After an early career in tropical soils and agriculture, Ian joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1986.
He soon became involved in the environmental monitoring and then development of agri-environment schemes, particularly in the uplands.
He went on to become principle uplands policy adviser for Defra advising on upland agriculture, environment and research.
He was also responsible for starting up what is now Natural England’s technical guidance service having become aware that that both colleagues and land mangers needed practical advice to make their agri-environment agreements a success.
Since taking early retirement in 1986 Ian continued to work in environmental land management on a consultancy basis both in the UK and a number of central European and Eurasian countries.
He has recently been persuaded out of retirement to provide technical support to the development of Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.
I recently joined the Sustainable Farming Incentive team to help develop some of the standards for 2022/23. In particular, those focused on upland farming and moorland management. In this post, I'll share more about the Moorland and Rough Grazing Standard.
On 1 November, you can come and put your questions to us at Borderway Agri Expo in Carlisle.
Find us at these shows and conferences in 2024.
