem.
368
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,960
They've developed a system
known as permaculture.
369
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,720
Britain's leading expert
is Patrick Whitefield.
370
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:13,400
Permaculture seems to challenge
all the normal approaches to farming.
371
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,400
You know, people often think
372
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,880
that there are
two ways of doing things.
373
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,600
One is by drudgery and the other
is by chucking fossil fuel at it.
374
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,840
Now, permaculture is about
a third way of doing things
375
00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:29,360
and that is by design,
by conscious design.
376
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,000
Basically, you're
designing the labour out?
377
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,520
Or are you designing the need
for that energy out? Both. OK.
378
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:42,880
So why does it take so much manpower
and energy to sustain farmland
379
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,000
when you look at a natural
eco-system,
380
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,240
and we've got a wood behind us,
and that can just keep going?
381
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:53,920
Because this inherently is not
what the landscape wants to do.
382
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,120
If you leave the landscape totally
alone, it would turn into
something like that.
383
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,360
So that is the low energy option.
384
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:05,600
In the natural eco system,
there's no work -
385
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:10,320
well not by any humans, there's
no waste, and yet it's thriving.
386
00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,520
You know, look at it.
387
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:19,280
It's easy to forget Britain
used to be a forested island.
388
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,400
And so much of the energy
we expend in farming
389
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,440
is just to stop it reverting back.
390
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,960
But woodland has evolved over
millions of years to be the most
391
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,040
efficient growing system
in our climate.
392
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,920
In that respect, I can understand
its appeal if you're trying
393
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,720
to design
the best way to grow food.
394
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,400
But the obvious problem for me is,
well, we can't eat trees.
395
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:50,440
With all the greatest respect,
a few wild berries, you can't...
396
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,280
It's not a cornfield.
Course it isn't, no, no.
397
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,200
No, it's insignificant.
398
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,960
What we've got to do
is to take the principles of this
399
00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:05,400
and see how far we can bend them
towards something more edible.
400
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,160
'A food growing system based on
natural ecology really appeals
401
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:17,200
'to my naturalist side
but the farmer's daughter in me
needs a bit more convincing.'
402
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:21,200
I suppose the big question is,
could permaculture feed Britain?
403
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:26,440
Yeah, good question, although the
first question to ask actually is,
404
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:30,080
can the present methods
go on feeding Britain?
405
00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:35,040
Yeah, I suppose, yeah. And yeah,
because actually, that is doubtful.
406
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,760
Well, in the long term, it's
absolutely certain that
407
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,600
present methods can't because they're
so entirely dependant on energy,
408
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:43,520
on fossil fuel energy.
409
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:48,800
So we haven't really got any choice
other than to find something
different.
410
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:54,920
'Last year, I may have dismissed
permaculture as not proper farming,
411
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,720
'but with what I've learned
about the oil situation,
412
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,000
'I'm keen to see it in practice.'
413
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,400
A visit to a permaculture
smallholding in the mountains
414
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,840
of Snowdonia has given
me the opportunity.
415
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:14,440
Now, the farmland I'm used to
seeing is clumps of trees
surrounded by fields.
416
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,000
But this is the complete opposite,
417
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,480
a collection of small clearings
in a massive woodland.
418
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:25,000
It may not look like a farm,
but it clearly works.
419
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:29,480
For a few days work each week,
Chris Dixon and his wife
420
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,320
produce all the fruit,
veg and meat they need
421
00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,840
and the fuel to cook it.
422
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,120
But 20 years ago when
they arrived,
423
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:42,800
it was degraded,
marginal pasture land.
424
00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:48,120
The first thing they did
was to let much of the land
return to its natural state.
425
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,000
Now the fertility has returned
to the land.
426
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,400
Observing the forest
as it regenerated offered
427
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:02,680
all the inspiration they needed
to design their smallholding.
428
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,640
But it is a woodland
still, and it is chaos.
429
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,640
It is chaos, but chaos in this
space is very, very highly ordered,
430
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:14,720
very highly structured. It's just
that we see it as untidy and a mess.
431
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,680
Nature doesn't see it
like that at all.
432
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:23,560
Every plant is doing
something useful, important,
valuable on the site.
433
00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:26,200
So, for example, the gorse,
fixing nitrogen,
434
00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,160
the bracken, collecting potash,
that sort of thing.
435
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:34,400
They gave me the feeling that every
plant is important in some way.
436
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,760
Everywhere you go on the Dixons'
smallholding seems to be teeming
with wildlife.
437
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,560
How important is the biodiversity?
438
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,800
So, we're hearing birds
above us as well.
439
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,120
How important is all
of that to this system?
440
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,920
Very important because by encouraging
the birds, the habitat for birds,
441
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:01,320
we're encouraging phosphate
cycling through the system.
