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Features

The great British bakers driving the revolution for better wheat and real bread

What was once seen only as a cheap, ubiquitous commodity has become a point of proud difference for a new generation of British bakers, finds Tomé Morrissy-Swan

Regenerative farming Eating and drinking Farming Organics
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News

The AGtivist: The 2.4 million tonne chicken poo problem without a solution

As the UK Gov signals plans to end multi-million-pound subsidies to power stations that process chicken farm waste, the question remains – what will be done with it?

Animal welfare Environment and ethics Renewable energy UK Gov Water
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Are Wildfarmed KitKats the future of regen farming… or its breaking point?

1.5 billion KitKats are made every year in the UK. A new partnership with British brand, Wildfarmed, changes the landscape, but to what end, asks David Burrows?

Regenerative farming UPF
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Flood, drought, and building water systems to weather future food & farming shocks

Britain must stop thinking of itself as a damp country with enough rain-fed water to irrigate its farmland and adapt – fast.

Climate change Farming Water
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Features

Still in the bag? Supermarkets stall on UK Plastics Pact target to reduce packaging for fresh produce by 2030

A target of just 30% of supermarket fresh produce to be sold loose may not seem overly ambitious, but David Burrows is surprised to learn that only one UK retailer has hit the mark

Environment and ethics Packaging Plastic Supermarkets UK Gov
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How Big Ag tied “regen” to synthetic chemical inputs and shaped European farming policy

The same multi-billion-dollar companies producing synthetic agrochemicals are also lobbying for "regen agriculture". David Burrows smells a rat.

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Could fruit & veg vouchers bring a welcome boost to the organic sector?

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The great British bakers driving the revolution for better wheat and real bread

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Opinion

News from the farm: We are all in it together

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STORY OF THE WEEK

Organic farming is a key solution to tackling the climate and nature crises without taking land out of food production... help[ing] us build farming systems that are less dependent on harmful chemicals and more resilient to climate change. Soil Association Chief Executive, Helen Browning

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Organic Action Plan for England launches today with pledges to grow domestic market & farmed land share

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Variant of MRSA linked to livestock farming poses potential risk to public health

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A growing movement for perennials could play a key role in future food security

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News from the farm: Creation, exits and truth

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Why is UK food self-sufficiency falling – and can we turn things around in time?

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The AGtivist: The 2.4 million tonne chicken poo problem without a solution

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Dairy industry responsible for 71% of serious agricultural pollution incidents in England

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News from the farm: A change in the air & autumn immunity

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A potentially harmful superbug linked to the overu A potentially harmful superbug linked to the overuse of antibiotics in livestock production has quietly gained a foothold across the UK in recent years. It has contaminated farm animals, been found in abattoirs and discovered in supermarket meat. It’s also been detected in people in greater numbers than previously disclosed, new evidence seen by our anonymous columnist, the AGtivist, shows.

The disease, known as Livestock Associated (LA) MRSA CC398, is a variant of the more commonly known MRSA associated with hospital infections. In Denmark, CC398 has been linked to multiple deaths and more than 12,000 human cases. There, the issue has been described as a health crisis, with as many as 90% of the country’s pig farms infected and a significant proportion of all human cases of MRSA recorded found to be the CC398 variant. 

Although UK cases are thought to be well below those in Denmark and other European countries, critics say a series of government failings have effectively provided a “free pass” for the superbug to become established within domestic supply chains, and warn that a lack of robust surveillance has meant that neither farming nor health chiefs have any real idea of its prevalence. Meanwhile, government scientists and livestock bodies maintain that LA MRSA poses little risk to public health, amid accusations of “sensationalist” claims. 

The superbug can be transmitted from infected farm animals directly (putting livestock workers at the highest risk) and handling contaminated meat (although thorough cooking kills the bacteria), and from other people carrying the MRSA. Studies have shown that in some cases patients have had no contact with livestock, raising further concerns about community transmission. 

Read the full, detailed report on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
The Organic Action Plan for England (OAPE), launch The Organic Action Plan for England (OAPE), launched today by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, sets out measures to grow the domestic market for organic food and drink, including advice and support for farmers considering the transition to organic production and “more opportunities to sell organic food in the UK”.

