ORFC Session - Avoiding Burnout and Looking after our Mental Health.

The Story Museum in Oxford - where we held our session.

At the Oxford Real Farming Conference in early January 2025 three of us Rebecca Stevenson (Five Acre Community farm)  Ben Raskin (The Soil Association)  and myself Ruth Hancock (Fresh and Green Vegetables)  facilitated a workshop on ‘Avoiding Burnout and Looking After Your Mental Health’.

This was proposed as a session to the conference by Rebecca - It had in fact been scheduled in previous years, but had had to be cancelled twice due to ill health – a telling situation perhaps?

 

The session began with us introducing ourselves,  giving the rough parameters of the topic, and the purpose of the workshop. We then gave a brief over view of our own experiences around this subject.

 

We followed this by breaking into three groups of between ten and twelve people to discuss initially our experiences of burnout / overwhelm / illness / injury and other situations and feelings related to stressors we had encountered as we worked on our farming and growing projects.

The three workshop leaders captured in note form, what was said in the individual groups. 

 

After reconvening  mid way for a whole group debrief on our discussion, we then went back into our separate groups to look at some of the solutions and ways of helping ourselves and each other.

 

I have tried to capture from the notes that we made, some of the broad themes, but also specifics that came up.

In order to respect the anonymity of participants, some potentially identifying details or specifics have been omitted.

 

Notes from our first sessions on personal experiences of burnout / breakdown / overwhelm.

·         Participants reported on experiencing personal and relationship difficulties, feelings of being unable to give enough time to their loved ones, whilst also dealing with the complexities of running a land based enterprise with limited resources - of both time, and material needs.

·         Overwhelm was often experienced when trying to balance the physical work required on a holding, alongside administration tasks such as accounts and other essential form filling.

·         The lack of money earned – whether as an owner / manager or as a paid worker. Owner operators were not able to financially support themselves properly – often working for well below the minimum wage – and were only able to pay other workers the minimum wage – And even then often only on seasonal contracts, so there wasn’t a continuity of knowledge of systems, nor security of income for the workers. 

·         Work outside the holding was often undertaken to ‘prop up’ the finances of the growing project. This was sometimes seen as a positive way of maintaining a balance in life – but could also be another cause of overwhelm if it took up too much time and energy.

·         Some people reported ‘falling out of love’ with the work when they did it full time, and didn’t have enough time for other pursuits.

·         Difficulties had been experienced in dealing with landlords if the growing site was rented – insecure tenancies and uncertainty over resources such as water, and who was going to maintain or replace infrastructure such as polytunnels.

·         Difficulties in securing finance to purchase land and infrastructure if that was the preferred business model – proving to lenders that the business was viable. Dealing with the bureaucracy surrounding this was often outside the skillset of the farmer – but they couldn’t afford professional help.

·         If the land was already ‘in the family’ there could be intergenerational difficulties in getting change of use or system of growing ‘approved’ by the family.

·         Dealing with local planning departments to obtain permission for infrastructure and onsite dwelling

·         Compliance with systems such as organic certification, and other schemes involving defra. Livestock keeping often added to these issues.

·         Having extra helpers via voluntary schemes such as wwoof could be very positive – but had on occasion added to stress via having to deal with people who didn’t fit in well to the existing structure – accommodations were often made – but boundary setting was not always easy with people often living together as well and tensions could arise.

·         Working in isolation, in sparsely populated areas could lead to loneliness or boredom.

·         Being at the mercy of the weather / climate change and the uncertainty of what was to come in an increasingly unstable climate.

·         The realities of day-to-day physical work being often quite hard on the body – people running holdings that were already ‘under staffed’ didn’t feel able to take time off to recover or rest if they became ill or injured.

·         Some people had become injured or suffered illness either physical or mental to the point that they could no longer carry on working at that rate and had to go part time – or had had to quit altogether. 

      Uncertainty about the future - not having a pension plan, or savings and other resources if they had to quit the work – having accommodation ‘tied’ to the business.

 Feelings of being unable to complain about these difficulties as it felt like ‘letting the side down’ as we are mindful of trying to model and practice a different and ‘better’way.

·         ‘Bosses’ being unsympathetic to their workers needs, expecting too much – or else not giving enough responsibility and delegation.

·         Not enough of a skilled flexible workforce to be able to call on during busy periods of work.

·         Work only being seasonal for those who worked on other peoples holdings.

