OF&G :: The Blog

There’s only one farm in the country that can boast having hosted the nation’s favourite radio breakfast show.

OF&G licensee, John Hutchings, and his family had the surreal experience of providing the venue for Chris Evans’ BBC Radio 2 show on Friday last week having been edged into the situation by their neighbour – none other than TV presenter, Richard Madeley.

"Farmer John" Hutchings, in the spotlight with Chris Evans and Richard Madeley during the webcast of Friday's show

Around 13 million people tuned in to hear (and watch online) Chris and his team present their first ever “Show in a Field” from the Hutchings’ home at Talland Bay, near Looe.

Judging by the comments on the Radio 2 website, the somewhat impromptu event went down a storm with listeners, with even breakfast time legend, Sir Terry Wogan, adding his support in the online comments.

We were fascinated to know how the whole thing came about and what it was like for John and his family. John explained: “It started with Richard Madeley being on Chris’s show and he got into an amusing competition with one of Chris’s team, Jonny Saunders about who had the nicest field near their home, as Richard regularly crosses our field on his walks. Richard won because our field is in a beautiful spot and he suggested they should do the show from there.

“It was a foul day in the middle of June and was lashing with rain. I came in at about three o’clock for a change of clothes and listened to it on the Listen Again feature. It was all good fun, so I sent an email saying I’m “Farmer John”, as they were calling me, that I was the owner of Richard Madeley’s favourite field and to give us a bell if they fancied coming here. They called back and asked me to go on the radio, so I did and spoke to them about the field, the cafés, the beach, the view and how big the farm was. I asked them to come and do a show but said they had to bring all of the crew and Moira to read the news!”

Not necessarily expecting them to follow-up on the offer, John later got a call from the producers who wanted to come and visit. So he and his wife, Vanessa, put on a good show for their visitors with locally-made pasties and Cornish clotted cream teas and showed them around the land. The BBC team went away impressed, but it wasn’t until a couple of weeks before it actually happened that the plans were firmed-up.

John explained: “When it clear it was going to happen I went back on the radio last Tuesday and told them how the field was getting on, ready for their arrival. We kept the sheep off it and cut it for silage as late as we could, so it was nice and short and all clean and tidy.”

The farm is geared around a HLS agreement and focuses on spring and autumn lambs, with about 30 acres of cereals for home consumption – all organic. It’s not equipped for camping!

Fortunately, the infrastructure for the three to four hundred campers who would turn up was dealt with efficiently by the production company brought in by the BBC, Andrew Cheeseman Productions, and included putting a standpipe into the centre of the field to keep the temporary camp provided with water.

The campers were all ticket-only invitees of the Chris Evans Show, meaning that lots of work had to be done to make sure the facilities and safety complied with the BBC’s demands. A security team got to work ensuring only those who were meant to be there were on the farm, guiding the visitors to where they needed to be and keeping tabs on the broadcast equipment. A generator lorry provided a main and backup generator for the whole affair.

Chris Evans and his team turned up on the Thursday, in a helicopter Chris had hired to get them straight into a field on the Hutchings’ farm. They were picked up from the field by Vanessa in the family people carrier (Moira in the front, Chris in the small seats at the very back), while John collected two producers and the helicopter pilot using his quad and trailer. The contrast of going from a very expensive chopper to a farm quad was, apparently, not lost on them.

The campers were fed and entertained that night by the nearby Smugglers Rest, a taverna-style eatery, which put on a barbecue and live music from a local band.

John said: “It was a really good evening. Everyone came down to listen to the music and Jonny Saunders did a quiz for all the guests. Chris, Moira Stuart, the band, Scouting for Girls, and the whole team were there in the field just chatting to the public and all the guests for the show. It was a really laid back, nice evening.

“There was a competition for the best tent, so people had really made an effort. Someone had brought fairy lights, there was one tent with a glitter ball and others had those solar powered lamps stuck in the ground. There were a lot of really nice tents. At 6.15 the next morning they walked through the field playing a special jingle they’d recorded to wake everyone up ready for the show!”

As well as having Richard and Judy on the show, which was live-streamed on the internet, former world-class athlete Kriss Akabusi was on hand to lead some sporting challenges, though a highlight of the morning was newsreading legend, Moira Stuart, doing her bulletins from a horsebox!

“When we were planning the day they asked if I had a shed in the field or somewhere the news bulletin could be done from without interruption. We said the closest thing to that was the horsebox, which they thought was brilliant, so that’s how it came about. It’s funny but when the bulletin came on, everyone in the field just went quiet because Moira was doing the news.”

Even the local vicar got roped-in for the daily reflection spot on the show. John explained: “They were thinking of having the Archbishop of York but I said why not have the local vicar? She was terrified. She’d only been in the parish for a couple of weeks and knew that her bishop was listening, but she did really well.”

