I farm grassfed beef in Australia and I entirely endorse your views. Furthermore, why do these misguided people go after farmers who are feeding the human race, instead of, say, the tourism industry (flights, cruise ships etc.) which is a massive fossil fuel user and does not contribute anything to the further continuation of the human race? Makes no sense!

So sad that the basics of UK farming have to be explained to the "Stupid Brigade".

Well done Harry. Here in Ireland we have livestock, poultry, dairy, grain and green grass for thousands of years. That's how we survived and we're still here. It's what we're good at.It's one of our few natural resources and we do it very well. It's the middle men and greed producing cheap processed foods .There are a lot of industries involved all making money from food. The farmers of good food are getting very little from it. It's great to have a few cows and bullocks, sheep, chickens running around the yard and a pig in the barrel. Nothing wrong with veg,a few spuds and some meat grown here on the best land and climate in the world naturally .This part of the world is suitable for these industries. We should be supported and applauded for doing so. That's my rant. Thank you. 😅🇮🇪

Come from generations of farming in Scotland and heart sick of the intentional misleading information about how terrible UK and Irish farming supposidly is 🤦🙄 Thank you so much for making this video 🤗🤗

Great job Harry, as an Irish Dairy/Beef farmer I'm delighted to see you highlighting the facts and showing up the rhetoric for what it is.

Great video Harry. If I were a UK farmer, I’d make an official complaint to Ofcom about moronic and inaccurate reporting from a stated owned Channel4. Asked to get them fined and to broadcast an apology for falsely reporting the facts

100% support for the British farmers. You are keeping us healthy by giving us an alternative to hyper-processed "food". We must protect British countryside and British farmers if we want to protect future generations!

I would love to hear Channel 4's response to this illustration of the problems with the way in which they used the data in their show.

I’m a Brit overseas, watching this from the outside looking in, the best thing the UK government could do is have people like Harry give them all the advice they will listen to. Reasoned, informed and well balanced opinions are becoming such a rarity.

I was on a 10,000 acre beef farm today in St George, Australia. What I saw was a small family show nothing but care to their livestock and a commitment to pasture improvement and vegetation management.. These farmers are not the enemy of climate change, they are actually in fact a part of the solution.

Well done, Harry. I'm an environmentalist (BSC Human Ecology) and I'm happy with everything you have said. Ruminants are an important component for keeping our ecological carbon sequestration cycle working properly. I'm a great believer in having the availability of quality meat proteins for all. Feed-lot meat is not that. We do need to do something about the hedges in this country though. Such an important form of ecological carbon sequestration as well as for biodiversity. Only just found your channel, so maybe you have covered the hedgerow issue. But that can't be stressed enough. The current paradigm shift in British Agriculture goes both ways.

Thanks for the rant Harry! You’re doing your best with what you have to work with. You should be in charge of UK Agriculture! My family is from Puglia, Italy. If you don’t grow it, you don’t eat. Olives, grapes, rapini, tomatoes, nuts and wheat. I would move back just for the bread and cheese! Semolina bread and semi picante fresh cheese. The bread lasts a week and the cheese is so fresh it’s still soft! Have a great year! 😊🥖🧀🍷

It’s really a pity this is not put on mainstream television and media outlets, although it probably wouldn’t be liked because it doesn’t fit in with their agenda. Thanks for another very interesting and informative video Harry.

As someone who grew up on a mixed farm in Ireland, a country even more suitable to grass growing, I completely concur. Excellent presentation as usual Harry. Thank you for doing this.

It’s shocking how the masses are misled and misinformed about the food industry especially in a country like the UK. Thank you Harry and thanks to everyone involved in farming.

Totally agree! We’ve got to save our British farms and farmers from this misinformation. Unfortunately it suits those in power for us to not gaze at their more polluting (and less valued contribution to society) ways.

