Lake District farming with @dodgsonwood. I run the farm diversification businesses. Also trustee at @lakelandarts
England, United Kingdom
Joined February 2021
- Tweets651
- Following807
- Followers1.4K
- Likes92.8K
Maria Benjamin retweeted
In the first series of Clarkson's Farm, a young woman told Jeremy Clarkson his sheep would never make money, and the wool cheque proved her right before the year was out.
Ellen Helliwell was the shepherd he hired when it became clear he could not manage 78 ewes himself. She lambed them through the night, treated their feet, and told him the arithmetic at the start.
Then came shearing. A gang arrives, charges by the head, and leaves a pile of fleeces. Clarkson sent the wool off and learned what every sheep farmer in Britain already knew. The fleece was worth less than the cost of taking it off the animal.
For 800 years that fleece was the wealth of England. It paid for the cathedrals and the wars. A sheep was kept for five or six years for her wool, and the mutton at the end was a bonus that fed the country.
Now the wool is a disposal problem, so the only thing a sheep can earn from is a lamb sold at five months. One income where there used to be three. Clarkson's flock lost money, and he said so on television.
The reason the fleece is worthless is in your wardrobe. The jumper is acrylic, the fleece jacket is polyester, the carpet is nylon, and all of them are made from oil.
Ellen could do everything a shepherd has had to do since the Bronze Age, and do it at three in the morning. The thing she could not do was compete with a plastics factory.
Check the label in your collar before you ask why British lamb costs what it costs.
Maria Benjamin retweeted
Time to take off the winter coats from our tups and ewe hogg replacements. Thanks to our local team of clippers and helpers. Wool is such a beautiful fibre, especially when @the.wool.library work their magic, crafting beautiful blankets and tweeds. #wool
Maria Benjamin retweeted
There is no way you can make farms more profitable when you are
Raising taxes on them
Withdrawing payment support
Opening up trade with subsidised foreign farmers
Unwilling to grapple with buyer monopolies
Unwilling to do anything real about their costs
Maria Benjamin retweeted
Annual shout out for the brilliant @MZebBenjamin and her amazing tweeds, soaps, and other great stuff made from local farms - including ours
lakedistricttweed.com/
Maria Benjamin retweeted
It is as plain as day. We're giving up food security, losing our farmers, destroying our rural economy and communities. This is happening in Cumbria right now!
Supermarkets, are you not worried? Gov't don't you care? People don't you understand?
We must elevate this debate!
Maria Benjamin retweeted
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025…
It sticks in my craw that United Utilities has destroyed nearly all the hefted flocks from the fells it owns.
This is eco-community clearance in the name of nature and water quality, but to what purpose? Who is gaining, who is losing and who cares?
Maria Benjamin retweeted
There has been a shameless attempt by large orgs/corps to shift the responsibility for river degradation from their own waste treatment plant to local farms
Matt is doing an amazing job calling this out - farming can affect rivers but this isn’t the big issue on Windermere
Maria Benjamin retweeted
Excited to be part of this again at @grasmeresports on Sunday with @NT_TheNorth @ruslandvalley @farmernetwork1 @4CommonLand @MZebBenjamin and Herdwick Sheep Breeders. Celebrating farming and cultural heritage in the @lakedistrictnpa #UNESCO @LakesPlanner @lakesauctioneer 🐑
Maria Benjamin retweeted
British journalist Peter Oborne confronts BBC News Director Richard Burgess; lets face it, the @BBC is frankly up the israeli genocidal arse
Maria Benjamin retweeted
What is the fking purpose of having international law if it can’t prevent another holocaust that is livestreamed to the world?
This is how we wait for crumbs of food for hours and sometimes days in the streets
I cannot describe the biting cold that eats at our bones
nor the roar of drones above our heads
nor the gunfire of tanks that tears through the silence
nor the shells that rip through the sky
nor the smell of blood that never leaves the place
Everything around us screams of death
but we try to hold on to life with your prayers and a little hope
Maria Benjamin retweeted
🎥 Available to watch: Catch Up on Our Winter Webinar Series 🎥
Whether you're looking to: 👉improve profitability, 👉 find new markets,👉 optimise your grazing systems, our series of over 40 webinars with world renowned experts is full of insights and practical advice...1/4
Maria Benjamin retweeted
NEW PODCAST EPISODE: We speak with @MZebBenjamin about what a diversified farm business can look like & how skills are key for a #sustainablefuture
Maria shares her career journey into working with natural materials & crafting products sustainably
bit.ly/4l2XW88
Maria Benjamin retweeted
To all friends
In light of the current events in Palestine, a large number of filmmakers have made their films about Palestine available online for free.