The Hutchings got swept up in the fun of the event and had a brilliant time. Contrary to what some less charitable souls might think, it wasn’t a money-spinner for the farm. They didn’t charge the BBC a penny and only took small recompense for their metered water and John’s very busy day on the JCB helping to set up the infrastructure.

So, in the final analysis, was it all worth it?

John is quite clear: “It was brilliant. There was a real buzz about it and everyone was really nice. It was great for the kids to see and they had their photos taken with the band. I had an access all areas pass which let me go anywhere in the setup. It was absolutely priceless. I tried to stay in the background during the broadcast, just watching it all happen, but they did pull me out at the end and I chatted to Chris before they finished the show.”

While on the air on Friday John wasn’t slow in inviting them back to do the same thing again next year. Will they?

“They might. You never know…”

• Catch up with the Show in a Field while you still can on the BBC website (watch and listen)

Something doesn’t sound quite right about that post title….

Anyway, the BBC is looking for young people with a talent of the knife-wielding variety, it seems. If you think that might be you, here are the details as they were sent to us:

CALLING ALL YOUNG BUTCHERS!

The search is now on for the UK’s top young talent, Young Butcher of the

Year is back. This series showcases the millions of young British workers

whose skills aren’t the kind to win them a million pound recording contract.

Following the success of last year’s series, Young Butcher of the Year is part

of a BBC Three series celebrating young trade talent across the country.

There are talent shows for dancers, singers and entertainers but what about

all those who never see the limelight?

If you are a talented young Butcher we want to hear from you. Or if you know

someone who fits the bill please get in touch.

We are looking for someone who can be a true ambassador for their trade,

who is aged 16-25 years, up for a challenge and wants to show the world their

skills!

Want to know more? Email: youngtalent@bbc.co.uk or contact…

Young Talent of the Year (series 2), Casting Team, Room 4060, BBC

Entertainment, Oxford Road, Manchester M60 1SJ.

Age limit: Applicants must be aged between 16-25 on the closing date

Exact closing date: 10PM Saturday 31st July 2010

Our team once again set up our stand at this year’s Natural & Organic Products Europe show. Here’s a report from our Research and Development Officer, Steven Jacobs:

Natural and Organic Products Europe is the only large UK trade show with such a concentration of businesses with organic product lines.

The OF&G stand with Glebe Farm in the foreground

The Grand Hall Olympia in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a glorious building. The size and the fact that it was built around 1886 and was first used for agricultural shows are all interesting facts but the glass and steel constructed roof is just breathtaking.

The organisers say that around 8,000 people attended the show over the two days of Sunday and Monday the 10^th and 11^th April 2010.

The OF&G stand (number 7060) originally 16 square metres on the end of a row meant we had three open sides facing down the hall from the back. On to this space we invited seven of our licensees to join us.

Our show presence, as seen from above

It worked really well. All those present agreed that the show was busier than the previous year and we were complemented many times on the look of our stand. We shared space and offered technical support and experience of the market (and the show) so businesses who are certified with us could have a solid presence at the event without breaking the bank and everyone who came with us helped to make it a really interesting stand to visit. The buzz on stand 7060 was notable throughout the two days of the event.

Our processing team spoke with a lot of people throughout the two days with key topics being the introduction of the EU organic logo and new labelling regulations that go with it. Rebecca Rayner, of Glebe Farm, reported huge interest in her range of organic flours and wheat, wheat-free and gluten-free bread mixes and cake mixes, and left with around 50 leads.

Many visitors to the stand were also pleased to see our display of a variety of licensees’ products.

As the coordinator I would like to thank the team at Diversified and especially the people at Earls Court and Olympia, who operate the ground staff for the event, as they were very professional and quick to help us in every way they could. I’m not just creeping, without that clear help it would have been a lot more work for us.

If you have been to the show please let me know how it was for you and if you haven’t but are interested in going to future exhibitions write to me with your thoughts (steven.jacobs@organicfarmers.org.uk).

We’ve also uploaded a new Flickr set of the pictures Steve took at the show. Feel free to have a browse through.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ofg/sets/72157623785637453/show/

There seems to be some confusion over how much food we’re going to need in the future. The trouble is, instead of all the interested parties putting their heads together to solve this rather important problem (or at least come to a mutual best guess) the issue has been turned into an unseemly public row.

It all stems from the oft-quoted belief that we need to double food production by 2050 to keep everyone on the planet fed. That is, of course, a pretty tall order and becomes very contentious when you consider that some of the leading proponents of those figures are the biotech companies who claim to have the key to enabling that kind of growth (and therein lies a whole other, huge argument!).