You didn't only explain how it really works in your country, Harry, but you also showed how untrue the figures can be in the media. I get really sad when I read about the farmers in Belgium, many of them are on the verge of losing their farms because of these same figures. I think we urgently need some Harry's in Belgium.

This is what UKposts is for. Informed opinion debunking lazy mainstream journalism. The good news is that young people who are forming their opinions about the world will watch UKposts documentaries like this rather than big budget scheduled TV every day of the week. Well done Harry.

Great video !! Simple explanations, and no hyperbole. Nice to get away from sensational journalism and relate it to British farming.

I'm a beef farmer in Ireland. Support for your UKposts channel Harry 👍👍👍.

Hi Harry, Great video. I am an ecologist based in Ireland. You hit the nail on the head. If the beef and dairy industry goes in Ireland, it would destroy rural communities across the country. Unfortunately the extreme environmentalists don't live in the real world and certainly the politicians at international level haven't a clue either. How can the EU expect Irish or British farmers to accept the importation of Brazilian beef where the environmental standards are so low. Its not a level playing at all. If Irish tillage, dairy and beef farmers called it quits in the morning its not going to do one thing to stop climate change.

This message needs to be out in the mainstream. As a YDNP volunteer we had a talk from a local farmer at Malham, who has increased his Belted Galloway herd, reduced the sheep, he is more profitable, produces less co2, spends less time farming and there is an environmental Wildlife benefit to the land as the grazing habits are different. But no researcher would tell you that.

My heartfelt thanks for voicing common sense and looking after our land 💕🌿

Dear Harry, what a superb video, thank you for clarifying the facts of livestock farming in the UK! We owe you and all the UK farmers a gratitude of debt. You really are what makes living in the UK great.

What a brilliant video Harry. You explained the British beef industry clearly and articulately, far better than most of our 'representatives'. The whole industry needs to use this and develop a clear message, based on science and use it to counter the nonsense we saw on the Ch 4 programme.

This is similar to what happened in The Netherlands, they (media, government, stakeholders) just plain lied to push through extreme net zero requirements and used laws reserved for extreme circumstances to compulsory purchase farms and close them down under the guise of them creating too much C02 and nitrogen. Luckily the farmers fought back, started their own political party and won the last election and afaik, promptly reversed the decisions made. This program is part of the same movement, someone doesn’t just decide to make these shows, they’re suggested.

Hiya bud my brother sent me this video and I couldn't agree more with you with what you have just explained well done sir for trying to highlight these points 👏👏👏👏

I appreciate your informative breakdown and you have my sympathy dealing with the cultists. Want to know where this ends? Look to Netherlands, France and Germany

Well done Harry. Incidentally, even the Guardian gave Channel 4 a 1 star review for this programme

Well said Harry. Things in Ireland are getting just as bad. Lot's of false or misleading information going around. It's a tough industry to stay in. High input costs, low income, and now increasing anti-beef public sentiment. Former suckler now dry stock beef farmer from Ireland, 28.

Another point is that if you stopped grazing cattle on your farm, it's not like it would sit fallow for eternity thereafter. Eventually the use case for the land would have to change, and something else would be built there. I don't know your area enough to say whether that would be chicken coops or condos, but I can't imagine it would be as idyllic and sustainable as what's there now. Keep up the great work.

Thank you Harry!! For the regenerative farming and explaining it so well.

Excellent explanation for us non-farming types. I despair at the media/government/those accountable who have an agenda and no intention of airing facts. Harry, your country needs you. Keep up the good work.

Just found Harry's website and so pleased l have . Have lived and worked on dairy / beef farms in Dorset and this is an excellent representation They were pushing poultry consumption in the programme but completely overlooked the welfare issues in intensive chicken units No mention of ethically sourced birds etc Surprised they didn't serve up a medley of fried insects Bill Gaits style . Merry Christmas one and all 🎄⛄💫🥂and a Huge Huge Thank You to all our food producers/ farming workforce ♥️

So well explained...I just can't understand how people don't see this😞

I really do feel for you Harry and all farmers in the UK and Ireland. Politicians and green lobbies seem to not have a brain cell between the lot of them.

