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.
It’s wild, grim and muddy out there, bringing growth to a standstill which will last six weeks. With so little vegetable stimulus, my thoughts fell to Brexit for this newsletter, but you are spared;…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 7th December 2018
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On his small two-acre farm in southern Uganda, Charles grows bananas, papaya, coffee, pineapples and a range of vegetables, as well as fodder for his two beloved cows.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 30th November 2018
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I spent last week with my team in the French Vendée, attempting to learn from this year’s mistakes, plan crops for next year, and form some sort of plan to mitigate Brexit risk.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 16th November 2018
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November is the grimmest month. With one water-laden weather front after another driven in off the Atlantic, dumping their loads at the first landfall, we are constantly reminded of the proximity of…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 9th November 2018
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A thin layer of ice formed this morning on the rising waters of my newly built irrigation reservoir, and hung around all day; a week of frost and northerly winds has brought an abrupt end to two…
By Guy Singh-Watson - 2nd November 2018
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Last week London’s Bargehouse Gallery hosted We Feed The World, an international photography exhibition focusing on the smallholder farmers who still produce 70 per cent of the world’s food.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 19th October 2018
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Ellis spots the debate around rewilding as a climate solution and tool to restore nature and wonders whether every little might help.
By Ellis - 24th January 2020
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Cutting beef and dairy consumption by a fifth and increasing tree cover are among new recommendations by the government's Climate Change Committee in a report on land use.
By Nina Pullman - 23rd January 2020
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By training families to farm sustainably, the new Send a Cow and Tusk campaign hopes to alleviate hunting pressures on Uganda's Murchison Falls national park.
By Guy Singh-Watson - 23rd January 2020
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This Scottish feast is the perfect way to banish the winter blues – with haggis, neeps and tatties, and other hearty Scottish dishes washed down with a dram or two.
By Becky Marshall - 23rd January 2020
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An obsessive attention to waste, absolute efficiency and micro supply chains – could a Marie Kondo-approach to farming hold the key to sustainability?
By Anna Turns - 22nd January 2020
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New appeal from Send a Cow and Tusk, and matched by government funding, will fund training in sustainable farming to replace poaching in Uganda.
By Nina Pullman - 20th January 2020
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