In the past week the Soil Association (the charity, not the organic control body, Soil Association Certification Ltd – for the sake of clarity) has released its own analysis of these figures, which it believes are grossly inflated. Fair enough, you might say. Another element to the debate to consider.

We’re not sure, however, that the SA report is exactly going out of its way to foster an atmosphere of rational and considered debate. You only have to look at the title: “Telling porkies: The big fat lie about doubling food production“. [Adobe PDF download]

In the introduction, the report says:

“This briefing paper reports our investigations into the sources and basis of these figures. It outlines the assumptions upon which they are based and shows that, among others, the Government’s Chief Scientist, the President of the National Farmers’ Union, Syngenta, Monsanto, Government Ministers and the Conservative Party have all got their facts wrong.”

That’s a whole long list of people who now seriously have their backs up and probably aren’t going to go out of their way to include the Soil Association (and maybe the rest of the organic sector) in the debate. Unfortunately it gives them the perfect opportunity to dismiss us all as slightly hysterical.

This all runs somewhat counter to what the SA director, Patrick Holden, said at the charity’s last conference, where he talked about the whole of the agricultural community working together, rather than antagonising each other.

There are some undeniable realities to this report. The figures do appear to require further scrutiny. And of course, as with anything, there are going to be many ways toward addressing the problems, not just intensive farming or GM.

But what we have said, time and again for almost the last 20 years, is that we are all part of UK agriculture, with a role to play. Effectively branding others who are part of the debate as liars doesn’t seem, well… productive.

There’s no denying the Soil Association should be a strong voice in this debate. It represents a committed and caring membership who believe in food production that supports and enhances the land while producing high quality food. That’s why OF&G is a member of the charity too. You stand up for what you believe in.

But have you ever heard the phrase “you’ll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar”? It was repeated to me many years ago by a colleague who had just heard it from a battle-weary police inspector. It rang true then and it rings true now.

If the figures are wrong (and there are reasons to suspect they might be) we need to know. We also need to promote the role organic farming can play in meeting our needs for the future without going entirely down an ever more intensive and chemical or biotech-reliant route.

To do that we need to be heard, not met by the rest of the interested parties effectively sticking their fingers in their ears and humming ‘la, la, la, can’t hear you” when we say what needs to be said, just because they think what we’re saying has no value.

So come on Soil Association. You have the loudest voice in the organic sector. It’s not just about getting the headlines, it’s about getting the job done. We continue to support you. We continue to work with you. But sometimes we feel the need to whisper in your ear that perhaps it would be more productive to calm down a bit.

It’s with great pleasure we can unveil details of National Organic Cereals 2010.

This will be the third of our one-day events which take a warts-and-all look at the challenges and rewards of organic cereal production – an area where there’s great potential for growth.

National Organic Cereals, which we run in association with Abacus Organic Associates, has grown tremendously in the three years and this time around we’re looking at staging our biggest and best event yet, with the backing of key members of the industry.

The line-up of delegates and exhibitors really has become a who’s who of the organic arable, feed, seed and milling sector and as well as being chock-full of useful advice and presentations, it’s the biggest opportunity in the organic cereals calendar for a get-together and a great (organic) lunch!

This year we’re once again delighted to have Triodos Bank as our headline sponsor, along with critical sponsorship support from Organic Arable, Robin Appel Ltd, HGCA, Warminster Maltings, B&W Feeds and Norton Organic Grain.

We like to move the event around the country to make it accessible to as many people as possible, so for 2010 we’re in Andover, Hampshire, following Suffolk last year and Shrewsbury the year before.

A key part of the day is the chance to view and discuss the trial crops we’ve had planted, which this year include 21 varieties of wheat, eight of triticale, five of oats and five of rye/spelt. In addition there will be a variety of organic malting barley. This makes the farm walks a very popular part of the day.

If you haven’t been before we recommend taking a closer look. If you have been we very much hope you recognise the value of coming again.

Around 190 people attended last year and we’re gearing up for the same, or more, this year, but numbers will be limited by facilities and we can only feed those who book in advance, so please do grab your booking form and get in early. At £15, including lunch, we believe National Organic Cereals has a value way beyond the ticket price!

Click here for the official blurb and links to download delegate and exhibitor booking forms…

Below is the Flickr set of photos from last year, to give you an idea of what to expect (or maybe spot yourself in the pictures…):

The long running saga that is the Farmers Weekly jumper hoo-har draws to a close today – at least for us…

We’ve picked a winner from those kind people who made a donation to the RABI via our JustGiving page. We raised £57 in the end.

We thought it would be fair to let everyone see the draw take place, so here’s our short film in which you will discover the name of the winner, to whom we send our warm congratulations! Bad luck to everyone else who were keen enough to get their hands on it that they were willing to part with their cash!!!