There are many justifications for farming, including ethical obligations to the wider world; and personal fulfilment, significance and dignity. Spiritual justifications are increasingly cited. Spiritual language has always had a place in farming, but in the machine age it became unfashionable and embarrassing to use it.

This session examines questions such as: ‘What should you feel about your land, your animals and your crops, and why?’ ‘Should scything and muck-spreading be ecstatic religious experiences?’ ‘The land gives you a living: what response does it demand of you?’ ‘Do the Abrahamic religions really teach that humans should have toxic dominion over the natural world?’ ‘Was the development of agriculture in the Neolithic regrettable, inevitably damaging both humans and the environment?’ and ‘Should every stone on the farm be seen as en-souled?’