At the outset of the twentieth century, the management of the British countryside was the preserve of powerful aristocratic estates, the ground worked by labourers toiling in time-honoured tradition.

Scattering Plenty tells of the birth of modern farming through wartime, post-war reconstruction and four decades embroiled in European countryside policies. It follows the stories of key figures driving change; as the face of the countryside evolves, it charts their fight for nature and natural beauty, and traces the gradual control that the state and democratic agents had on the land.

Their stories evoke the landscape of Britain, and take the reader inside the corridors of power in Whitehall and Brussels, where farmers and environmentalists jostled for influence. Who were the people scattering plenty across our land, and who made the modern countryside?

In Scattering Plenty, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the profound legacy of agriculture in shaping Britain’s past, present and future, as Jim Dixon delves into the lives of those who shaped the modern countryside and made space for the deeply rooted bucolic haven that millions enjoy today.

JIM DIXON's career has seen him work closely with conservation administrators, farmers and policy makers. During 10 years at the RSPB he influenced early legislation to protect hedgerows and ancient woodland. Following stints in MAFF and Defra, from 2003 to 2014 he led the Peak District National Park Authority as CEO. In 2018, he joined Julian Glover’s Landscapes Review panel and in 2021 the board of the National Landscapes Association. In 2023 he was elected to the National Trust Council.