·         Breakdowns in communication between those ‘in charge’ and helpers or workers – not all farmers are great teachers or communicators.

·         Issues arising with neurodivergence and different ways of working and communicating.

·         Being on call 24 /7 leading to conflicts between child and elder care and maintaining the work of the holding. Sometimes this lead to a sexist ‘default’ where women were expected to step up for the majority of the caring roles – leading to a deskilling / loss of confidence in other fields

·         Not feeling as if it was acceptable to have, or want time off the farm.

·         A ‘culture’ of overwork often being seen as a badge of honour in farming and growing – rather than something that needs to be tackled – A fear that speaking up about this might be seen as ‘wimping out’ or evidence that we are not ‘tough enough’ for the job.

·         Striving for ‘Perfection’ on many fronts rather than accepting ‘Good Enough’ often brought on by comparisons with others – social media not always being very helpful in this respect.

·         The negative public perception of livestock keeping in some quarters – people feeling obliged to constantly defend themselves.

·         A lack of easily available training or help in certain aspects of the job eg machinery or administrative book-work tasks.

·         ‘Fitting in’ to a new rural community if people move to a new place could be difficult – tensions and suspicions between the ‘conventional’ agricultural community and those using a more agroecological approach. 

·         Being aware of, and corncern about global issues such as climate change, international injustices and conflicts leading to feelings of hopelessness in the individual “What’s the point of carrying on?”

·         Difficulties experienced explaining the complexities and importance of our work to the general public – Why farm revenues are generally so low - why we needmore support financially and in other ways. Some members of the public still thinking that all farmers and or growers are well off and or ‘living on subsidies.’

 

 

The above represents an overview of many, but not all of the issues that arose.

Some situations were too ‘personal’ to recount here – Whereas the complexity of other situations would require an essay all of their own.

 

Next, we will look at a selection of the ‘solutions’ that participants offered which they had used themselves or reported on for others.

At this point I think it would be positive to recount that at least one of the 30+ participants attended this session in order to help themselves avoid getting into the difficulties that others had experienced – more of this pre-emptive behaviour would be a good thing in itself!!.

 

·         So, we must first take time to acknowledge to ourselves that the pitfalls described above are potential hazards to be avoided or minimised if at all possible.

·         We need if we can to find people we trust to talk to openly about such matters. Anonymous ‘listening services’ could be available if friends or family are not appropriate.

·         Asking for help / input from outside agencies – there may be funding available to help with financing labour saving tools and infrastructure for example.

·         We should try to avoid the narrative that glorifies overwork, or that we should always be ‘on’ or always available.

·         Realising and understanding how we as individuals operate – there is no ‘One Size Fits All’ approach either in how we work personally ourselves, or around the structures that we work within.

·         We can drive ourselves ‘a little bit crazy’ – according to one participant - trying to maintain ‘purity’ on all fronts.

·         We are doing what we can, always ‘imperfectly’ in a much less than perfect food and farming system

·         It helps to establish firmer ‘boundaries’ between home and work life – especially if people work and live onsite.

·         But this is countered by the recognition that it can be more stressful / impossible to look after all elements of the operation if there is no one onsite – so we need to work out ways of getting things looked after if we are ill, or we need to take a break.

·         Getting involved in relevant groups such as Landworkers Alliance, Organic Growers Alliance, and any of the other sector-based organisations that support our work - finding people who 'get it'.

·         Making connections online and in real life – but always being aware that online social media accounts will tend to showcase the more positive aspects of their farming and growing life – so we must try not to compare too much.

·         It was suggested that men in particular don’t always find it so easy to share their difficulties and vulnerabilities so groups that meet this specific need could be established.

·         Working some ‘self-care’ into your weekly routine, participants cited sporting activities, chi gung, yoga and other forms of body work as having been helpful.

·         Keeping fit for ourselves – even if our job is physically demanding we might miss out on some aspects of maintaining our health, such as our aerobic fitness.

·         Writing down / journalling thoughts and feelings could be helpful to see what the actual issues are.

·         One participant said that visiting their local planetarium helped them put their life in perspective – those of us with the luxury of naturally dark skies could spent more time looking at the ‘real thing’ perhaps.

·         Carving out time for hobbies and interest outside of the farming and growing life – finding en-joyment in creativity, events, social groups etc which are unrelated to work.

·         Attending gatherings, farm walks, online seminars etc to skill up in areas of knowledge as necessary – but also for the social aspect of these events.

