The rural way of life has always been a struggle, but the crisis in the countryside has brought many in the heart of Devon to their knees.
Country people say they are fighting for survival but the voice of the small dairy farmer, local postmaster and nursing home owner is rarely heard.
In a new 4-part observational documentary series, filmed over 6 months we hear their stories and ask: could this really be the death of their way of life?
The documentary, in four parts, follows the fortunes of several Devon farmers and businesses in different situations and scenarios:
Brian Nancekivell, saw his life’s work destroyed. His family had spent 63 years building a pedigree herd of beef cattle which was wiped out in the contiguous cull. Six months on he and his son, Robert, are optimistically using their compensation money to go back into farming.
 | Burdon Grange resident Jamie Jamieson
on her last day at Burdon Grange |
In the village of Exbourne, the shop and post office is about to close for ever. The owners, Terry and Doreen Beauchamp, have been trying to sell it as a going concern for the past six years. There have been no takers - so now it’s set to go as a residential property.
At the 11th hour the villagers start trying to raise money to buy it. Will Exbourne go the way of the 400 rural communities that lose their post offices every year?
Programme three watches the story of Burdon Grange unfold; With a price tag of nearly a million Burdon Grange nursing home in Highampton has been on the market for 2 years. Maurice Thomas the owner wants to retire and the only people interested in buying it are C-FAR, who run residential courses for persistent offenders. Social Services have the task of finding the nursing home’s residents new placements. But Devon has lost 50 private nursing homes in 3 years, and with an overspend of £2.6 million - it’s not going to be easy.
Sandra Howell is leading the "Save Our Village Action Committee". She moved to the village a year ago and is sure the young offenders will bring crime with them. The committee sets about raising the money necessary to try to overturn planning permission that C-Far have been granted to use Burdon Grange.
 | Willie Cleave at Dumfries Market |
Willie Cleave, the farmer and sheep dealer who inadvertently brought foot-and-mouth to Devon, is back buying sheep to take to the West Country. Willie has contracts to supply 2,000 sheep for slaughter every week.
His business seems largely untouched by the crisis in British farming, insulated from falling prices by the scale of his operation. His story reflects one example of the future for farmers, who are being told by the government to get bigger or diversify to survive.
But what will happen to the smaller farmers like John Lucas? With milk prices falling he had to sell his dairy herd and bought a mobile vegetable shop, becoming much more consumer orientated. His 200 acre farm is now dependent on the income from 5 acres of vegetables.
So is Paula Wolton - she only slaughters around 200 animals a year, but she sells by mail order direct to the public. She farms organically and believes in quality over quantity. However her husband has a full time job, and Paula admits that her operation can’t keep the farm going alone.
 | Robert Smale with an Organic Advisor |
At the heart of the farming issue lies a national dilemma - is the countryside a factory for our food, or is it the green land of the nation, managed by farmers as stewards in the public interest? The Smale brothers hope it’s both. They lost all their animals in the foot and mouth cull and have used their compensation to completely re-think their future.
One of the brothers, Mark is training to be a nurse while the other brother, Robert will keep the farm going. They’ve decided to go organic and take all the environmental subsidies on offer to enable them to farm less intensively. Are they the future of British farming ?
CountryCide will be broadcast on BBC 2 TV on Monday 4th March, Tuesday 5th March, Monday 11th March and Tuesday 12th March 2002 |
