There are many interesting and beautiful National Trust houses in Sussex. I am not a member but if I were, like many loyal supporters of this once honourable charity, I would be tearing up my membership card.
 
What a tragedy that once again this organisation is hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. Why was it necessary to list properties which it seeks to shame? Thus drawing unwelcome attention, perhaps even encouraging vandalism. Some people require little excuse to destroy British history and culture, and in one fell swoop, the NT has invited them to do so.
 
These historic houses were handed to the NT in the belief the organisation would uphold the dignity and records of families and their homes. Not skew their heritage, relationships or distant associations into a culture war, so the BLM Marxist movement, whose doctrines about white people are explicitly racist, and others, can target them.
 
Shame on Mrs Hilary McGrady, the Director, for including on her list homes once owned by Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill and William Wordsworth amongst many others, and tar with them with her political brush. What is the real purpose of this illogical and ignorant exercise?
 
It appears it is another crass example of the left’s ‘woke’ culture which has gripped the liberal elite. Let us hope that someone will come to their senses and weed out these destructive elements, which like weevils have burrowed into the very heart of so many of our once honourable institutions.
 
While on the subject of old properties, it seems the government’s environment lobby has determined that by 2030 all homes will be carbon neutral. They will be required to ensure they are 100% air tight and eco-friendly, including being fully insulated, including sealing up air vents and filling cavity walls. Heating systems refitted with new and costly eco-friendly boilers, and double glazing installed.
 
I am waiting for some bright spark to suggest pulling down historic houses which do not conform and currently cannot be repaired without an army of ‘conservationists’, dictating how this must be done. Maybe the plan is for all properties built prior to the Second World War to be raised to the ground, as they were certainly not designed to be air tight.
 
Cavity walls were designed to allow buildings to breathe, thus preventing dampness, wet and dry rot.
 
Many were built of stone, or lathe and plaster, and timber framed such as Ote Hall. It, and thousands of similar ancient properties surely cannot be compelled to conform to these guidelines and aspirations. Their structures would be severely damaged and compromised, and those living within them would undoubtedly suffer ill health.
 
Ote Hall cannot support solar panels on its beautiful Horsham slate roof, or erect wind turbines nearby. Neither should replacement windows be fitted, nor the open fireplaces and noteworthy tall chimneys be blocked up. Our ancient manually fed wood burner economically heats the house and hot water system, using recycled fallen trees – exceptionally sustainable.
 
It is indeed laudable to endeavour to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and there is an opportunity to ensure that new build houses are designed to be eco-friendly. But, perhaps it would be wise to consider building fewer houses not more. Perhaps by restricting the number of people entering the country who require housing and to be fed, by an already overstretched and over populated island nation, would be a better direction in which to travel.
 
It is people who create CO2, not homes. Too many of them in the wrong places is unhelpful. The shift of humanity moving from the Middle East and Africa towards densely populated cities in the West, is the dangerous and unsustainable problem.
 
Laurence Fox is launching a new political party to fight the culture wars. Good for him, I wish him luck.

Watching the wild fires rage across the West Coast of North America has been chilling. Many lives have been lost, and homes and businesses raised to the ground.
 
Clearly the fires are out of control as they rapidly spread through 11 states, from as far north as Canada to the borders of Mexico.
 
The flames are fuelled by hot dry winds, which initially blew the toxic pollution out over the Pacific Ocean, but last week they changed direction and the polluted air has reached Northern Europe, 5,000 miles away.
 
Here in the south of England we should be on the alert and certainly not complacent. The conditions are not that dissimilar to those in the USA. The ground is hard as nails and the vegetation once again bone dry. Even standing grass holds little moisture, and the countryside is being fanned by hot drying winds. The very conditions which have ignited and spread the devastating wild fires on the other side of the Atlantic.
 
We are promised rain later this week but not for certain. Let us hope so, but we should be on our guard and hope everyone is alert and sensible. We must take precautions not to start fires which scar the countryside and are a danger to lives, livelihoods and wildlife.
 
Arable farmers are in a quandary - to drill or not to drill! About this time last year the rain began and never stopped until March. Few crops had been drilled and what had been barely survived the extremely wet winter.
 
Currently the ground is tinder dry. If we drill and it remains relatively dry throughout the winter months, as is forecast, the crops will fail or at least be poor. If we hold back waiting for some rain to help create a warm, damp seed bed, and the opposite occurs - it starts and does not stop - we will find ourselves once again with little or no winter crops in the ground! Oh the joys and tribulations of being a farmer?
 
Over many years when I have been chairman of a number charities and organisations I learnt several lessons. One being, when top of those pyramids with a reliable team around me ensuring I was always fully briefed, I knew almost everything that was going on within and around that organisation, including matters concerning finance, sponsors, staff, volunteers, friends and foe.
 
This enabled me and my team to make informed, calculated and hopefully wise decisions in the best interest of those groups at the time. Also, ensuring they remained both financially and physically stable for future years and generations.
 
The other equally important lesson I learnt was that from the very day I no longer held that position, with no daily briefings or communications, and no supporting team, I had neither the authority nor information to voice my opinion on matters relating to that organisation.
 