442
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,760
So again, phosphates is another of
the sort of crucial plant nutrients,
443
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,760
every plant needs them.
444
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,320
And phosphates, you'll find in
things like insects and seed.
445
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,440
So the birds that eat
insects and seeds,
446
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:19,120
they're accumulating phosphates and
the excess comes out in their dung.
447
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,600
So, up here in the mountains,
448
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:28,400
there's no need for sacks of
fossil fuel-derived nutrients,
449
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:34,200
it's all done by nature -
nitrate, potash, phosphate.
450
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,800
And no need either,
for petroleum based pesticides.
451
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:43,160
We use ducks, Khaki Campbells,
as slug control.
452
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:45,200
We've kept ducks for 22 years
453
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,800
and the Khaki Campbells
are the best slug-eaters.
454
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,320
Oh, really, there's a big tip.
And it can be very difficult to find
455
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,440
slugs in here during the summer,
which is great. Fantastic, yeah.
456
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:03,640
Chris's veg garden may look untidy
to a regular gardener,
457
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:07,920
but like in the woodland,
every plant is serving a purpose.
458
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:13,320
For example, some deter pests,
some help drainage.
459
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:16,640
Some encourage bees for pollination
460
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:21,080
and others have long roots that
pull up minerals deep from the soil.
461
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:27,160
The largest clearings in
the woodland are kept as pasture
for the livestock.
462
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,880
But the animals here
don't just eat grass,
463
00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:32,680
they are benefiting
from the trees as well.
464
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:38,480
Nutrient-rich willow, lime and ash
are all used as fodder crops.
465
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,640
Feeding trees to animals,
466
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,560
this is something I would never
have thought of.
467
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:54,040
We don't have much woodland
on our farm, but what we do have
468
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:58,840
are massive hedges and now I'm
seeing them in a different light.
469
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:03,920
Well, I've always thought of
a hedgerow as a land division
between two fields.
470
00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:05,120
And I've always...
471
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,680
Well, I suppose on this farm,
thought of it as a wildlife
corridor as well.
472
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:14,200
But I've never actually thought
of it as a yielding crop.
473
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:19,720
But their potential even just
as a fodder crop is huge.
474
00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:24,000
I'd never noticed before how much
the cattle like eating ash.
475
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,400
And there is also a wealth
of fruits here
476
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,440
and that's with doing
nothing at all.
477
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,080
With a bit of careful steering,
478
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,920
who knows how much a hedge
could produce.
479
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:41,080
Ironically, I've learned hedgerows
could be much more productive
480
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:45,440
than the fields they enclose
and require much less work.
481
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,640
You don't have to add anything,
it's self-maintaining,
482
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,680
you know,
you're not having to tend it,
483
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,840
it's just there in abundance.
484
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,120
And why is it there in abundance?
Because it wants to grow here.
485
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,760
It's the natural food
that should be here.
486
00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,520
The only difference is it's growing
upwards and not across.
487
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,680
Actually, by utilising the full
height of trees and hedges,
488
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:13,920
you can squeeze a much higher yield
out of the same piece of land.
489
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,880
Turns out just up the road
from our farm is the best example
490
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:21,400
in Europe of just how far you can
take this way of producing food.
491
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,320
Until now, I had no idea it existed.
492
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:31,800
The man behind this pioneering
system is Martin Crawford.
493
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:38,520
This is a forest garden where
there is a big diversity of trees
and shrubs and other crops
494
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:42,200
all growing together,
very carefully designed
495
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:48,720
so everything is working together,
to give many different yields
from the same space.
496
00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:54,760
The trees are spaced very carefully
so that there's enough light
497
00:37:54,760 --> 00:38:00,360
getting into the ground layers
beneath so you can actually
grow something productive.
498
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:09,440
Forest gardens are one part
of permaculture where design
is clearly inspired by nature.
499
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:17,360
Something that makes a natural
woodland so productive
is it grows on many layers.
500
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:22,320
It's rather like having half a dozen
fields stacked on top of each other.
501
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:31,720
A forest garden imitates
each woodland layer but uses more
edible and desirable species.
502
00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:37,480
This one down below my feet here
is very low, it's called
Nepalese raspberry.
503
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,960
And it's a fantastic plant and it
protects the soil from winter rain.
504
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:46,560
And it saves on weeding.
Yes, so there is no weeding
to be done, you see. No.
505
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:50,520
The garden floor is covered
with fruit and veg and above them,
506
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:55,600
the shrub layer is equally abundant,
if not a little unusual.
507
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,200
One of several hawthorn species.
508
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,960
Massive thorns on it, but much bigger
fruits and much tastier fruits.
509
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:02,920
And the other side is a mulberry.
