From LEAF Farmer Duncan Farrington
November Newsletter
The rain finally stopped,
the sun came out, and harvest was at last finished! The Indian summer continued, allowing us to crack on with autumn cultivations and planting of next year’s wheat which is now beginning to emerge through the soil with the shoots of a new season just beginning, as another farming cycle finishes and we celebrate harvest festival.
As the young shoots of new crops emerge, our thoughts again turn to looking after the new crop, and the many different challenges it may face in the next eleven months before it is ready to harvest. The weather is always the main factor, however our concern at the moment is rabbits, and lots of them. Last year they decimated a large area of our rapeseed crop, which we do not want a repeat of this year. The cure is simple, but takes persistence and skill. Professional hunters shoot them late at night when the rabbits are out in the fields busily nibbling the crops. So far in a couple of evenings they have shot over 200, which will no doubt end up in local butchers and on menus at local restaurants. There is still plenty of work to do on the farm, which Father is continuing with. Our new man on the farm for harvest has now left, and the search continues for a reliable farm worker. For me however it is back to the more pressing needs of Farrington Oils, which Jo and Rob have admirably been running alone during harvest.
We are now busy bottling oil ready for the Christmas period, when everyone will be roasting their winter vegetables and potatoes in Mellow Yellow. We are also in the middle of developing a couple of new culinary delights that will compliment the two existing dressings, with Eli experimenting on various different recipes, to find the winning combination that will be ready for the shops next spring.
During October I hosted some LEAF visits around the farm. For those of you who have not heard me mention LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) before, it is an organisation that voluntarily promotes good environmental practices in farming to the general public. I host around 15 visits a year, of which we had four groups in one week – two college groups, the RSPB and 40 children from the local primary school. It is always enjoyable showing different groups an insight into modern farming ideas, and where our food comes from. To have a bus load of 7 to 11 year olds though, can be a bit daunting. Obviously it was raining when they got here, some had remembered their wellies, and others not. Off we set, with nervous teachers in tow; we look at everything from tractors, to big heaps of wheat, wiggly worms, and leaves on trees. The enthusiasm of the children is infectious, with a continuation of hands in the air eager to answer the questions. The rain even stops and the teachers are looking more relaxed.
By the end of the visit, 40 wet, muddy and happy children, a few having been stung by nettles get back on the bus. Their knowledge of agriculture and the countryside was already surprisingly good, and hopefully they will have gone away knowing a bit more of what goes on around our farms, and where the food they eat comes from. In the meantime I go back into the office happily exhausted form the invasion.