In this post, we share with you links to films you can view and share to get our message out to the world:
• A collection of documentaries published by Al Jazeera Documentary:
bit.ly/3yp2nBI
bit.ly/2SSpMeC
bit.ly/3f0KK3P
• "Keeper of Memory" documentary:
youtu.be/eywuYeflWzg
• "Empty Seat" documentary:
youtu.be/an4hRFWOSQQ
• "Resistance Pilot" documentary:
youtu.be/wqSmdZy-Xcg
• "Jenin" documentary:
vimeo.com/499672067
• "The Olive Tree" documentary:
vimeo.com/432062498
• "Scenes from the Occupation in Gaza" documentary 1973:
youtu.be/1JlIwmnYnlE
• Documentary "Gaza Fights For Freedom":
youtu.be/HnZSaKYmP2s
• Documentary "Arna's Children":
youtu.be/cQZiHgbBBcI
• Short Film "Strawberry":
vimeo.com/209189656/e5510a60…
• Short Film "The Place":
youtu.be/fgcIVhNvsII
• Documentary "The Mayor":
youtu.be/aDvOnhssTcc
• Documentary "The Creation and the Nakba 1948":
youtu.be/Bwy-Rf15UIs
• Documentary "Occupation" 101":
youtu.be/C56QcWOGSKk
• "The Shadow of Absence" Documentary:
vimeo.com/220119035
• "The Don't Exist" Documentary:
youtu.be/2WZ_7Z6vbsg
• "As The Poet Said" Documentary:
vimeo.com/220116068
• "Five Broken Cameras" Documentary:
youtu.be/TZU9hYIgXZw
• "Paradise Now" Feature Film:
vimeo.com/510883804
• "Abnadam" Short Film:
youtu.be/I--r85cOoXM
• "Wedding of Galilee":
youtu.be/dYMQw7hQI1U
• The feature film "Keffiyeh":
vimeo.com/780695653
• The documentary film "Slingshot Hip Hop":
youtu.be/hHFlWE3N9Ik
• The documentary film "Tall al-Zaatar":
youtu.be/Ma8H3sEbqtI
• The documentary film "Tall al-Zaatar - The Secrets of the Battle":
youtu.be/Ma8H3sEbqtI
• The documentary film "In the Grip of the Resistance":
youtu.be/htJ10ACWQJM
• The documentary film "Swings":
youtu.be/gMk-Zi9vTGs
• The documentary film "Naji al-Ali: An Artist with Vision:
youtu.be/Y31yUi4WVsU
• "The Upper Gate" Documentary:
vimeo.com/433362585
• "In Search of Palestine" Documentary:
vimeo.com/184213685?1
• "Salt of this Sea" Feature Film:
bit.ly/3c10G3Z
• "Speak, Bird" Documentary:
youtu.be/wdkoxBjKM1Q
• "The Palestinian Exodus" Series:
bit.ly/3bXNAVp
• "I Am Jerusalem" Series:
bit.ly/3hG8sDV
Maria Benjamin retweeted
To grow food, we need nature. The UK Government must increase investment in nature friendly farming. #NatureCantWait
Sign and share the petition. action.rspb.org.uk/page/1561…
Maria Benjamin retweeted
Recently sent beautiful gifts from Maria and Zoe at The Wool Library of a hat, tie, key ring and bag. Made using the tweed they designed and manufactured from our North Country Cheviot Hogg wool. Fiona Miller made the cushions and blinds in our holiday lets with the same tweed🙏🏻
Maria Benjamin retweeted
I wrote a little thing about working with my daughter
plough.com/en/topics/justice…
I will be speaking at Transition Live 2025 🧑🌾. Looking at ways to secure sustainable futures for farm businesses 🌽✨#TransitionLive2025 invt.io/1ixbol9kn8p