510
00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,200
You never see mulberry bushes
nowadays.
511
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:09,960
You don't but they're really nice
fruits and quite easy to grow really.
512
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,640
Another big salad crop from
the forest garden are lime leaves.
513
00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,080
And I use them as a base, kind of
a base ingredient, in a salad.
514
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:18,920
Right. Like lettuce.
515
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:22,720
OK, so they are your replacement
for lettuce? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
516
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,520
Big lettuce, Martin!
517
00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:33,760
A bit higher up
are the fruit trees, like apples,
pears, medlars, plums and quinces.
518
00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:38,880
And then there's the canopy
where those trees
519
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:42,880
that aren't producing food are
serving other essential functions,
520
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,280
like cycling nutrients.
521
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,120
And the Italian Alders
are a very good example.
522
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:53,240
They're very fast growing
and supply a lot of nitrogen
to the plants around.
523
00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:55,280
And this is through the root system?
524
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,840
It's through the leaf litter, which
is still quite high in nitrogen.
525
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,280
And the root system,
and also through beneficial fungi,
526
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,960
which link up everything under the
ground and move nutrients around.
527
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,720
If there's a lot of nitrogen
in one place in the soil
528
00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:12,520
and a lack of nitrogen in the other,
the fungi will move it for you.
529
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:14,920
Everything is here
for a reason, isn't it?
530
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,560
Everything's here for a reason,
often multiple reasons.
531
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,600
So, you know, behind us,
the mint here,
532
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,680
this is horse mint which is one
of the native British mints.
533
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:28,360
The main use for this mint
is actually to attract
beneficial insects.
534
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:33,480
It's fantastic at attracting
hoverflies, which of course eat
aphids amongst other things.
535
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,240
So, you know, by having plants that
attract beneficial insects,
536
00:40:37,240 --> 00:40:39,040
I don't get any pest problems.
537
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:40,800
So no pesticides?
538
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,200
That's right. Fantastic.
That's right.
539
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:50,280
Martin has over 550 species
of plant in his forest garden.
540
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:55,480
Surely a growing system
this complex must require
endless attention and work?
541
00:40:55,480 --> 00:41:00,400
Over a whole year, it probably
averages out about a day a week,
542
00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:02,960
a lot of that is harvesting. Right.
543
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:05,800
In terms of maintenance,
544
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:08,720
well, say ten days a year.
545
00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:10,320
'That's ridiculous!
546
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,880
'Compared to running a farm,
that's virtually nothing.
547
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,600
'But how much food does it produce?'
548
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:19,320
If designed for maximum yield,
it can be very high.
549
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,080
This forest garden isn't designed
for maximum yield
550
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:26,400
cos I'm experimenting a lot
and I have a lot of unusual crops
I'm trying, and so on.
551
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,880
So, you know, in terms
of one designed for maximum yield,
552
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:35,760
you would be able to feed probably
ten people an acre on a maximum
yield forest garden. Really? OK.
553
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:40,240
That's roughly double the amount
of people that we can
554
00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:45,200
currently feed from an average acre
of conventional arable farmland.
555
00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:50,920
It is an amazing low energy,
low maintenance system,
556
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:54,440
but what you can't grow in a forest
garden are cereal crops.
557
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:58,480
And we are rather addicted
to our high carb diets.
558
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:03,120
But as oil gets more expensive
and farming begins to change,
559
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:08,160
it will become necessary for us
to broaden our diets and embrace
new foods.
560
00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:14,080
Down the road from his forest
garden, Martin has created
a four acre nut orchard.
561
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,440
It would help enormously
562
00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:21,000
if we could move more towards nuts
and less towards cereals
563
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:25,080
cos they are much more sustainable
because they grow on trees.
564
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:28,520
In other parts of Europe, France
and Italy, there's a big tradition
565
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:31,040
of growing hazelnuts,
sweet chestnuts, walnuts.
566
00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:33,920
You know, an orchard crop
like a sweet chestnut,
567
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,720
it takes far less energy
and maintenance to grow
than a field of wheat.
568
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:41,600
'Less energy and maintenance maybe,
569
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:45,760
'but can the yield from nuts
really compare with a cereal crop?'
570
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:49,600
You're talking sweet chestnuts,
two tonnes an acre or something,
571
00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,760
which is pretty much what you get
growing wheat organically.
572
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:58,360
And the composition of chestnut
is almost identical, actually,
to that of rice. OK.
573
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:01,960
And it's very similar to the other
grains in terms of calorific value.
574
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,040
Even at this experimental stage,
Martin's nut orchard
575
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:12,400
and his forest garden have a huge
output for such a tiny acreage.
