In these days of supermarkets and agri-business, harvest festivals become less about local food than a collection of food from any source; less about celebrating the harvest than carrying on a tradition. We need to regain control of this festival and celebrate it for the important point in the calendar that it marks. In September the UK has the best possible diversity of local food available than at any other month of the year - meat, fish, grains, fruit, vegetables…it’s all there.

Whilst the evenings draw in, the quality of light improves, the hedgerows and trees start turning colour and a mellow air descends on the rural scene. A time for reflection and relaxation for many in the farming and growing community.

A few years ago I attended by far and away the best harvest festival I’ve ever been to. It was organised by ISEC and held on the Dartington Estate near Totnes, and was a truly local harvest festival. It featured about 20 local producers, all selling quality food, and in the middle of the square was a huge apple press where tonnes of local apples were being turned in to juice. On top of all this were some inspiring talks about the benefits of local food. The atmosphere was fantastic and it felt like a celebration with deep meaning and reverence for the local landscape, farmers and their land.

This shoudn’t be a rare occurrence, but sadly it is. Harvest festivals are an essential part of rural life and should not be bastardised by displays of food from foreign lands with no emphasis on local farming and growing.We need to reclaim the meaning of a festival of the local harvest and replicate festivals like the one held at Dartington time and time again, until it is re-woven in to the fabric of society.

Today I was washing some honey jars in the kitchen, ready for re-filling, and had Radio 4 on. The next programme was announced as being “about commodity trading.” Oh no, dull as dishwater I thought (excuse the pun). But my ears pricked up as I heard the presenter being Alvin Hall - someone I’ve always admired for putting financial issues in to very plain English.

“Commodity” is not a term I like applied to food, but in the language of investors that is what food is - a commodity that is as every bit as important as oil and metals. What is interesting is the perception of food in the commodity traders’ eyes. Perhaps it’s not the central importance to life that we recognise - health, landscape, rural society, wildlife, etc; but what is being clearly recognised, is that food is no longer a cheap “commodity” in plentiful supply.

One American commentator, Jim Rogers, goes on to say “when this bull market comes to an end you’re going to see farmers on the front cover of Fortune magazine…just like now you see the 29-year old’s from Wall St…it’s soon going to be the 29-year old cotton farmers…they’re going to have the great fortunes.”

So, if global investment bankers think farmers are going to “have the great fortunes” soon, those claims would surely not be said without a good deal of thought and reasoning based on market intelligence and consumer buying trends?

If this is true then it’s good news, but it does mean that people will have to be prepared to pay a fair price for food, which means a higher proportion of their income (as people used to). This will mean quite a major shift in priorities for most people…so can the investors see something that we in the organic movement can’t?

Anyway, if you’re interested you can listen again to the programme here until July 28th.

People needed food, quickly. Rationing systems were put in place immediately, but at the same time huge effort was put in to food production. Before the special period Cuba’s agriculture chemical and oil use per acre was higher than that of the USA. Suddenly they had virtually no inputs to use…the answer? Organic market gardening.

This bit of film, from Monty Don’s Around the world in 80 gardens is nothing short of pure inspiration. It’s not just the quality of the organic vegetables, but the aesthetic beauty, the social benefits and sheer hard work and dedication to make it work that impresses.

It promises to be a good event, with a good mix of technical with social, horticulture and agriculture, good food and good company.

The event takes place at Hankham Organics, East Sussex on 12th to 13th of July. Cost £30 per person to include meals - field available for camping. Full details are available here.

To book a place contact Jemima Roberts on 01273 622620 or 07976 012713, or e-mail jemimaroberts@hotmail.com.

The Greenhorns is a documentary film that explores the lives of America’s young farming community—its spirit, practices, and needs. It was only made recently and exposes a whole new side to America that most people will be entirely unaware of.

Their aim “is to valorize the role of younger growers who continue to refine farming practices, to innovate in new markets, and to reclaim land under sustainable management. With this film, we hope to build the case for those considering a career in agriculture—to embolden them, to entice them, and to recruit them into farming.”

There are many parallels to Organic Futures and we are forging links with active members in the Greenhorns to share ideas, enthusiasm and experiences.

The Greenhorns are also keeping an interesting blog, which is well worth a look.