·         Asking for help more explicitly – people won’t know that you are struggling if you are always putting on a brave face.

·         Noticing mastery of, and taking pleasure in the tasks that make up our working day. Not always rushing on to the next thing on the list but taking a pause to appreciate a job well done (or done well enough !!)

·         From which flows not driving ourselves to ridiculously high standards.

·         Noticing basic needs – Are we thirsty? Hungry? Too hot? Too cold? Do we need to take a break.

·         Realising that ‘This too will pass’ – Being patient with ourselves.

·         Allowing ourselves to have time off – even if this feels ‘indulgent’ or is tricky to organise.  Having the courage to delegate jobs to someone who might ‘do it worse – but will most likely get it done’

·         Acknowledging – and preferably dealing with, past traumas and experiences that have led us to a place of being driven to over work and feeling the need to over perform in the first place.

·         Recognising neurodivergences, and accommodating or even celebrating these differences.

·         Some participants found help from consciousness or spiritual practice, and or observing rituals such as taking part in seasonal celebrations.

·         Listening to podcasts / radio at work to deal with boredom or feeling isolated.

·         Speaking more openly (when it feels safe to do so) about feeling underappreciated in terms of remuneration for work done / produce grown.

·         Identifying when it is time to pause – or even to quit altogether – realising you don’t have to carry on if it’s making you or those around you miserable and unwell, or if the enterprise cannot be made successful.

·         Perhaps changing our attitude to our work – not making it our whole identity / not holding it in our bodies and minds as such.

·         Looking at changing our work patterns if necessary for physical or mental health, job shares, going part time, working off the farm for a change of scene – and extra income.

·         Potentially changing the structure of the organisation to spread the load eg considering CSA’s and co operatives for example.

·         Engaging with outside services and resources specific to these sorts of issues – some references to these are given below.

 

 

Again, this is not an exhaustive list of the solutions that we came up with. There will be many more ways of working and being that can help address some of these issues.

 

Many thanks to the participants who joined us and who shared with us so openly their thoughts and experiences. Thanks also to ORFC for giving us the opportunity to run this session.

 

A couple of resources to which it would be great to add to …

 

Access to Work – especially around dealing with issues such as mental health neurodivergence

 https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

 

A guide to free mental heath resources

https://www.moorepay.co.uk/blog/best-free-mental-health-resources/

including

C.A.L.M (Campaign Against Living miserably) 

Th DPJ foundation provides listening services for farmersand growers who need an anonymous and supportive ear.

Seeding the future, bringing back some hope from The COP

 Well where do you start, with the future ??

With some seeds I suppose.

Brought home carefully, and contained within a surprisingly unsquished - yellow tomato.

This tomato, is of a variety unknown to me.

But grown by Xavier from our sister union in Spain.

Brought by him, along with several other varieties, to our hosting venue in Glasgow.

I already have a whiff of nostalgia for the breezy underpasses, the slightly uncertain wanderings around the peripheries of it all, getting a little bit lost, on early dark evenings, but still rarely really feeling adrift.

 

And what was achieved there, are there signs of hope to bring home, and carry forward ?

Well in many ways, at the official event, there were predictably large amounts of hot air and not much else tangible.

But then the same cohorts of people , with the same mindsets that got us into this mess, aren't going to be best placed to navigate us out perhaps?

But still it didn't feel like a complete waste of time ..

Farming and land use got a peripheral mention, in the main event , a whole day in theory, although accessibility and organisation of these events , left a lot to be desired.

A fair bit talk of using land and nature as a 'carbon sink' - mainly to offset business as usual.

And some talk of protection of the forests and lands of indigenous peoples.

But not nearly enough.. 

Not enough recognition of what good land management, should be about.

To support life, to support nature, to support us too, not just there to be exploited and extracted from.

But there were some signs of a shift.

Not least in the co-opting of 'our' language. 

Which on some levels is 'annoying' but it also means, perhaps that some notice has been taken.

If only half understood.

'Agroecology' for instance.

Which is meant to be the bringing together of good land use practices, with social justice, food justice, land rights ..

It seems as if 'they' like the word , but don't quite get what it really means. 

As if its just a nice sounding 'Organic lite' 

A bit like 'sustainable - it can mean whatever you want it to mean..

But its far more than that - it has to be set in the context of climate justice, land and food justice.

That all people, who all need feeding, should have secure access to good food to nourish themselves, and each other.

And be able to carry on doing that without recourse to unsustainable inputs or damaging practices.