576
00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:19,240
Back in Wales at the Dixons'
equally small plot,
577
00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:21,600
there is a similar story
of productivity.
578
00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:24,520
The whole site is seven acres,
579
00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:31,240
which now, after 22 years
of the natural regeneration
and the stuff we've done,
580
00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:34,280
it's too much
for one family to harvest.
581
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:38,480
Wow. So, you know, really,
the smaller is better.
582
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:44,520
To me, this is the big difference
between farming and gardening.
583
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:48,040
So I'm not a farmer,
I would consider myself a gardener.
584
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:52,520
Are you trying to say
gardeners are the way forward,
rather then farmers?
585
00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:55,960
I wouldn't say that gardening
is better than farming,
586
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,480
gardening is different from farming.
587
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,800
But I would suggest that, as far
as I can tell from what I've done
588
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:05,520
in my own practical experience,
and from what I've tried to find out,
589
00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:09,720
that gardening with hand tools
is more productive
590
00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:13,160
and more energy efficient
than farming.
591
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:18,480
It's the attention to detail
that a gardener can give
592
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:21,360
to a small plot
that makes it so productive.
593
00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:24,920
A veg garden with an experienced
gardener can produce
594
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:29,120
up to five times more food
per square metre than a large farm.
595
00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:34,200
Supermarkets reliant
on transportation
596
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:37,600
and the industrial scale farms
that supply them
597
00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:40,920
are unlikely to survive
as oil declines.
598
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,200
But a host of veg plots,
allotments and smallholdings
599
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:46,400
could easily make up
for their loss.
600
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:48,520
But only if we have
a lot more growers.
601
00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:52,640
The dominant demographic trend
of the 21st century, I think,
602
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:54,960
is going to be re-ruralisation.
603
00:44:54,960 --> 00:44:57,720
That's not to say that the cities
will all disappear,
604
00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:03,280
but the proportion of people
involved directly in food production
is going to increase.
605
00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:06,320
Think back to the
Second World War, for example,
606
00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:12,000
there was the Victory Garden movement
where everyone was growing a garden
plot and something like 40% of fruit
607
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:19,040
and vegetables were being produced
from front yards and back yards
and vacant lots, and so on.
608
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:22,240
That's a model to imagine
and look back to.
609
00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:29,200
But we also will need a lot more
full-time farmers, otherwise, you
know, what are we going to be eating?
610
00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:36,240
Feeding ourselves as oil goes into
decline is clearly going to require
611
00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:43,080
a national effort
and, in an ideal world,
a bit of government leadership.
612
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:49,120
But for my part, weaning this farm
off fossil fuel is all I can do.
613
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:53,320
And the pioneers I've met recently
are a big inspiration.
614
00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:59,160
Now I've learnt to observe
the land, and work with it
rather then fight against it.
615
00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:05,760
I'm fascinated to find out
what species of grass we have,
and how I can improve our pastures.
616
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:10,560
And how we can make the most out
of our trees to benefit our cattle.
617
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:15,480
But also I think we need to produce
more than just livestock.
618
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:20,640
Who knows, in a few years
from now, we might even have
a forest garden here.
619
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:25,360
Although I'm not quite sure
what Dad would make of that.
620
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:31,680
But for any of these ideas to work,
it's essential to continue
preserving the farm's wildlife
621
00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:37,680
and work even harder to encourage
greater biodiversity.
622
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:42,240
Biodiversity is far more important
to us than I ever gave it
credit for.
623
00:46:42,240 --> 00:46:47,400
I just always thought it was
pretty and it was, you know,
it was a species we lived with.
624
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:50,280
You know, now I've learned
the big lesson that
625
00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:56,720
it keeps us going, it
gives us food, it protects our food
626
00:46:56,720 --> 00:47:01,200
and it's crucial that we keep it.
627
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:08,160
I'm so grateful for what my
uncle and my dad have done on this
farm because they've kept it all.
628
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:14,280
But there is still so much work
to be done here.
629
00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:18,960
And what drives me to make our farm
a farm of the future
630
00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:24,440
is the knowledge that I have
no other choice but to try.
631
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:26,960
Of all the people I met,
632
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:31,240
I think Dr Colin Campbell
puts it best.
633
00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:34,600
What we can say now
without any shadow of doubt
634
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:39,680
is that petroleum man is just about
extinct by the end of this century.
635
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:47,240
That poses the thorny, difficult
question, will Homo sapiens be as
wise as his name implies
636
00:47:47,240 --> 00:47:53,880
and figure out a way to live without
oil, which is the bloodstream
of virtually everything?
637
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:59,440
And it seems to me
the sooner we begin that transition
638
00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,280
to a new, low-energy future,
639
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:03,960
the easier the task will be.
640
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:31,640
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641
00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:33,680
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