Robert Craig begins his Nuffield Scholarship tour

By strange coincidence I found myself recently in the House of Commons public gallery, while the badger cull debate was taking place. Although I sadly admit to being a frequent viewer of Parliament TV, viewing for the first time from the gallery was a strange and almost spiritual experience.

I was in the friendly company of a group of predominantly Pembrokeshire dairy farmers, several of whom were less than impressed by their first experience of live parliamentary debate. I had no idea so many bTB experts existed. Almost all the MPs taking part were either farmers/MPs or seemingly experts on the subject. It makes you wonder, with so much intelligence being applied to the problem, why TB is an issue at all.

As this copy is published I will be about to set off on the first leg of my Nuffield Scholarship tour. Five weeks of travel consisting of one week in China, followed by three weeks in New Zealand and finishing with the final week in India, should see me home in time for Christmas.

During my study Solutions to combat food chain dysfunctionality, I hope to see how serious the global food industry is about future-proofing its production systems. While there is no shortage of statistical predictions and nightmare scenarios to read or listen to, my sceptical side thinks very few are seriously putting into practice what they preach. Already I’ve found a wide range of views from the pure capitalist, where money drives everything and always will, to the opposite that embedding sustainability into your business is essential for the future.

 If you’re interested, you can either follow me via the Nuffield Farming Scholarship website or on twitter @robertcraignfu

Robert Craig, 41, farms a 440ha of almost all grass split between two units in north-east Cumbria. A passionate grassland farmer, Robert is a 2012 Nuffield scholar and former Cumbria NFU Chairman.

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