Thanks for sharing this Harry, People need to wise up about how great UK farmers are.

The beef farmers in uk and Ireland are incredibly efficient at what they do. Animal welfare is a big deal and highly regulated by both Great Britain and European governments.

A superb presentation Harry, getting that message out to our primarily urban, office working population is so, so important, please keep it up

Thankyou for that perfect explanation, delivery and great work needed more than ever.

Harry, you are the archetypal gent. Wisdom and intellect, without an ugly ego or agenda. This is a brilliantly informative video. Thanks very much for all that you do.

I grew up on a small holding in Ireland during the 70/80s. Traditionally in Ireland the farmers kept Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, dexter, Irish moiled etc. These were mostly small animals ideally suited to the Irish climate ( read rain) and soil. When Ireland joined the EEC (1973) there was a big governmental campaign to produce beef suitable for the European market. Farmers were told that the beef from our small animals was not to the liking of the Europeans who liked a certain type of “ marbeling” in the meat. So the farmers did what farmers do , they changed the heard to continental cattle breeds in order to supply the market. The whole push was for large beef breeds that matured quickly. Small farms that would have traditionally also had some acerage set aside for the growing of crops were now only devoted to the production of cheep beef. Grants were paid for land drainage and the development of poor land. All to produce more beef and dairy products. We are where we are now because the farmers did what the were ASKED to do.

This video is misrepresenting the data in the studies referenced. The two studies are not directly comparable without making some adjustments: 1/ The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) study shown in the video is based on emissions per kg of beef carcass. The World in Data (WID) study is based on emissions per kg of beef food. The presenter makes the point from 6:16 in the video that we have to be careful about comparing tonnage stats, but he then seems to forget about that when presenting the data himself. Using his own ratio to convert the figures (600,000 tons beef food = 1,000,000 tons carcass’s) the adjusted WID range would be: Low: 9.3 (up from 5.6) Average: 39 (up from 23.4) High 92 (up from 55) 2/ AHDB study excludes any emissions after farm gate - meaning the “waste” portion (which is about 14% of the emissions from the WID study) is excluded. If waste is added to the AHDB study in the same ratio this brings the AHDB range to: Low: 10.6 Average: 44 High: 105 Let’s however assume there is 50% less waste of beef produced in U.K. because most of the consumption is nearby. So that’s a 7% waste ratio (instead of the 14%) This gives us : Low: 10 Average: 42 High: 98 3/ The presenter focuses his analysis using only the low end of the range (5.5) but why? Surely the average (23.4) would be a more reasonable data point, after adjusting based on points 2/ and 3/ above). To select the low end feels like cherry picking the data just to make the point he wants. In this case he wants to say that U.K. beef is the same emissions intensity as Olive Oil. But this seems inaccurate analysis at best, and deliberately misleading at worst. *** Conclusion: A better comparison of the studies would show: AHDB: 42 (adjusted average) WID: 99 Main reason for the difference may be the level of emissions from global land use change in the WID chart, which as the video states may be not comparable for the U.K. The now-adjusted average figure of 42 places U.K. beef as the second highest level of c02e intensity per kg of food based on the WID chart. Therefore, based only on the data used in these videos, the concern remains therefore that beef (including U.K. beef) is one of the highest intensity emissions foods. Please tell me where I’ve gone wrong with this analysis and I’ll be happy to hear thoughts.

Aw I vegan I found your environmental case for your type of sustainable farming extremely compelling. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such a patient and thorough manner.

I don’t normally comment on UKposts and am not involved in the farming world but love to follow it. Totally agree with Harry and so pleased you made this video. I vote for this clip being included in next week’s Countryfile!