Land and ecosystems could carry on supporting humans and the rest of the ecosystem in a regenerative round of symbiosis, which doesn't add to the sum of greenhouse gases emitted.

And in best case scenarios, done well, those life and soil systems can help sequester carbon into soils, as they build up.

Reversing the decades of depletion that has happened under industrialised farming systems. 

Nourish people, and ecology, and the global commons.

It's not about extractivism, short termism, or endless capitalisation.

Nor is it about using land as a sink towards achieving 'Net Zero' that hollow promise which somehow tries to make equivalent extracting and burning fossil fuels, with the organic carbon found in living organisms and good soil now.

It just won't wash.

It's green wash.

Along with many of the other false solutions, such as gene editing, biotech, data harvesting from farms so corp's can then try to sell tech stuff back to us.

Or growing so called 'food' in laboratories.

Sending robots out to do work, and exploit lands, that should be under the stewardship of real people. 

But these 'saleable' ideas are backed by the big  agribusinesses, with the kind of mega scale , one size fits all mindsets that created this crisis in the first. 

Genuine solutions, that honour old and new knowledge and methodologies which are accessible to all - were far less evidenced at the main event - where's the money in peer to peer learning, and shared knowledge and tech via open sources? 

But still, again despite all this, it felt hopeful.

So many good people, from all walks of civil society, and activists of all flavours from so many parts of the world.

Some people had travelled at great cost, and no little difficulty to themselves to carry the message of urgent need for action, urgent need for change - but also that there is still some hope.. 

Ok not enough representation from those on the true front lines of climate change.

Kept away by covid restrictions, and other barriers such as finance and visa difficulty.

But farmers, foresters, union organisers, soil and seed specialists.

Workers for land justice, and food sovereignty, they were there, if still underrepresented..

Indigenous people working to preserve and protect their lands, and citizens of countries which did little, if anything, to contribute to the climate crisis -  however they're doing what they can to mitigate and prepare for it.

Carrying out very site specific, but also deeply vital work, around soils, landscape, food and ways of working to build resilience.

At last, industrialised nations are starting to acknowledge their debt for the damage they've caused, and have promised to help financially with reperations for loss and damage.

Its yet to translate into enough action on the ground, on the frontline, but we can only keep up the pressure - and raise awareness.

So this tomato, or its seeds has been passed around the network.

For production yes, but also as an act of solidarity, and movement building.

Passing on the genetics to be adapted, nurtured, and to create an abundance that no one actually owns - but is freely given.

The word and true concept of agroecology cannot be so easily co-opted because it requires coperation, and fairer sharing -  the antethisis of purely profit driven business.

The COP in Glasgow came for me personally with a whole  swathe of experiences and feelings.

I find it exciting to be in a new place, finding my way around and seeing new sights - i tried not to rely too hard on online mapping to get around.

Yes this does end up with you finding yourself in a dark alleyways on the 'wrong side' of the bus station from time to time, if you just try to follow your nose, and navigate by half remembered landmarks .

But then you have to ask a passing stranger for help - and most people were very happy to share their local knowledge.. 

The welcome everywhere felt warm - very warm in fact - Sort of surprising in a city that was obviously going to feel disrupted by the presence of tens of thousands of extra people.  

And it was all the more enjoyable to see the next generation get stuck into some grassroots action -

No2 Scion , here processing flax stems before having a go at spinning the fibre..

Theres some truth in the saying that

 'The apple rarely falls so far from the tree'

Next week COP26

I'm journeying to COP26 in Glasgow, early next week.to represent and advocate on behalf of my agroecological union The Landworkers Alliance. 

I've got all sorts of feelings about this, a little bit excited of course..

The networking, and meeting with other like-minded folks from all over the globe will be doubtless be inspiring and stimulating. 

As farmers and growers, who seek to farm alongside nature, we believe we have many solutions to offer, in terms of carbon sequestering, and biodiversity enhancement, whilst providing abundance for human need. 

We can showcase the work that is already happening world wide. 

Explain what's so good about it.

Whilst campaigning to have some of the barriers we still face removed.

But at  the same time the current highly polluting industrialised food system has a powerful lobby. 

Those who profit through extractivism, and exploitation, have deeper pockets and thereby far greater influence under current systems.

Not just here in be the UK but globally too.

We must also speak up for those marginalised farmers and growers in other countries as well, largely those in the global south. 

Who have no chance of attending the COP.

