ON THE FARM WITH ADAM
ADAPTATION WILL BRING OUT THE BEST IN US
Farmers have to innovate to get food to customers during the Covid crisis.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
It’s not often that I quote Charles Darwin (this might even be a first), but the words of the great Victorian naturalist seem particularly appropriate as we approach Christmas and come near to the end of a trying year. And if there are any positives to be drawn from the dreadful events of 2020, surely they include the flexibility of Britain’s farmers to tailor their businesses to meet all sorts of new consumer demands.
Believe me, that’s not easy in an industry reliant on long-term planning. I was impressed by the ingenuity of the gin distilleries up and down the country that converted to manufacturing antibacterial hand sanitiser, but turning on a sixpence like that is much harder in a world of arable rotation, commitments to what’s already growing in the ground and price-fixed contracts to supply wholesalers or supermarkets.
BOLD VENTURES
Many farmers and growers have faced the challenges head-on, though. Starting an innovative retail venture amid a pandemic might sound like a crazy idea, but in the heart of Banbury in Oxfordshire that’s what has happened. Producers have opened their own butcher, farm shop, bakery, cheese counter and various eateries under one roof, to revitalise the town centre and tap in to the public’s reawakened curiosity about where our food comes from. Called Happerley England, it prides itself on total transparency, traceability and truth; it’s an initiative I know well because I’m on Happerley’s Advisory Board.
Further south, in one of the old market towns that dot the Cotswolds, an independent butcher’s shop has been trading for the best part of a century. Like similar small enterprises, it is supplied with beef, lamb and pork (some of it from rare breeds) from nearby farms. When lockdown occurred, the catering and events side of the business collapsed. But by working with local livestock breeders, the butcher was able to make up his losses with a huge increase in footfall. New customers were attracted by something the supermarkets with long queues and empty shelves couldn’t guarantee: a consistent supply of high quality, locally produced meat.
Meanwhile in our orchards, the right combination of sun and rain has made it a bumper year. The Cotehele Estate in Cornwall has been growing cherries and apples near the steep banks of the River Tamar since at least the 1730s. But Covid-19 restrictions meant the current owners, the National Trust, couldn’t rely on staff or volunteers to harvest fruit from the 13 acres of orchards as usual. Instead, the site’s first Pick-YourOwn was launched for visitors, with the income generated spent on the upkeep of the trees.
We’ve seen examples of great ingenuity during this demanding period. For lots of poultry farmers and winter veg growers, Christmas is the most important and profitable time of the year. What happens this December is anyone’s guess. If the office Christmas meal is off-limits and households aren’t allowed to mingle on 25 December, what will demand be like for trees, turkey and all the trimmings? It could go either way. Whatever happens, I’m sure Britain’s freethinking farmers will live up to their great Darwinian reputation for adaptability.