ON THE FARM WITH ADAM
Celebrating my father’s legacy and the 50th birthday of Cotswold Farm Park.
If you’ve seen one sheep, you’ve seen ’em all.” That’s a controversial view and one you wouldn’t expect me to agree with. And it’s certainly not what you want to hear when you’re just about to open a new tourist attraction to show your sheep off to the visiting public. Yet that’s exactly what one of my Dad’s old farming friends said to him as he was preparing to put his reputation on the line with a totally untried venture.
My father was conservationist and broadcaster Joe Henson, who is still fondly remembered for his work on TV shows including Animal Magic and In The Country, as well as his numerous appearances by my side on Countryfile. Fifty years ago this month, when I was just a little boy, he took a huge gamble when he unlocked the gates of our tenanted farm in the Cotswolds and invited people in to see his collection of rare and native British farm breeds.
He was fascinated by everything from Old Spots pigs and Portland sheep to Belted Galloway and Longhorn cattle, and wanted to share his enthusiasm with everybody.
But more than that, he knew action was needed to protect these old county breeds and the slow-growing, multi-purpose livestock whose numbers had dwindled in the post-war rush for intensive food production.
What Dad had created was the world’s first farm park, something totally different from the animal attractions that were common at the time, such as pet ‘zoos’ and safari parks. But what he couldn’t possibly have known in May 1971 was that the concept would be copied, not only here but all over the world.
He loved to talk about a visit to New Zealand when he saw a sign directing motorists to a nearby farm park. His first reaction was pride at discovering that his idea had travelled around the globe, quickly followed by frustration at having not copyrighted the phrase ‘farm park’ from the beginning. Every time he told the story his face would crease into a smile and he’d start to chuckle – imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.
It’s worth remembering that in the ’60s and ’70s, farms weren’t places to visit, and the closest most people came to agriculture was staying on a campsite in a farmer’s field. I’m pretty sure that half a century ago, no one used the word ‘diversification’ either, but that’s precisely what Dad was doing. He jokingly called his growing collection of rare breeds his “expensive hobby” and as livestock can’t live on fresh air, he needed them to pay their way. It’s what generations of farmers who have followed his lead are doing, too.
CRUCIAL CONSERVATION WORK
The Cotswold Farm Park was the first venue to gain official recognition from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) The original plaque bearing the words ‘Approved Centre No. 1’ still takes pride of place at the visitor entrance. We have been joined by a further 22 RBST accredited farm parks and city farms in the UK, from Cornwall to Kincardineshire, and our vital conservation role has a renewed focus in 2021. The Farm Parks Project is spotlighting innovative breeding programmes, advances in genetics with semen and embryo donation, and exploiting the world-class pool of knowledge among experienced stockmen and women.
Exactly 50 years after welcoming our first visitors on that memorable May morning, not only are we still here but we are needed more than ever.