Farmers and landworkers who are on the frontline of climate change.

 They are already struggling with more extreme weather, and other challenges to their survival.

So the stakes are high. 

Tackling climate change feels overwhelming.

Doing 'enough' as individuals, or even in our groups is nigh on impossible right now. 

So we need to find ways not to get swamped by it all.

And to not fall into despair. 

To still have enough lightness in our own hearts to be able to act, and speak in good faith .

Lots of us together, making small changes, but pushing in the same direction .

That's what being in a union is all about.

La Via Campesina, of which Landworkers is the UK section, is numberswise the largest global union, on the planet. 

So in those moments when I'm feeling a bit hopeless in the face of what seems like insurmountable odds.

I need to think of all those people quietly getting on with their work on their own farms, for whom we are going to Glasgow to represent.

The famer dharma

 When I first started up the veg box scheme about seventeen years ago round about 2003

 I had already been teaching yoga locally for about five years or so.

I'd put posters up in the old pre-internet style, giving contact details for anyone wishing to book in.

 So I'd get land line calls, asking about the details and nature of the classes.

And then - after a short while discussing the potential delights and benefits of Iyengar Yoga 

 I'd quite often get a tentative inquiry - 

"Umm you wouldn't happen to be the same 'Ruth' who does our veg box would you ??"

"Err yes actually -  'fraid so - that's me also..."

For some reason, i was a bit worried at being seen as a Jill of all trades - mistress of none perhaps ??

Which it turns out - is very probably the case -

In fact i don't actually think i'm the best ever  teacher - Nor do i expect to be.

- Neither for that matter, am i the most amazing grower of vegetables.

But I did eventually come to realise, after the usual years and years of imposter syndrome that plagues many of us. 

 That I am more than perfectly adequately OK at both - which is plenty enough.

 And that - in many ways - the doing of one - informs the better practice of the other.

Possibly I'm a better Yoga teacher for being a practical worker in the 'real world' - who understands the stress and strain, both physical and mental, of 'normal' everyday life -

 - Of having to get stuff done just because it must be done  - run a business - tackle all the problems of trying to be a 'good enough' farmer in the twenty first century.

Considering the needs of the farm, the crops, ecology, finances, workers and the community the farm nourishes.

It could be said to keep me grounded.

Meanwhile, practicing and teaching yoga requires a different sort of physical and mental discipline - alongside an ability to communicate and engage.

Happily all that strength, flexibility, and breath work, prevents me from being too badly broken physically mentally (and financially at times) by the farming.

So most of the time it's a positive feedback loop.

Within certain boundaries - There needs to be a degree moderation in all these complexities -

It can on occasion feel as if its all becoming almost overwhelmingly entangled - 

Theres 'being integrated' and then theres being caught up in something so very 'enmeshed' that it feels almost inescapable ..

And for someone who also requires a bit of space, time, and freedom to do other things, and pursue other interests - that needs keeping an eye on as well..

Its all too easy to overdo it - which is something I'm still learning to manage - but its getting better.

Hence the Farmer Dharma .

Doing earthculture as Yoga.

Doing Yoga as earthculture

Finding a balance in both these things.

But then, beyond all that, a balance in turn with all the other essential parts of life - 

Maintaining relationships, social life, political engagement, pure unadulterated fun, fulfilling pleasures, rest even. 

That last one seems a bit tricky for those of us who seem to be forever running towards, or away (?) from things.. 

Living and experiencing life with understanding, creativity, awareness and acceptance.

So of course - that requires a full understanding, and acceptance of the realities of the natural world -

Not just the fluffy loveliness of blossoming hedgerows, a well grown tomato, blue skies and seas, birdsong, and the joy of high mountain peaks - 

- But in addition to that - the less pleasant realities of physical hardship, persistent working, not giving up - feeling sad and low about stuff - times being difficult - and all the inevitable change decay, disease, and eventual death.

How to build a life that recognises and encompasses all these things, without compromising oneself, or anyone else beyond reasonable limits ??

This all needs further exploration with words and pictures i think ..

A regular posting, throughout the seasons .

  

Making Small Farms Less Exceptional.

Right now the kind of small farming system we operate here in the valley is fairly unusual on a national scale.

Its compact, purposeful, and largely pleasurable to work, on a human scale that makes it feel manageable.

But its also productive of good nutritous food, its profitable and it benefits both the local wildlife, and human population.

So why isn't there more of this sort of thing going on then ?? 

if its so very good , why isnt nearly everyone doing it this way ?