This program should be broadcast on the BBC : it is easier to produce a program prepared by right-thinking NGOs than to really think about the subject you want to present. Thank you Harry for these brilliant and useful explanations. I suppose they are also valid to some extents for France where I live.

Same thing has been going on against NZ farmers. Going so far as to be taxed for livestock bodily gas output. It's embarassing and aggravating. The vast majority of our beef farms aren't industrial, as they are assumed by activists and the soil quality here is largely unsuitable for widespread horticulture. I'm glad you made this video. I hope more people watch it.

Amazing video and so skillfully presented! Thank you for the insight

Well said Harry. We need more like yourself to spread the truth about British farming. I’m fed up with all the nonsense and exaggerated news forced down our throats by the media. Love this channel as much as the garage, I find it really interesting finding out about the problems British farmers face especially nowadays.

Harry I wish you could put this video on mainstream t.v. as a sensible reply to that programme, I’m sure it’s something that the general public could understand and appreciate. Well done and thank you on behalf of all the down to earth genuine beef producers here in the u.k. and Ireland.

Harry. Thank you for producing this wonderful video. What a great piece of research and analysis, presented with passion, in a clear, concise and objective manner. I watch Harry's Farm and Harry's Garage, your farm is beautiful and you have a fantastic collection of car's. Great Channels, thank you

Unfortunately, here in America, the problem is only getting worse. Feed lot numbers are on the rise. Grass feeding is becoming more prominent, but only so they can charge us more. $3.99 for feed lot beef, 9.99 for grass feed! The number of small private family farms is decreasing, and giant agro businesses farms is on the increase. I studied Animal Science and Agriculture at the university of Kentucky (UK). I agree with everything you said. Unfortunately, I seem to be in the minority.

Grass fed British beef ( from a butcher ) is one of the healthiest foods in the world, that you can eat. Very similar processes exist in Ireland, France, Spain. The same standards. Much healthier than Norwegian farmed salmon, which celebrities like. Support your local butcher. He is providing you with the best. He eats it himself and feeds it to his own family.

Thank you so much Harry for doing this. I'm not a farmer I have zero links to farming. I'm just a truck driver from an urban city. Even I can see the claims that the UK needs to stop farming to save the planet is utterly ludicrous. Please anybody who watches this get it shared around everywhere you can , this madness of attacking farmers has to stop.

Well said! A lot of these studies are on grain fed cattle and the methane they produce. Not about the rest of their diet. Fun fact, grasslands are better carbon holders than trees (as it is stored in the roots) and with the grasses little is given above the soil. As much as I dop like C4's approach to impartiality, they dropped the bull's balls on this one. It's a load of bullocks.

Thanks Harry for putting out this video,from a Co.Kildare,Ireland beef and sheep farmer.👏🤝

I don't think Harry will be invited to appear on BBC Cuntryfile anytime soon.

That was special in so many ways. Analytical, specific to our country, clearly explained without rage although I could sense the repressed fury at the biased reporting. It's always a more powerful message when expressed with passion and personal knowledge. Well done 👍

my parents were beef farmers (hereford), the land isnt suitable for crops, they get the wrong type of weather, but grass grows very well and has done since the romans were there. the animals were grass fed most of the time, inside over winter for about 4-5months depending on the weather where they were fed silage and a bit of extra corn. but largely the polar opposite to the intensive beef farming that so much of the figures are based on (particularly in the US). the difference environmentally from low intensity grass fed beef and high intensity corn fed beef is wildly different and its never considered. there are even seaweed based supplements you can give grass fed cattle which massively reduces their methane output and makes their existence far more sustainable. but it isnt fashionable to say so.

This is a very good video and raises points I never even thought about. It explains why in the Netherlands they went after the farmers on nitrogen, because the farmers had been focused on reducing CO2 emissions for some time.

Well said! Thank you for explaining what all British farmers know and are struggling to convey.. it's very frustrating for us all .

Look, there's a context warning. Harry must be on to something.