In a nutshell, I no longer had the up-to-date intelligence to give informed advice or opinions. Unless one is in the ‘engine room’ 24/7, acquiring that vital and valuable knowledge, ones view is of little value.
 
Once someone has been Major General they should never slip back into the ranks. Some do and are considered worth listening to, but it is 99.9% certain they are not.
 
It is depressing watching as past prime ministers and ministers, niche scientists and medics, and Uncle Tom Cobbly and all, line up to give their judgements. Arrogantly they think they know better than the PM, who is uniquely briefed whilst at the top of the national pyramid.
 
Boris has all the facts on Corvid 19, and on how not to allow the EU to drive a coach and horses through the Withdrawal Agreement, signed in ‘good faith’, on the basis a Trade Deal would be fully implemented.

A friend who farms some 1200 hectares of coastal grazing marshes in the east of the county, said during a presentation he made at an international congress in 2002, “Whilst many may care about the countryside, by and large it is only farmers, landowners and foresters who have the ability to care for that huge national asset. For whilst the countryside might be largely privately owned and managed, it is at the same time a national resource. Moreover as a national asset and a resource, it needs to be used and not preserved as a museum as some might have us believe.”
 
He went on to say, “I cannot think of any other industry that can provide positive environmental benefits, or as an economists would call them, environmental goods, in the way that farming can. What a huge opportunity that is for the farming industry. I hope that my farming colleagues and political leaders grasp the opportunity.”
 
These words, spoken some twelve months after the start of the Foot & Mouth epidemic, when the countryside had been closed to the public, are even more relevant today.
 
What I believe has changed is a recognition that sustainable mixed farming, including  livestock and arable crops, support the environment and wildlife, and creates the countryside which is so appreciated by the public.
 
Covid 19 which shut down towns and cities, has, unlike F & M, opened up the countryside, to people who have never before ventured off the tarmac roads, who have found a world previously unknown to them.
 
I hope this new found knowledge and enjoyment of green fields, flora and fauna has also made them aware of the vital role agriculture plays in managing and protecting this valuable asset.
 
At last the UK can unilaterally manage sustainable food production through positive farming and fishing. We shall regain control of the countryside and our fishing waters, extending 200 nautical miles, without interference from Brussels.
 
The extraordinary outbursts from those opposing the Prime Minister’s efforts to steer the UK craftily away from the bear trap set by the EU, is shameful. It is abundantly clear that the Withdrawal Agreement as it stands would have worked if Brussels has stuck to its part of the bargain – a promise to conclude a swift and comprehensive free-trade accord: “It is the clear intent of both parties to develop ‘in good faith’, agreements giving effect to this relationship such that they come into force by the end of 2020.”
 
As Daniel Hannan points out in The Sunday Telegraph, ‘The Withdrawal Agreement was passed on the basis that a trade deal would be not only agreed in 2020 but fully implemented.’
 
As talks have progressed it is clear that Brussels is using Northern Ireland as leverage in its demands for control of British fisheries and technical standards. Also threatening to impose checks and tariffs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. So what Boris is proposing to legislate for this week, is designed to prevent such barriers being applied maliciously.
 
Far from breaching the law, it in fact upholds one part of the Northern Ireland Protocol over later, potentially contradictory articles. The Withdrawal Agreement contains the following clause: “If the application of this protocol leads to serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist, or to diversion of trade, the Union or the United Kingdom may unilaterally take appropriate safeguard measures.”
 
As Daniel reminds us, the UK made massive concessions – on financial payments as well as Ireland – in exchange for the promise of free trade. Britain is not asking for anything that the EU has not already offered other trading partners such as Canada.
 
If the EU will not honour their agreement ‘in good faith’, Boris should say, “Thanks, but no trade deal, no deal.” And walk away.

Autumn is already knocking on the door with morning mists lingering and evenings drawing in. There is a distinct chill in the air, leaves are beginning to fall resulting in a certain crunch beneath our feet.
 
However, we should not assume that the countryside is shutting down for the winter; Mother Nature has ensured our store cupboards, and those of our wildlife cousins are well supplied with provisions for the long winter months ahead.
 
There is still an urgency to get the harvest completed and everything ship shape. The last of the fledglings need to be airborne, and those all-important stores filled.
 
The fields and hedgerows are abundantly supplied with cartloads of mushrooms, blackberries, sloes, hawthorn, rosehip, elder, rowan and bilberries. The trees are heavy with hazelnuts, sweet chestnuts and beech nuts. And the great oaks are shedding an enormous amount of very large acorns, as they so often do following challenging weather conditions. There is, if you are prepared to harvest it, so much ‘free food’ on offer for processing into jams, jellies and pies.
 
Some of my friends across the borders into Scotland have yet to get started on much of their grain harvest. The weather has been relentless since July with no two days without rain. It takes a brave man to grow crops in those conditions.
 
Most English farmer’s grain is safely tucked up in stores or already sold. That is those whose crops survived the wet winter and drought through the spring.
 