How do we encourage the proliferation of smaller agroecological farms , producing wholesome food for their local populations?

Making a living through shorter, less extractive supply chains. 


There seems to be a measure of broad agreement that the food and farming system needs to be adapted to better serve our real food needs, the environment, the people already working in the industry, and in particular to help mitigate the climate crisis.

Which roughly translates as food and farming needs to stop being a net contributor to climate change and where possible, even start to be part of the solution, through intelligent management techniques, of soil, and many other elements of the system. 

The methodologies of agroecology - that is the application of craft skill, knowledge, observation, and experience, combined in a complex system will necessarily require more humans to be involved.

But right now the number of active farmers and food producers is decreasing. 

This is against what needs to happen if we are to achieve our ambitious goals of net zero carbon.  

And people need meaningful occupation - its hard wired into our psychological well being. 

Plus rest and time off too.. Something many farmers don't get right now, and that's a shame as well. 

Over the last five or so years I've been delving deeper into what is getting in the way of all this generally better way of doing food and farming .

And alongside more practical matters I've come to realise that a lot of this is a problem of mindset as much as it is material.

It may seem far removed from national or global politics , but the way we view ourselves as food citizens massively impacts how we regard our food and farming systems.

Is bigger always better??  The 'market' and its endless grasping for growth of profits seems to think so.

Economies of scale that arise from getting bigger are often held up as a reason for favouring an expansionist mindset.

Maybe if you're running a biscuit factory . or even biscuit making 'Empire' then this perhaps  holds true.

However farms rely on natural systems - the laws of nature even for their survival.

Even the most chemically , and machinery dependent farming operation still has to rely mainly on 'external' inputs for its survival - solar gain , rainwater, and preexisting soil in which we grow our plants - whether for direct consumption - or to feed the animals on whose products we will eventually dine.

There's no escaping these natural realities.

And if we try to force these systems beyond their natural capacity they will break down.

So we have to respect 'the laws of nature' - not necessarily in a 'cosmic' Gaia  way - although that thinking has some useful allegory - but more just because that's how the real world actually is.

The business of farming is ultimately the engagement with the building blocks of life -

- in order to make more building blocks (food) for human bodies - 

- and that food should nourish us in all ways if it's fit for purpose. 

So chemistry, biology, physics, are all the fundamentals with which we play - but in order for the play to go on we have to respect the players, the ecology that supports basic life. 

Soil microbes upwards. .

Add into these essentials, human nature , human psychology , our concept of time - our basic needs for security of food shelter and well being - -  then we have a very complex system.

In many cases we've tried to over-  simplify these systems , control them even in the hope that they can be moulded to our will.

And what is that 'will' right now?

Well as farmers the current thinking is that we are supposed to be purely 'business' people, like any other.

Bills to pay, books to balance etc etc.

Two of the ideas i was given at agricultural college - 

"The farm is a factory floor, just like any other"

and

"Soil is just a substrate in which we put plant roots to support and then feed those plants from a bag"

But when i was at (conventional) Agricultural college all those decades ago I'd already been contaminated by these "organic" ideas, from other places, and encounters. 

Perhaps using so many chemicals wasn't a good idea for many reasons - both in the short and the long term.

The effects on animal and human health were already being seen, and talked about.

The effects on wildlife, and broadscale ecologies were also visible.

But still, even now chemical agriculture is seen as 'conventional' - not using all these inputs is the outlier the 'alternative' 

How do we turn this around ?

Is it possible to revise this way of thinking ??

If we don't what will happen??

Ironically, the farm here makes a profit - whereas larger neighbours are struggling -

Why is this ??

 Who, or what, is extracting the goodness from these medium scaled farms ??

If what happens here is so great - again why doesn't more of it happen elsewhere?

As many questions, as answers. 

But still plenty of hope, and collective energy to find these solutions. 

It's complicated. 

In a way - it has to be - 

- If it isn't we're probably doing it wrong ...

Connecting up the medias - Podcast alert !!

If you are interested in listening to two reasonably well informed, 

but still, deeply curious women discussing food, farming, and climate change.

Then you can hop onto our "Licking the Whisk" Podcast here..

https://soundcloud.com/lickingthewhisk/ep3-dreaming-small

More blogging will be coming soon - but its "Access all Platforms" these days.

We are also on instagram @lickingthe whisk if you dig "The 'Gram" too..