Wow this was great! I've been a long time watcher of Harry's Garage and reader of EVO. But overtime I have kept hearing that beef is the worst food/meat to eat due to the amount of rainforest cut down to clear land to grow soy feed for cattle. And have almost become vegetarian / vegan because I've thought it was the right thing to do for our planet. This fascinating and eye opening! More people need to see this. And keep going British Farmers!

A very well presented and factual summary of the process.

I feel sorry for the generations to come, when they realise how wrong the current governments are.

Harry this is far from a rant, you calmly told us the information and thank you for that. Now all we need to do is get the word out there.

Very good video. Thanks for adding some much-needed nuance to the unjust demonisation of beef!

Dear Harry Metcalfe I follow Harry´Garage, but also with great interest Harry´s farm. I think both channels are serious and very well produced. I myself am a trained farmer and former Danish milk producer. I very much agree with your considerations about steak production in the UK. In some ways, your considerations also fit into Danish steak production. I have a small but important question regarding Harry's Garage. Where is your fine Actic Rolls? Once again, many thanks for your youtube channels. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Ole Arnbak West Jutland, Denmark.

Hi Harry, excellent video. We have similar issues here in New Zealand which relies heavily on the rural sector for exports. Farmer basing by ignorant urbanites is becoming a major problem whilst other industries get away with more serious environmental issues

Great overview Harry. Unfortunately our farming organisations (in ireland anyway), don't have the communications ability to have this argument with the green/farmer bashing side. We need more communications like this to educate the masses. Hoping Clarkson does a segment on it, that will reach a greater audience in a way that they will understand. In Ireland the cattle population is roughly the same as it was in 1972, less sucklers and more dairy. James

I am not a farmer though I have many relatives who are in agriculture, some with advanced degrees in agriculture. All of them work closely with their local university extension service (here in the US). When I heard that the WEF, Bill Gates and other 'greens' wanted to end farming "as we know it," and want us to get our protien from bugs, I knew it had all gone to far. Thank you for being reasonable and speaking truth.

They aren't documentary makers or researchers, they are media activists, there's more to this than meets the eye, you have just beat them at what they are supposedly employed to do & made a short doc with fact checked research, well done Harry

Well said Harry Metcalfe!! Long time viewer, first time texter here. Obviously a subject very close to your heart and we could all hear the emotion bubble up when you mention being a custodian of the land and passing the batton over to the next generation. Very very emotive and absolutely on point! Such an important subject needs clear, concise and scientific debate to keep the policy makers/public on the right track and not swayed with mass hysteria caused by very poor journalism, as we saw on CH4. Keep up the good work Harry !!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻👌

Harry you are a magician, you have clearly and properly described what we are doing as an industry in a way that most people will understand! Far better than any NFU response. All i can say is thank you.

As one who cares deeply about the climate, I found this a refreshing take and informative. We need more informed debate on this issue.

Honestly, mind boggling that it’s even an issue in this country, and that people seem to have forgotten the gas cycle we learn in gcse biology! (Usually the nitrogen cycle, but I recall methane and CO2 in the diagrams too!) Great video

Well done Harry , its good to see you explaining and standing up for British farming .

Thanks Harry, brilliant as usual. The times I have had to point out to people that the beautiful British countryside only looks like it does because of the care and passion of the farmers who tend to it.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” (Upton Sinclair)

Harry's problem is he still thinks there's a shred of honesty involved in politics and its strange regulations. He'll be a lot more angry when he realises the truth of the matter, but he won't be so confused.

Thanks Harry for explaining clearly for people to understand, I wish this video could be on TV so that the mainstream audience can view it.

Thanks for putting things in perspective Harry, for those people who just don't get it. I hope they all watch this and get educated. My British beef Sunday roast was delicious and I don't feel at all guilty saying that. I'm proud to support our farmers!

Please keep bringing out the message, I will support all the way. Stay strong farmers!