Yet again the Sunday papers have articles demanding the Government does not give in to US requirements for a compromising trade deal, allowing their dodgy produce into the UK, undermining British farmers whose practises are of a higher welfare and production standard.
 
James Rebanks writing in The Mail on Sunday, clearly has not been listening to Secretary for Trade Liz Truss, DEFRA Minister George Eustice, or the Prime Minister, all of whom have made it perfectly clear they will only agree a deal that is fair to UK farmers. They have pledged repeatedly to continue to uphold our high domestic and import standards in animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards.
 
Why Mr Rebanks and others who continue to take cheap shots at those trying to broker deals which will ensure British farmers, manufacturers and others wanting to export their wares, and have an open expanding market, is beyond comprehension. I suppose it is political mudslinging dressed up as concern for the agricultural industry.
 
The South Eastern Vintage Agricultural Club held their ‘Working Weekend’ at Stocks Farm, Ditchling, Friday-Sunday. There were tractors and tractor drivers of a variety of vintages! It was particularly encouraging to see such a strong turnout of very enthusiastic young people taking part.
 
Stocks Farm was a typical small family run farm of 90 acres. The Taylor family ran a few livestock and grew a limited acreage of cereals. The business was struggling and unsustainable, so five years ago they decided to either sell up or change things radically.
 
Today this beautiful farm nestled beneath the Downs has changed dramatically. The farm runs a beef rearing enterprise housing up to 500 cattle at any one time.
 
The enormous specially built cattle sheds are light and airy and have been landscaped thoughtfully and at great cost, including effluent tanks installed to catch run off from the cattle and silage clamps.
 
This ‘intensive’ beef rearing unit blends environmentally into the countryside, and flies in the face of the alarmists who revel in portraying such sustainable farming methods, which are efficient and ensure the public have the opportunity to buy affordable beef, as a scorched earth revolution!
 
These cattle are finished at 16 months, ours closer to 30 months. I know which I prefer to eat but surely both methods are acceptable and offer a healthy choice.

It is encouraging that the Sussex Police Rural Crime squad have made some significant arrests relating to farm machinery thefts, and recovered vehicles and equipment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
 
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, when she stepped into Giles York’s significant shoes, committed her energies and that of the Force to keeping the public safe and catching criminals.
 
The dedicated Rural Crime Team is working very closely with farmers, landowners and the rural community; building a web of contacts and communications across the county. Hopefully, before long criminals, petty thieves and those dealing in drugs, will decide Sussex is a county to be avoided unless they wish to be caught and face severe consequences.
 
Let us also hope that Home Secretary Priti Patel, is watching Singapore closely, and picking up tips on how to keep the British public safe by introducing punishments to fit the crimes.
 
To remind: anyone spotting anything unusual or suspicious should email the information to: [email protected]
 
It seems that there are differing views in Scotland regarding the usefulness of planting trees for carbon capture. Experts at the University of Stirling and the James Hutton Institute analysed four locations in Scotland where birch trees were planted on heather moorland. They found that over decades there was no net increase in ecosystem carbon storage.
 
The team, led by Nina Friggens, of the Faculty of Natural Science of Stirling, identified that any increase to carbon storage in tree biomass was offset by a loss of carbon stored in the soil.
 
The tree-planting experiments, in the Grampians, Cairngorms and Glen Affric, were set up in 1980 and 2005.
 
These research sites enabled the team to assess the effect of tree planting on vegetation and soil carbon stocks, by comparing experimental plots to adjacent control plots, of original heath vegetation.
 
Notably, the study recorded a 58% reduction in soil organic carbon stocks 12 years after the birch trees were planted. This decline was not compensated for by the gains in carbon contained in the growing trees, nor 39 years after planting.
 
Despite these significant disappointing results, the Scottish Government has launched a £1m grant to encourage farmers and crofters to diversify into forestry production, under the £40m Agriculture Transformation Programme.
 
Launched in February, it is designed to; ‘support farming and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by capturing carbon and provide income for farm businesses.’
 
One has to ask why universities and other such institutions bother to do their research, when clearly governments and their departments clearly take scant notice of this important environmental research.
 
The US is the world’s second biggest importer of lamb but UK farmers are currently prevented from exporting into this market. Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Affairs, is negotiating an ambitious trade deal with the US which would benefit UK farmers across the country. A positive agreement could remove tariffs up to 26% on British beef, which is already estimated to be worth £66m to UK farmers, and open the market to sheep farmers.
 
Despite the ongoing criticism of the Minister and Government by NFU leaders, celebrity chefs and others throwing in their penny worth, the Prime Minister and Liz Truss have made it perfectly clear they will only agree a deal that is fair to UK farmers. They have pledged repeatedly to continue to uphold our high domestic and import standards in animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards.
 
As we move closer to achieving a UK/USA Trade Deal opening the door for the UK’s 5.9 million small businesses to export and boost jobs, we should give our elected representatives flexibility to negotiate on our behalf.
 
It appears that President Trump will remain in office for a further four years, as the US electorate note what he has done, and ignore what he says.