Meeting at Shillingford Organics
Owner Martyn Bragg showed us around his farm near Exeter where he grows fruit and vegetables for sale via veg boxes, at farmers markets and wholesale to local businesses. We had a look at the crops growing in the polytunnels and on the fields. We learned about the business model in which different growers work on the farm and how the crops they grow complement each other. Soil fertility is maintained by green manure that is incorporated in the rotation of the crops. We mostly managed to dodge the rain and went for a tractor ride to look at the more distant fields.
We had a discussion on ‘How to support local food production’. Martyn said young people wanting to start a business growing vegetables struggle to find available land. He also said Shillingford Organics could be selling more vegetable boxes but there is no demand. Questions arose regarding championing local councils so that they increase the amount of land allocated for local food production. Points and questions that came out of the discussion include:
- Training on regenerative agriculture is provided by the Apricot Centre.
- Can we individually contact schools, care homes and similar to ask if they would buy more local food? The group thought it unlikely this would work because of the budget constraints of the institutions.
- Martyn pointed to the Devon Food Partnership which he hopes will incorporate procurement of local food for schools and businesses.
- The government was trialling a procurement pilot in the SW, but unfortunately funding was withdrawn before it was launched.
- The Good Food Loop is a platform that connect different growers in the SW.
- Exeter Community Initiatives is organising The Big Exeter Feast in November with lots of events around food in the city.
There was also a discussion about local markets and the ones that work well. Working people cannot attend the markets that are in the middle of the day during the week. Please contact the 4Fs group if you know anyone wanting to champion buying local food or open new farmers markets.
Applying for a countryside stewardship woodland grant and possible meetings on agroforestry and woodland creation
Steven Short shared his experience of applying for a grant to create a large area of woodland. If you have recently applied for a similar grant and would like to share it with the group please contact 4Fs. We can look into organising a meeting on woodland creation to share experiences. We are also planning a meeting on agroforestry.
Water quality event
A new Water Quality Group has been formed following the meeting on this topic in June to carry on the discussion and take small projects forward. The next meeting will discuss natural flood management on the Teign, pollution coming from disused mines, contacting South West Water, and water quality measurements being taken and the state of the rivers. If you want to take part in the meeting please contact the 4F’s group.
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