"A New Land Army" ??? The Food Crisis - highlighting the need for - and giving opportunity for change - in our food systems.

We need to make small farms like this less 'exceptional' perhaps ??.

Time for a new “Land Army”??

As a long time agroecological farmer and grower, I’m presently trying to make sense of the current ‘food landscape’ as it unfolds, and possibly unravels, in the face of the Coronavirus crisis.

The cracks are starting to show, in what many, perhaps, felt was a robust, and endlessly productive system of farming, and food production.

However, the absence of migrant labour to do field, and harvest work, and other constraints on production, and distribution of food in the UK, is very likely to cause shortages of certain foodstuffs, before long.

 This was already going to be a problem, post-Brexit – but now it would seem the issue is doubly pressing.

The whole topic is of very personal interest for me on many levels.

 It also feeds into how the food politics landscape can, and indeed must change over the coming months and years, if we are to achieve quality food security – surely a cornerstone of human health and well-being on so many levels

I’ve frequently been asked, how all this disruption has affected my business, of late, and I’m happy - but hopefully not too smug - to report that the answer to that is “Not all that much really”.

If anything, there’s been an upswing in interest, and business.

Having been involved in farming, and food production, one way or another for the whole of my life, its often easy for me to forget, just how far removed from their food sources the majority of the population has become.

Who grows, and processes it, how, and where??

As someone who manages to makes the bulk of their living from producing food for their immediate community – mainly vegetables and eggs – I’m definitely in at the business end of all this – whilst also involved in the campaigning, education, and research, side too.

Not having been born, or married into agriculture, I’m also very aware of just how difficult it is to get to this ‘happy place’ where it is possible to make a stable income from producing good food for the local population.

But a combination of some luck, early training - a National Diploma in Agriculture, and experience – working on many other farms and holdings, plus enormous amounts of help and encouragement from others, has brought me to what now feels like a tremendously privileged position.

- Living on our land, working alongside good people, producing quality food, and making a modest living.

But this shouldn’t be a rarefied occupation, only available to the lucky few, who have somehow negotiated the many hurdles placed in the way of landless farmworker without external funds – to becoming an agroecological farmer, and economically viable business operator.

I’m referring mainly to fresh vegetable production here, as that it’s my principal activity here on the farm, but much of this can equally apply to other food stuffs.

The farming, growing, and direct sales system here on this small farm means that we grow a very  wide variety of crops – over fifty - which builds resilience to any partial crop failures,  and in many cases means that pest and disease build up aren’t really a problem, so long as good rotational practices and soil care are observed.

Added in to that, a slightly more relaxed attitude to ‘weeds’ so that natural insect predators are a present, ready, and willing pest control squadron – working for free.

It’s not a case of being anti mechanisation, or technology either - Some moderate mechanisation is used here, initially for larger scaled cultivations, and compost / soil amendment distribution, but after that, it is mostly skilled human labour that plants, maintains and harvests crops.

So labour requirements are spread out more manageably over a whole year’s cycle of growing – which in turn makes for stable labour requirements over that whole year – meaning local people can be part of the workforce all year round.

Two flocks of laying hens in mobile coops, clear crop aftermaths, and contribute extra value and income to the veg box scheme through which our produce is marketed.

So far so good.

However, there are a multiplicity of barriers that present, before we can expect to scale up, and transition to this becoming seen as the resilient ‘new normal’ in terms of food production and distribution, on a more nationwide scale.

One issue that comes up repeatedly is the difficulty of gaining secure and affordable access to Land -   – to allow food producing businesses to be viable in the long term – High rents or mortgages, and insecure tenancies make this unsustainable.

There are also problems around the lack of appropriate training, finance availability, and access to markets, in addition to other sticking points, such as planning regulations.

But all of these topics are being addressed in their ongoing campaigns by The Land workers Alliance.

These issues are ongoing, their existence has just been brought into sharper focus by recent events.  

And meanwhile, back in the slightly less fortunate world, our current predicament, is starting to highlight just how nebulous that illusion of abundance on our supermarket shelves really is

 ‘Just in time deliveries’ through long and complicated supply chains – often from overseas - has created too may links in the chain – it only takes one of these to break, for the whole system to fail.

And we need to acknowledge how ‘artificially cheap’ most food really is - relative that is to everything else that has massively increased in price in our ‘basic needs’ budgets.

So, food banks have become a ‘necessary’ evil, because accommodation, and other costs have risen way above affordable levels for those on the very lowest income.

