Farm Walks

Earlier this year Soil Association hosted a lecture in memory of environmental campaigner Peter Melchett. The lecture covered issues that Peter cared deeply about and was delivered by Professor Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at Sussex University and Sébastien Treyer, Executive Director of IDDRI, an independent French policy research institute.

The Soil Association's brand new podcast, Farm Walks, gives a personal glimpse into farming in the UK. In episode two Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture at Soil Association, joins David Eagle from Devereux Farm to talk about coastal farming. David is a fourth-generation farmer from Kirby-le-Soken in Essex. His family have been farming here since the 1880s. Devereux Farm has a long-term threat from the rise in sea level due to its low-lying position next to the Walton Backwaters. To get around this challenge of coastal farming, in 2009, David decided to put himself right at the forefront of innovation by growing and processing sea buckthorn. This hardy, berry producing plant has the ability to survive extreme conditions, high or low temperatures and salty coastlines – it has also been known to fight soil erosion.

The Soil Association's brand new podcast, Farm Walks, gives a personal glimpse into farming in the UK. In episode one Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture at Soil Association, joins NFU chair John Pawsey. John has a 600 hectare mixed organic farm in Suffolk. In this podcast John talks about the reasons why he introduced sheep to his arable rotation and the benefits he’s seeing. He also touches on competition with overseas imports in the organic feed market, the Innovative Farmers field labs that he has been involved with – looking at weed control and no-tillage methods and his thoughts on the future of farming.