It’s very refreshing to see a high profile competition for rural businesses - with TV programmes like Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, the city lifestyle and cut-and-thrust of boardrooms is made to appear very attractive. Yet there are so many great businesses that are in rural areas - many of which are every bit as innovative, market-focused and customer driven as high flying city businesses…albeit with lower turnovers!

Last year the winners of the £10,000 cash prize were Ben and Charlotte Hollins of Fordhall Farm in Shropshire. The story of the saving of Fordhall Farm is an incredible one, a feat against all odds and it now exists as probably the best community land initiative in the country, whilst being a beautiful place and a profitable business. It is thoroughly inspiring and a worthy winner of the prize.

Young Rural Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 is now open for entries. The criteria are simple: you are eligible if you are under 35 and run a business with a rural theme in the UK. This is well worth entering…imagine what you could do with £10,000?

Click here for more details.

Young Producer Weekend

Hankham Organics - 12-13th July 2008

Hankham Organics is situated near Pevensey in East Sussex and includes a 1.5 acre glasshouse. A wide variety of traditional and glasshouse crops are grown for a box scheme and wholesale market.

 This event is aimed at young and aspiring horticulturists interested in gaining a valuable insight into the workings of a viable commercial organic growing business. Miles Denyer and Peter Dollimore will host the day and their combination of practical and business skills will ensure this is an insightful and informative event. On Sunday morning there will also be the opportunity to have a walk around neighbouring Montague Farm, situated on the Pevensey Marshes (SSSI) and run by Martin and Gundrada Hole who produce and market their own organic lamb and beef. Montague Farm pride themselves on placing the needs of wildlife at the forefront of all that they do and consider themselves conservationists first and foremost. 

This is a fantastic opportunity not only to gain valuable technical insight but also a great chance for a social get-together with fellow horticulturists and producers - not to be missed! 

Please aim to arrive by 1.30pm on the Saturday. The walk and talk at Hankham will run from approximately 2pm-6.30pm with a break for tea at 4pm. There will also be an evening meal and field space for camping provided. Sunday morning’s farm walk at Montague Farm will run from 10-12am.

Cost: £30 to include farm walks, overnight camping plus evening meal and breakfast.

 ****Book early to avoid disappointment – places will sell out fast!**** 

For further information or to book your place, please contact: 

Jemima Roberts 01273 622620 / 07976 012713 jemimaroberts@hotmail.com  

Organic food attracts premium prices and it appears organic land does also. Whilst this is a positive in that the value of organic husbandry is being reflected in capital values, it makes it even harder for existing organic farms to be taken on by a younger generation.

Here are some illuminating figures from the Times online:

£3,500 Price of an average acre of farmland a year ago
£5,000 Price that an acre is close to fetching today
£7,000 Price today of an acre of prime arable land
£10,000 Rural market experts say this will be the cost of an acre within three years

Recent sales and valuations of organic farms show a trend in prices exceeding the £5,000 average by quite a margin. Small acerages (which have market potential for horsey-culture).

There is a clear need for some serious thinking from all parties involved in land management for some solutions to these issues. Without some intervention, land will continually be bought up by large businesses and as investments, perpetuating the trend in de-ruralisation and creating an ever-deader rural Britain.

Voter apathy isn’t the only outcome of perhaps a combination of a general feeling of political malaise, over-centralised power nuclei or a distinctly crumbling faith in our ‘leaders’, though it is all of these I’m sure, but it is also part of a more sinister undercurrent that tickles at the underbelly of our society. Perhaps I have been jaded by the claustrophobia of my urban surroundings; my bucolic roots melting after too long spent blinking under the harsh city lights, but it seems to me that we are closer to a nation of consumers than we are active citizens. This isn’t self-coined, such an idea is echoed and proliferated in the media in both its mainstream and more radical fringes. If we take food as one example: do we grow our food? If not, do we know who does? Do we cook our food or do we simply buy our food?

I’m determined to be optimistic about this, so let’s flip this one over. Let’s take up the mantle and actively vote with our purses. Let’s spend every penny and pound wisely, in every sense of the word. Be brazen, be bold, be active, be responsible: ask questions. When shopping for food, ask the retailer/producer/farmer/grower how it was grown/reared/produced, where it comes from, how far it has travelled and how, who made/grew/reared it, is it free range, what does free range mean, is it organic… these are just some of the questions to ask, ask, ask and never stop asking. If you don’t get an answer, you soon will. The more people that ask questions about the provenance of their food the more that everyone involved in producing food will take note and crucially take heed. Go that one step further too and choose the food that has answers; that you can trace from your fork back to the garden fork. Money, as unfortunate a paradigm as this may be, does speak and loudly too, everyone from small companies to huge multinational corporations are only in the business of selling things that people will buy, so let’s tell them and let’s show them.

