Self-confessed veg nerd, Guy Singh-Watson has over the last 30 years taken Riverford from one man and a wheelbarrow delivering homegrown organic veg to friends, to a national veg box scheme delivering to around 50,000 customers a week.
Guy is an opinionated and admired figure in the world of organic farming, who still spends more time in the fields than in the boardroom. Twice awarded BBC Radio 4 Farmer of the Year, Guy is passionate about sharing with others the organic farming and business knowledge he has accumulated over the last three decades.
His video rants have provided a powerful platform to do this, with a video on pesticides going viral on Facebook to reach 5.6 million views and 91,000 shares. His weekly veg box newsletters connect customers to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethical and business issues he feels strongly about.
In June 2018, Guy handed over the reins of Riverford to its staff, choosing employee ownership as the model that will protect Riverford's ethical values forever and ensure the security of its employees.
I left our farm in the Vendée region of western France this morning to the sight of our pickers disappearing into a massive, head-high crop of sweetcorn.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 18th July 2019
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Since collecting hazelnuts, dropped like gifts from heaven onto my shed roof with no effort on my part, the idea of growing nuts commercially took root and refuses to leave.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 11th July 2019
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There are few things more depressing to a grower than sick cucumbers hanging corpse-like on their strings – so this week we decided to cut our losses and rip out a third of the crop.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 5th July 2019
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After between three and six inches of rain (depending on location) in June, we now need some heat.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 28th June 2019
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Sitting in the warm and dry, listening to the thunder and watching the pounding rain outside being sucked into the parched soil, brings on a feeling of intense contentment – made all the better by…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 13th June 2019
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When I first asked our staff about employee ownership in 2003, with the suggestion that it could be financed by them forgoing their annual profit share for 20 years, they told me where I could stick…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 6th June 2019
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I left our farm in the Vendée region of western France this morning to the sight of our pickers disappearing into a massive, head-high crop of sweetcorn.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 18th July 2019
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One of the clear messages we received was that soil is difficult to communicate, awkward to relate to, hard to sell, writes Ellen Fay of the Sustainable Soils Alliance.
By Ellen Fay - 17th July 2019
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Over 200 guests enjoyed a pop-up feast extravaganza with underground cooking, seed-potting and more at Riverford’s Hampshire farm.
By Nina Pullman - 17th July 2019
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A major new report has outlined how food and farming can radically move away from producing and selling cheap food that degrades environment and causes ill health.
By Nina Pullman - 17th July 2019
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Perennial crops reduce cultivation of soil, increase carbon sequestration and can improve resilience of farming systems. So what’s holding them back? Nick Easen investigates.
By Nick Easen - 16th July 2019
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Since collecting hazelnuts, dropped like gifts from heaven onto my shed roof with no effort on my part, the idea of growing nuts commercially took root and refuses to leave.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 11th July 2019
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