Filming with Regen Farming Agroecology Experts…
We’ve had a really busy filming month! Last week, we were lucky enough to visit Shimpling Park Farm (an organic arable farm with sheep in Suffolk) on a stunning autumnal day. John and Alice Pawsey generously gave up a day to us and also invited our principal Anna and her dad Andrew to stay the night before. Anna did a sit-down interview with John and as a new entrant she had much to ask. First, they discussed the role of the family on the farm, which is pertinent to Anna as she works with her parents. John told her that everyone that worked on the farm from his children to the contractor workers are all part of the Shimpling Park family. For him, “relationships are the most important part of my farm, I believe in showing everyone love and gratitude.” In return they have a very loyal team.
When talking about organic and regenerative farming practises John said, “We are regenerative first and organic second - organic has to be regenerative to work” (we will leave you with that to mull over!) They discussed the extensive diversity of the crops that John grows creating a more resilient enterprise, by spreading his risk. He is also enjoying selling to the likes of Hodmedods who label up their products with the farmer’s name. John likes to have that connection with the customer and a short supply chain.
After over 20 years of organic farming, John feels the business is in a strong position but he told Anna that he’s learning something new every day. He said the main problem he has is when his “eyes on the farm are not ‘organic’” i.e. he was used to using chemicals to control weeds and pests and instead he has had to learn to be more observant and use biology to boost the health of the soil and crops.
As we took a tour of the farm he explained the dilemma over ploughing, how it’s being demonised in the regen world. Anna was enthralled to learn more as on their farm they don’t have a plough. As Shimpling Park farm is organic, and they don’t use herbicides, they need to do some shallow ploughing but not every year, they assess each field, each year and then decide on how to cultivate it. John is also a fan of using technology to help him make the right decisions. He and his team work hard to try and understand his land.
Whilst watching a field being ploughed we were all ‘wowed’ by the smell of the soil as it was cut through, that field had not been ploughed for over five years and John confirmed they had been building the soil’s biology to create a perfect growing environment. As Anna has sheep, they discussed mob grazing across all fields as part of the arable rotation, the stocking levels and the selling of the meat (which Alice oversees).
Our final exploration led us to the ancient woodland, which is now undergoing long term restoration in the form of the ancient practice of rotational coppicing. It’s fenced to protect the new coppice from deer damage, with the resulting timber providing a sustainable source of fuel used on the farm. Both Alice and John are very passionate about the work being done here, it’s a special site.
It was a joy to spend more time with John, and meet Alice, they have such a positive attitude to life and they kept us all very amused whilst sharing their inspirational journey.
In the afternoon at Shimpling Park Farm we were lucky enough to film Anna doing an interview with the truly inspirational Josiah Meldrum. He’s one of the founders of Hodmedods who work with British farms to source a range of top quality ingredients. They’re particularly interested in searching out less well-known foods, like the fava bean – grown in Britain since the Iron Age but now almost forgotten – and black badger peas.
Hodemdods label their products with the farmer’s details and it’s important for them that the customer has an understanding of farming and that there is a connection to the producer. It’s important for us all to understand that farming is not only a job but an identity. Anna wanted to know more about this and how Hodmedods work closely with farmers and have created a trustworthy relationship, how they have encouraged farmers to diversify and to include pulses in their rotation - the Pawsey’s were persuaded to grow lentils and chia at Shimpling Park Farm.
They discussed large issues in the food system at present including how politicians absolve themselves of responsibility when it comes to food production and lay it at the feet of the farmers. How can we make sure everyone can have access to good food and how supermarkets need to take responsibility for their actions.
Thank you to Josiah for his time - he is very much in demand doing talks and interviews, we are so grateful to you for giving us your time - we captured his pearls of wisdom for the film especially his insights into agroecology.