Rooted: Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution

Product Information

More than a memoir; Langford manages to contain and convey the whole scale of the coming agricultural revolution."

Rooted: How regenerative farming can change the world

In Rooted, Sarah weaves her own story around those who taught her what it means to be a farmer. She shines a light on the human side of modern farming, and shows how land connects us all, not only in terms of global sustainability but in our relationships with our physical and mental health, our communities and our planet. Jake is very much a bloke’s bloke. He’s the kind of guy you might meet down the pub on a Saturday night chewing over what that stupid politician did now, or talking incessantly about the weather. A gamekeeper for many years, after a short, successful stint in the London club scene, he’s not someone you would expect to be at the forefront of rewilding. I met him at an event and he was exactly how I expected – honest, enthusiastic and raw. That’s what makes this book so bloody brilliant – it’s relatable.In 2017 my husband, son and baby moved by accident from London to the Suffolk countryside. We expected to stay for six months. In the end, we stayed for two years, taking on the running of his small family farm. Our story is woven around the stories of other farmers I met in my secondnarrative non-fiction book, Rooted: Stories of Life, Land, and a Farming Revolution published July 2022 by Viking ( Penguin Random House). Part-memoir, part narrative account of a selection of farmers from around the country, it seeks to shine a light on the world of farming at a critical point in the future of the countryside. Sarah Langford has reinvented a genre ... [as a barrister she has turned] her experience of 11 criminal cases into short stories that are as compelling as fiction, with the added fascination of being essentially true ... Immensely powerful. Jenni Russell, Sunday Times Without giving too much time to the obvious topic of his family (brother of Joseph, relative of Ranulph Fiennes), Jake launches into a matter-of-fact tale that explains his slow evolution from gamekeeper to rewilder. Through this process, you’ll develop an appreciation for gamekeepers that you might not have expected.

Rooted: Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution

Sarah has featured in The Sunday Times, The Evening Standard, The Guardian and more. Read interviews with Sarah: But many farmers believe that they have been unfairly accused of ecological mismanagement, and that they are uniquely placed to restore the earth and provide a sustainable future. Sarah Langford has returned to her country roots after working for many years as a criminal barrister in the city. In her book, Rooted: Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution she shows how a new generation of farmers are set on a path of regenerative change.The way forward can been found in the many places that these books agree. Both explore the wonder and complexity of soil. They strike on several of the same solutions, including the “no-till” method of growing crops without ploughing, or the use of perennial grains. Both see the benefits of organic methods such as planting wildflowers as a means of controlling pests. The gap between city and country can feel wider than ever today. This book helps to bridge it. It’s an eloquent and absorbing read, suitable for all. ‘As we navigate a lonely online future some [farmers] have learned lessons about life that even those who will never set foot in a field may find valuable.’ Sarah Langford used her education to leave the farm for work and life in London. The same went for her husband. 83% of The population in the UK are urbanites now. Because of job situations Langford and her husband and small children returned to a family farm in what was to be a temporary situation. It soon became a passion and we get to see her awakening. An eloquent and personal insight into the terrible human as well as environmental cost of cheap food and an inspiring account of the people working to heal our relationship with our habitat and ourselves. Urgent, necessary and moving."