The Riverford Blog

One of the worst things about the supermarket dominated food supply system is the way it has undermined this country’s long established horticultural grower base.

On a recent trip to Moss Side to see potential partners or growers for our network of farms, I was struck by the general air of despair in an area that, not so long ago, was thriving on providing excellent produce for nearby Manchester. It seems to be a similar story in Evesham and Kent.

Many smaller growers have been beaten into submission by the demands of the supermarkets’ centralised supply chain and all the prescriptive stuff that goes with it.

I admit that I had no idea the extent of what I was getting into when harvesting my first vegetables onto a wheelbarrow in 1986 or even when delivering the first boxes from a beaten up transit in 1993.

Though I am very proud that so many people across the country now enjoy our boxes and that our co-op members have a secure market for their produce, I never wanted to run a huge company and remain sceptical of the ongoing benefits of scale.

So, we are in the process of joining forces with farmers in other parts of the UK. The idea is to retain the social, environmental and economic benefits of small, local businesses, so retaining autonomy and regional character, while sharing the benefits of accumulated knowledge - be it the best carrot variety, how to control weeds in rhubarb or what to put in a box in February.

If our sister farms continue to grow at the present rate we will divide them to reduce food miles further and keep them at a personal size. The only hard and fast rule for our partnership of farms is that our decisions will be made as locally and with as few rules as possible, even if this does result in a little anarchy.

Well, the weather finally seems to have changed - at least for a bit! And with a couple of fine days on the trot we have been out madly trying to catch up with our planting. In order to keep our boxes full through the autumn and winter we need to plant hundreds of thousands of seedlings during the summer months. For what seems like weeks now we have been unable to get out planting because of the weather, and we were falling badly behind. But it’s not too late - yet! - and as long as we get a bit more good weather we will get everything in, although we will have to work some long days…

As part of our sustainability project, over the next month or so we’ll be turning our attention to the temperatures our vegetables experience between the farm and customers’ kitchens. This means re-evaluating trucks, vans and what happens on the doorstep. Last week, with the use of some simple temperature sensors we began to measure the effectiveness of different means of keeping the vegetables cool once they leave our fridges. From a tongue-and-groove lid, wet towels, to high-tech space blanket covering, all things are being considered in these initial stages, with a regular box being used to measure the relative efficacy of each method. We are now waiting for some more hot weather to see what happens with each method whilst boxes are shaded from direct sun.

The urgency of finding more sustainable ways of doing business was made very apparent today as the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph report that the International Energy Agency has predicted an oil crisis in five years time.

The IEA said that supply was falling faster than expected in mature areas, such as the North Sea and Mexico, while projects in new provinces such as the Russian Far East, faced long delays. Meanwhile consumption is accelerating on strong economic growth in emerging countries. The head of the IEA’s oil market arm, Lawrence Eagles said: “If we get to the point were there is insufficient supply, the only way to balance the market will be through higher prices and a drop in demand.”

Here’s a snap of some purple Kohl Rabi growing on our Home Farm in Devon. You can see they’re round like an apple, but did you know you can munch into them raw and eat them like an apple? Amazing things, vegetables…

Yesterday the Centre for Alternative Technology launched a very bold document putting forward a plan for Britain to become carbon free by 2027, which was reported on in the Guardian and the Telegraph.
CAT’s plan is definitely radical: less meat, and no flying; more local organic produce; and an “armada” of wind, tidal and solar generating facilities.
The main objections to the report’s proposals seem to be that such radical plans are politically unthinkable, and that the public - and more importantly businesses - will never go along with them willingly. But over at the BBC there’s a fascinating report about how businesses in the state of California are powering ahead with new green energy projects, and that the marketplace is the main driver of this change. California has led the way on a lot of recent revolutions - the internet being just one world-changing example - perhaps what’s happening there is showing us that the way to a greener future is possible without changing our capitalist ’way of life’?  

More proof - if proof were needed - that organic farming is good for wildlife, Martin found this bird’s nest lurking down among the tomatoes in one of the polytunnels…

In order to fruit, plants need to reproduce, and in order to reproduce, most need to be pollinated, and for this to happen they need insects. Out in the fields one of the main pollinating insects are bees, but obviously in the closed environment of a greenhouse or polytunnel, where we grow things like cucumbers and peppers, we need to bring them in and give them somewhere to live… and here it is!