Great video as always, but you need to check your info on brazilian beef. The deforestation for pastures is a problem, but brazillian cattle are overwhelmingly grass fed, with a small percentage finished in feedlots for a short period before slaughtering.

It would be nice for the BBC or Country file to show this information. I get fed up with miss information being spread by the main stream media never shining a light on how bad avocado farming and shipping or how soya is grown.

My wife did not like me watching that Channel 4 program as it was driving me mad with them comparing apples with oranges. They had a token bit about one regenerative farmer producing beef but no context to the rest of the misinformation in the program. Thanks for your video. 😊

I’m a grass fed producer in NE Victoria, Australia which has a similar topography to northern parts of the UK. We too take great care in terms of density of grazing, no chemical usage and providing a great life for our Angus herd. The world desperately needs protein and it can be produced in a sensible and sustainable form which is rarely understood unfortunately by people who become instant experts in everything. They should come and talk with Farmers for Climate Action as there are 8000 of us who are looking to build a sustainability future. Hats off to you Harry

Thanks Harry, I hadn't realised those figures were global ones, so I agree we need to differentiate country by country. My concern is therefore how to effect change in those countries and practices where it is needed.

Thank the Lord that we have people like Harry who understand exactly what they are talking about and are experts in their field - unlike these clowns who produce TV programmes for the sake of what can best be described as 'click bait' and false ratings. Documentary programmes like these should not be allowed. Full stop. What happened to good old fashioned, professional journalism where sources of information were always double fact checked? A very heartfelt and emotional Harry there, telling it as it is. We need someone like Harry in charge of this stuff in the UK - we cannot leave it to these irresponsible and under educated so called programme makers, who just don’t have a clue - shocking!

I'm non farming but take a an interest and respect what you do. You have presented a clear explanation which should be broadcast to the general public , but which of the media would take it on. Good luck with your battle to save our land for future generations. Thank you

We still import soya to feed beef cattle in the UK. 35% of it isn't certified as deforestation free. Even if you completely subtract the land usage change from the beef total, it's still 76kg per kg produced. Compare that with plant based proteins - tofu is on the same graph listed as 3.6kg per kg produced. Not so spectacularly wrong after all. The UK now has over 1,000 US-style mega farms and the number is steadily increasing.

What a great video someone who actually talks sense. This message needs to spread far and wide.

Harry, I always await your Farm video's with interest and anticipation. This one is spot on. The problem is that the mainstream media channels for whatever reason dont want to accept your reasoned point of view and their coverage to the general population is much greater than yours via youtube. However could you consider a link up with your neighbour Jeremy Clarkson whose Amazon farming programme has got massive reach into the UK populace to jointly get this very important message about beef farming in the UK and Ireland across to the public before its too late

I assume you will be contacting Channel 4 to ask if you can host a a follow up documentary explaining the reality for British and Irish beef production? They might jump at the chance to have you on board Harry! Great video.

New Subscriber. Brilliant Explanation of What Farmers Really Do!!! Thank You!!!!

Well said. You skip over the uncomfortable questions but in the ends it would be great if the British public understands the big differences in beef production and British farmers know they can sell ecologically produced beef at top prices.

Well done for explaining the differences between U.K. and U.S. or Brazil etc production methods for beef. I am with you in that the media need to research things more thoroughly and present a properly balanced view and not the "we are all going to die if we eat beef" view. This needs to be seen by as many people as possible including the people banning beef from school menus etc. Keep up the good work on keeping us informed about the Farming Industry in the U.K.

As always Harry, you explain things so well. The voice of common sense, always informative, calm and collective. I’m glad you do what you do, but I cannot help thinking it’s a pity you are not in government. People like you, put in a position of power, would make a real, positive difference. Keep up your excellent work sir.

Thank you for your knowledge on this. 👍

We have beef twice a week and Lamb and Pork once a week. All our families are big, strong, intelligent, healthy individuals. Hands off our wonderful farmers and their livestock.