That the environment, public health, and workers were already suffering, as a result of these artificially low returns on food production, was already fact, before the current crisis

As I see it, we’ve got the system, and its ‘complexity load’ back to front.

Industrialised agriculture, has oversimplified the production end – in order to ramp up short term production and profits - banks or agronomists selling inputs will encourage this – so we have pest susceptible monocropping – over use of heavy machinery – and requirements for a type of labour which is both monotonous and hard on the human body.

 Often using season migrant workers, or others with insecure labour status.

Added to that, the toll on a human psyche, that can arise from spending long days operating machinery with no better company than the tractor radio.

Meanwhile the complexity involved around getting produce to market means that the multiples tail, is wagging the dog of production.

Produce is grown for shelf life, uniformity, and cosmetic appearance, not to supply good nourishment to humans.

At each stage from field to supermarket there is another ‘extractive device’ taking away some of the return to the farmer, packaging, transport, refrigerated storage – costing energy, creating waste, and arguably extracting nutrition from the food itself.

The high material input costs of diesel, and agrochemicals needed to facilitate the scales at which produce is grown, extracts another tithe from farmer, without making any contribution to the rural economy, or to real livelihoods.

Surely it would be better all round, for more of these inputs costs to be going towards wages paid to skilled craft workers, giving meaningful year-round employment, to those suited to it, and creating long lasting jobs in our countryside and peri-urban areas?

Real fresh food, eaten close in time and location to its source, tastes really good – so we want to eat more of it.

 It becomes a ‘virtuous circle’ of appetite.

All this is already happening here on this farm, and on several other holdings UK- wide, but we are relatively few and far between as a result of the conditions within which we operate.

If we want more fresh produce on peoples’ plates – and thereby contributing to better public health overall then it would seem to make far more sense to turn around this system of complexity where possible, and shorten the supply chain, from field to fork.

Have a robust food web of local producers and consumers – interconnected in reality – but using online tools as well, to facilitate distribution.

 Rather than trying to maintain the present, rather shaky, long linear rope bridge of supply – those separate, but fragile links in the chain either hold together – or they fail together as is being illustrated now.    

So perhaps that the notion of a plucky “Land Army” as is being proposed in some quarters, is yes, a necessary but hopefully only temporary fix – in our present food emergency.

But its aspirations, and tone are still speaking to that somewhat aggressive, extractive, mechanistic, ‘quick fix’ method and attitude to production, that could be said to have landed us in this unstable predicament in the first place.

We can’t go back to normal after all this is over – and many would argue we shouldn’t even try, particularly if we want a better system that puts good food back where it should be - as a source of human nourishment, wellbeing, health and  social enjoyment – the lack of which many are probably feeling right now.

This will require a lot more hands directly on the land – a deindustrialised food revolution even – take ingenious, hardworking people, back to the place from which all food, and nourishment springs – well managed land itself.

And we can use the modern methodologies, and knowledge that we already have - those which harmonises with the natural processes of ecology which are already available to us.

The exploitative, harmful, and deeply unsustainable model of food production currently in existence needs to change – not only because of this health crisis – but also because of the climate, ecological, and animal welfare crisis that was pressing on our heels just before all this happened.

So, yes, In the short term, this year and perhaps the next, it may well be imperative, instructive even, for gangs of students or unemployed youngsters to go out to the fields to help with the necessary field work, and harvest.

But I hope that also, they can get the message that it doesn’t have to be vast acreages, of one monocrop, where the human body has to work at the speed of the machine – that’s inhumane – and in truth can’t be kept up as a lifelong occupation.

 We can do it differently – it’s happening right now – some of us are already doing this stuff – surviving, and even thriving on the land.

In the longer term we need some of that “Land Army” to become a sustained, longer-term workforce, valued, and recompensed properly, for the critical work they do to maintain and enhance the health of our nation.

Food and farming need to be recentred as vital, and vitalising to human society, ecology and economy – recognised as a ‘Public Good’
There’s nothing inherently wrong with trade, and commercial activity, done for monetary gain,  so long as it’s done on fair terms – Which means a sustainable income is available for the farmer or grower,  whilst affordable good food is available for everyone – not just the privileged few.

Ruth Hancock is lead grower at Fresh and Green Vegetables, a medium scale vegetable box scheme in East Devon, which has been operating since 2003.

 Ruth is a Coordinating Group member of The Land Workers Alliance, she also runs occasional learning, and skill sharing events at the farm.