Of course, where we spend every penny of our every pound matters. But if we can begin anywhere, let it be with our food. Food and cooking are a fervent, bubbling over passion of mine and I firmly believe that our attitude to food as individuals and as a society profoundly mirrors our attitude to so many other facets of life. I get excited when we come into Autumn and I can eat pumpkins again, I am frequently and flagrantly seduced by herbs and their taste tantalisingly flirtatious aromas… positively gleeful when the hot Summer days bring with them an array of salad leaves… and I could go on but then perhaps I should leave that for my next blog.

For today, dear reader, just take one little kernel with you and stow it safely in your pocket (or wherever else you may find it again and again): it is important to remember that less is always more and to never, ever stop asking questions.

His doctor has clearly prescribed pills for virtually every ailment he has (which is quite a lot). The approach I found completely counter-intuitive; pharmaceuticals arguably have a place for treating specific ailments, but the modern pharmaceutical industry is a voracious industry that generates huge profits on the back of huge sales.

Why not prescibe health-promoting meals, perhaps some herbal medicine and some accupuncture, for instance? I am in no doubt that the pills my Grandad is taking, is massively contributing to his continuing ill health.

The approach of conventional medicine is very similar to that of the agro-chemical industry, and indeed many of the companies are the same. The approach to life underpinned by organic food should also be complemented by an alternative, holistic view of health as a positive state of being, rather than an absence of disease.

Ultimately in Organic Futures we must help to foster a new vision of healthy people and healthy land - the two are inseparable.

I planted out a lot of salad crops that got a bit of a beating from the wind and aren’t looking very happy at the moment. Then there’s my early spuds, which down here on the Isles of Scilly we can plant very early (January) because of the lack of frost. We do, however, have another problem - strong and salt-laden winds.

Three weeks ago saw Southerly winds over 90mph, which really battered the spuds, then last week over 60mph, both times with lots of salt in the wind. But they must be hardy spuds, because they’ve bounced back and are looking surprisingly good. I aim to start digging the first week of May, but that all depends on what the weather’s like between now and then.

That’s the thing with growing, you can’t predict the weather - and even if you could you can’t do anything about it!

“The model in the twenty-first century will be re-ruralisation and more human labour in agriculture. The twenty-first century farmer will have 5 acres, lots of friends, and an intensive knowledge of ecology. Now relocation is virtually inevitable due to rising sea levels.”

THIS is why Organic Futures exists - there will have to be a massive re-ruralisation in all industrialised countries.

Richard Heinberg’s website: www.richardheinberg.com/

Read a summary of a brilliant Richard’s talk at a recent Findhorn conference here.

It’s a phenomenon that will have an enormous effect on everyone living in an industrialised country. Very briefly, Peak Oil relates to the peak, or maximum production, of world oil production. As the image below illustrates, beyond this point oil won’t run out, but it gets much more scarce. Combined with rising demand from countries becoming industrialised and it doesn’t take a genius to see that we are facing a future with restricted availability of oil.

This has huge implications for us - there is literally no part of our lives that currently are not dependent to some degree on a constant supply of cheap oil. There is no doubt that we must decouple our lives from a dependency on oil, moving to low-carbon lifestyles and living in resilient communities.

The Transition initiatives approach takes Peak Oil and Climate Change as an opportunity for people at community level to change their lifestyles for the better whilst making an enormous difference to their ecological and carbon footprints. Read up about Transition and get involved with something happening near you - if there isn’t one then think about starting one!

Producers have always been the heart of the organic movement, but in recent years with the rise of organic food sales in supermarkets and the general expansion of the organic market (now worth over £2bn per year), producers have not been at the forefront.

The Organic Growers Alliance is for growers, run by growers. They have gained a wide membership quite quickly, are running several excellent events this year, publish a superb quarterly publication The Organic Grower, and have a great new website.

Anyone working in, or wanting to work in, organic horticulture should become a member. It’s a great way to network, share ideas and experiences and benefit from the clout of lots of growers working together.

And if you’re still interested then watch part two!

So go and have a look at their website and visit them sometime.