The plan also sets out ways to improve supply chains, putting “more organic products more swiftly” on supermarket shelves and into restaurants, as well as opening up new markets in the UK and abroad.

The plan includes “an ambition” to increase the share of agricultural land farmed organically from around 3.4% “towards 10%” by 2036.

“People are buying more organic food, and we want English farmers to be in a strong position to respond to that demand,” Eagle said.

Organic food sales are now worth more than £3.9 billion a year. The plan aims to help English farmers “capture a greater share of this growing market”.

Adrian Steele, co-chair of the English Organic Forum and Soil Association Farming Advisor, is among those who has long been calling for a more joined-up approach to organic supply here in the UK, reducing the reliance on imports to meet growing demand.

This plan “is a win for the UK’s food and farming system”, he explained. “It recognises that more organic land can help the government to deliver its wider environmental goals, from healthier soils and cleaner water to more biodiversity and less reliance on artificial inputs like pesticides.”

Read the full report on today's announcement on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
In 10 out of 11 key food commodities self-sufficie In 10 out of 11 key food commodities self-sufficiency has plummeted since the 1990s, as highlighted by the NFU in its rallying ‘Ready to Grow’ report in September, writes Megan Tatum. 
The NFU found a deficit between supply and demand that spans wheat, fresh fruit and vegetables, poultry, pork and eggs. In total, food, feed and drink imports have risen 70% in volume since 1997, while exports have fallen 49% in the same timeframe – widening the UK’s trade deficit to a rather startling 9.9 million tonnes.
“This not only means the country has become increasingly reliant on imports to feed it, at a time of growing global insecurity, but it also raises the risk of the accumulated impact of these gradual year-on-year drops in production eroding the wider processing, supply chain and skills base which our food production depends on,” outlined NFU president, Tom Bradshaw.
For the trade body, food production has been systematically deprioritised by policymakers, nudging the UK toward a hefty reliance on imported foods. The solution is a set of ambitious targets for UK agricultural output moving forward, backed by better policies, planning laws and funding for farmers.
But given the decades-long decline in UK self-sufficiency, and the complicated reasons underpinning it, will such top-down changes really be enough to reverse current trends? 

Read the full report by Megan Tatum on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio - it's essential reading.
If parched fields full of withering, shallow-roote If parched fields full of withering, shallow-rooted, annual crops are the enduring picture of the countryside this summer, so are the verdant, resilient hedgerows that enclosed these very same fields. Answers to the climate crisis and poor yields are right in front of growers’ eyes: deep-rooted perennials – which could help us build resilience in the years ahead, writes Nick Easen. 

Most people are familiar with apples and rhubarb, hazelnuts and asparagus. But perhaps not with the likes of Nine-star broccoli or Daubenton’s kale. Yet with all of these perennials, growers only need to plant them once before harvesting them over multiple seasons. Hearteningly, there is now renewed interest in what they offer, including perennial grains. 

Many have long, extensive root systems; some are slow-growing. They are more hardy than the puny, often dwarf, fast-growing annual crops that are commonly planted. Farmers don’t have to plough each season, or extensively apply fertiliser and pesticides. This means they offer an antidote to both the climate and cost of farming crisis.

With today’s eye-watering energy, fuel and input costs could perennials finally be having their moment in the sun? Wicked Leeks explored their prospects seven years ago, yet over this period perennials have failed to receive wide-scale funding, extensive field trials or be adopted extensively by growers across the country.

“Perennials have so much potential, but they still do not seem to be catching on at a commercial scale,” explains Harriet Bell, Regenerative Farming Lead at Riverford Organic Farmers, which has been working with perennial kale. A lack of awareness, access to seeds, to plants, and to know-how, as well as greater upfront costs compared to annuals, are just some of the reasons why perennials have not taken off.

Read the full feature on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio. Photo of Mandy @incredible_vegetables taken by @emmastonerphotos for Veg&Table magazine.

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Wicked Leeks is published by Riverford Organic Farmers.

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Riverford grows and sells organic food through its award-winning veg boxes, delivering across the country to a loyal band of customers who share a passion for good food, good farming and good business.

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