What does it mean to farm well in an increasingly globalised world? And how can local communities reconnect with the land that feeds them?
These were some of the questions explored in the latest episode of Common Ground, as Bishop Mary Gregory sat down with Cotswolds farmer Henry Astor of Bruern Farms.
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Located in the north-east Cotswolds, between Daylesford and Diddly Squat, Bruern Farms has been in Henry’s family since 1936. Although he always felt drawn to the countryside, his path back to farming was not straightforward. After spending years in the United States and raising a young family in New York, he returned to Oxfordshire in 2012 to take over the family business.
“My heart has always been in the countryside, and this is where I feel most comfortable,” he told Bishop Mary.
Today, Bruern Farms covers around 2,000 acres, including woodland, arable land and a small herd of English Longhorn cattle. Alongside traditional farming, Henry has developed a farm shop, café, flour mill and holiday accommodation – part of an effort to build stronger connections between local people and the food they eat.
Farming for biodiversity and community
Henry described how the farm has planted more than 50,000 trees over the past decade and manages woodland to support wildlife. Areas of the farm are now part of environmental schemes designed to increase biodiversity, including wildflower meadows, bird-feeding plots and habitats for insects.
Yet, he said, farmers constantly face the challenge of balancing food production with environmental stewardship.
“You’ve got to get that balance of building biodiversity back, but also, you know, we’re farmers, we grow food.”
Bishop Mary reflected on how Henry’s approach demonstrates agency and hope in a sector facing significant pressures.
“The global picture holds you tight and yet within that you are making choices about the kind of farmer that you will be,” she observed.
For Henry, those choices are increasingly centred on local relationships.
“I want to build a system – or die trying at least – building a system that re-engages the community with the farm, supplies local people with local food, and insulates me from geopolitics that I have no control over whatsoever.”
Reconnecting people with food
That vision led Henry to establish a farm shop which has become a gathering place for local residents as well as visitors.
“It has become a place where local people meet on a daily basis,” he said. “It’s the locals that keep the lights on Monday to Thursday and the tourists Friday to Sunday.”
The farm also mills its own flour, supplying around 30 bakeries, including Gail’s bakeries across the country. The venture began after Henry questioned why flour on supermarket shelves sold for so much more than the grain farmers were being paid to grow. Today, the flour business allows him to set his own prices and build relationships with bakers, who regularly visit the farm to see where their grain is grown.
For Bishop Mary, the emphasis on locality struck a chord.
“When I was a curate many years ago there was this banner across a shop which said, ‘Life is local’. I think there’s truth in that.”
Growing hope
Throughout the conversation, Henry returned repeatedly to themes of courage, imagination and community.
Rather than accepting that global systems are too large to influence, he believes individuals can still make a meaningful difference where they are.
“You’ve got two options,” he said. “You could say, well, you’re never going to win this. Or you could say, well, I’m 56. Wouldn’t it be fun to try?”
He described his approach as following a “guiding star” rather than a fixed roadmap – a set of principles rooted in care for the environment, local communities and future generations.
Bishop Mary connected this idea with a favourite poem which speaks of playing our part in the repair of the world, even when the challenges feel overwhelming.
“There’s this huge big picture and I can’t repair the world,” she reflected, “but what’s in my hands?”
A challenge for churches
Asked what he would say to Christians and churches, Henry’s answer was simple: reconnect with growing food.
“What I would love to see is people going back to growing their own vegetables,” he said.
“Once you start growing something, you’re not just growing food. You are starting to connect with the moon and the sun and the weather and you’re starting to be much more observant about patterns and your environment around you.”
He also encouraged people to visit farms, attend walks and learn more about the realities of food production and nature recovery.
As the conversation drew to a close, Bishop Mary reflected on one phrase she would take away from their discussion.
“Life is local,” she said. “The locals keep the lights on.”
Listen to the full conversation on Common Ground to hear more about food, farming, faith and the flourishing of local communities.