Last weekend, at the annual Organic Growers Gathering near Reading, I was among a small number of old-timers wheeled out to pass on our knowledge to the next generation. Mercifully, there were many more young entrants to our industry, most from non-farming backgrounds. For those not born into wellies, farming means learning an intimidating number of practical skills. One of the reasons, perhaps, why non-organic farming has historically been such a closed shop, no doubt contributing towards conservative, inward-looking leanings.
20 years ago, I regarded that skills mountain as insurmountable, but after employing some of these newcomers, I found myself converted by the determination and hard work that often accompanies the idealistic decision to put their bodies and minds towards improving our food system.
Maddie, who now manages 60 acres of veg on my 150-acre farm at Baddaford, didn’t fit the school system. She worked as a chef before studying regenerative agriculture at the Apricot Centre, a training centre just down the road from Riverford, while working with us as a practical placement. Four years later, she’s our farm manager. She would be the first to acknowledge that she has a lot to learn. But she has brought energy, determination, a fresh view, and people skills that more than make up for it. Her grit has earned her the respect of far more experienced old-timers. On a good day, we make an unstoppable team.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the power of diversity, in all its forms: in building effective teams, safe decision-making, and learning. I am also encouraged to find that conservative (with a small ‘c’) does not mean bigoted, and those gruff farmers can be surprisingly inclusive, working next to someone very different from themselves; we are all stronger for it. It makes the farm a place not just of toil,
but of joy and deep learning.
We must be one of the few commercial vegetable producers in the UK who have no trouble recruiting pickers. Maddie has made work fun and rewarding in a way I’ve never managed. This week they are picking demi-sec (‘half-dry’ – perfect for cooking) borlotti beans. Maddie and I both love them in a chorizo stew, through pasta, in salads and soups. The season is short – they will all be gone by mid-September. Grab a bag with your order while they last.
Photograph by Emma Stoner; Summer 2024 at Baddaford.
Our News from the Farm posts come from Riverford. They are the digital versions of the printed letters which go out to customers, every week via Riverford’s veg boxes. Guy Singh-Watson’s weekly newsletters connect people 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.
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