Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
City food hall boss digs deep to snap up her own 97-acre farm
Ambitious Goods Shed owner to grow food and rear livestock on land
Anyone who has watched Jeremy Clarkson’s exploits on Amazon Prime will be familiar with the long list of problems that come with running a farm.
But one of Canterbury’s most prominent businesswomen is determined to make a success of her latest acquisition - a 97-acre plot south of Faversham.
Susanna Sait has this week purchased the arable land near Sheldwich – which she describes as a “totally blank canvas”.
The Goods Shed owner has already been growing crops on a smallholding, but believes the addition of the new site will help her highlight “the ups and downs of the journey”.
“The demand for local produce went through the roof during the first lockdown,” she told the Gazette.
“The awareness of the importance of low food miles and really fresh produce, even seasonal eating, is growing all the time.
“Looking forward, with fuel prices increasing, we believe our local food networks will become more and more vital.
“The challenge is to keep the economic viability while regenerating the land and producing fresh local food.”
Ms Sait is planning on planting an orchard growing hard-to-find heritage fruits, like golden gage, green gage, quince and damson.
The produce will be used by the restaurant at the Goods Shed, while also filling some of its market’s shelves, which are regularly browsed by local chefs.
Meanwhile, she wants to set down pasture, create woodland and expand her flock of sheep, while rearing outdoor pigs and rare-breed cattle that could be sold in the Goods Shed butchery.
“We don’t have a gooseberry supply in the Goods Shed, and we think those old-fashioned fruits are becoming more popular, especially with chefs,” Ms Sait added.
“We don’t have a consistent supply of those. Up until now, the only gooseberries we’ve had have been from people’s plants
that they’ve harvested for us.”
Writing on Twitter, Ms Sait said “we’ve just got massively in debt” when she announced the purchase of the land.
But having drawn up a business plan for it, she’s hoping the farm will eventually pay for itself.
“We had to borrow money to buy the farm,” she explained.
“To do anything and stick your neck over the parapet, you have to take a risk, don’t you? Things aren’t always a safe bet.
“But we’ve taken a risk to do things that are important environmentally.”
The difficulties with starting your own farm have gained wider interest since the airing of Clarkson’s Farm.
The 10-part series charts the outspoken petrol-head’s trials and tribulations after he took over the reins at a 1,000-acre site in the Cotswolds.
But such concerns have failed to put Ms Sait off, having come from a long line of farmers - even beginning her working life corn
‘To do anything and stick your neck over the parapet, you have to take a risk, don’t you?’
carting at the age of 14. In fact, she has not even watched the former Top Gear presenter’s programme.
“During my first job, I was given a tractor and trailer to run alongside the combine and collect the corn,” Ms Sait continued.
“We used to work for nine, 10 hours a day. Farming’s a big partofmylife.
“I need to do a lot of research and various bits and pieces now, so I don’t think anything will really happen before spring.
“The project probably won’t even reach its full potential within our lifetime.”