Field Notes: 5th - 11th February 2024
Feb 14, 2024
Flippin' delicious: make your day that little bit brighter with our pancakes
Welcome back to Field Notes. Each week we will be bringing you news from FarmED: from what’s happening in the fields and hedgerows, to updates from the farm to fork Café and the conference barn: a space where people from all walks of life meet to find out more about regenerative agriculture. Come with us on a one-of-a-kind journey as we ride the natural highs and lows of farming life.
Cafe Catch-Up: What's new in the cafe?
A Special Announcement
It's official! Breakfast is on the menu at the FarmED cafe!
We're delighted to share that we have begun serving a selection of nourishing brunch dishes, including a seasonal frittata, poached eggs, nutty granola with yoghurt, and homemade turbo beans on sourdough. Stop by between 9-11am, Monday to Friday and treat yourself - it’s the month of love after all! We're proud to offer breakfasts that are healthy, delicious, and made with produce that’s as locally-sourced as possible.
And, if that wasn’t enough to get your tastebuds excited, then why not try our signature pancakes? They’re light, fluffy, and topped with a delightful mix of berries, heavenly FarmED honey and creamy organic yoghurt. With pancake day falling this week, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate.
A Warm Welcome
On 7th February, we welcomed a group of farmers from the Isle of Wight for a true farm-to-fork experience in our Cafe. The group were visiting the Cotswolds as part of a knowledge-share collaboration with Poulton Fields Farm near Cirencester. Two organisations in the farming sector, Wight Rural Hub and AHDB, worked together to organise the away day, and we were honoured to be a part of it. The group were able to see regenerative practices in action, as well as hold a group discussion in our library space.
All smiles after a hearty lunch in our cafe
Events Recap: What’s on at FarmED?
Six Inches of Soil Film Screening
The audience eagerly waiting for the film to start!
Last Thursday marked a special evening at FarmED as we proudly hosted an exclusive screening of a brand new documentary, ‘Six Inches of Soil’. This powerful film tells the inspirational story of three visionary British farmers transforming the way they produce food - Anna Jackson, Adrienne Gordon, and Ben Thomas - in a way that heals the soil, promotes good health, and nurtures local communities. From Lincolnshire to Cornwall, we followed their regenerative journeys so far, gaining wisdom along the way.
Before the screening got underway, we served delicious wood-fired pizzas to our guests, made from scratch by our talented head chef, Nick. Following the film, we held a panel discussion and audience Q&A, chaired by FarmED co-founder Ian Wilkinson. Panellists included Director Colin Ramsay, Producer Claire Mackenzie, as well as our very own Emma Mills from the Kitchen Garden, Ed Horton from Poulton Farms, Ben Andrews from Broadward Hall Farm and local miller, Bertie Matthews. The discussion covered a whole range of fascinating topics, from supply chain challenges to ways we can get the film's important message out to a wider audience.
Matthew’s Mill sponsored the screening and had a delicious selection of pastries and breads for guests to try. The room was filled with a great deal of hope, tears, and plenty of laughter: an overwhelming success.
Delicious wood fired pizzas being made for our guests!
Said Business School
A group of 40 students from Said Business School in Oxford came for an away day on Tuesday, as part of the university’s Change Leadership Programme. Hiring out our conference room, for the day, they led discussions on changing food systems, with talks from Ian, Kate and Tim Field. Kate then took the students on a farm walk, where they were particularly interested in how to create demand for local sustainable food systems.
Are you searching for a place to hold your meetings, or considering a team away day with a difference? FarmED offers the ideal setting for both. You can look into your options here.
The Said Business School, with special guest: Peggy the FarmED office dog!
Garden Treasures: What’s been happening down in the Kitchen Garden?
Our lovely intern, Abi, has recently been collaborating with Burford School on an exciting project. Local, retired florist Deborah Taylor-Lang contacted FarmED at the end of last year with a special request. She told us that her father, a keen gardener and owner of an old, heritage orchard, had recently passed away. In his memory, Deborah had grafts (click here to find out what tree grafting is) made of all his trees, and, not having enough space of her own, she wanted to donate them to a worthy cause.
So, it almost seemed like fate when Abi began laying the groundwork to help develop a small orchard at Burford School around the same time. The school had previously operated a working farm and offered rural land-based skills courses, and now want to turn their acre of previous farmland into a usable space for students once again. Headed by assistant headteacher for inclusion & SENDCO, Stuart Bassett, the project aims to help students learn through nature, with a special focus on supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or those who may wish to focus on environmental subjects or land-based skills. In a few years, the hope is that students will be able to wander round the orchard on their lunch breaks, picking fresh fruit and finding a sense of peace amongst the trees.
After much anticipation, last Thursday, Abi, Celene and Christine (apple tree expert of the Kitchen Garden People) collected a total of 54 trees from Deborah. 14 of which were planted the following day in the school’s grounds by a group of enthusiastic children and teachers. It was hard work hammering in the stakes and securing protective rings of deer fencing, but spirits were high and all trees are now settled into their new home.
The remaining 40 trees have been donated to the kitchen garden here at FarmED, where they’ll be planted as part of an agroforestry project along the edges of the plot with a vision to provide fruit in the CSA share boxes in years to come.
Christine, Deborah and Abi braving the weather!
A precious find…
On Friday 9th February, our site maintenance, Steve, also a keen metal detectorist, had the pleasure of reuniting our resident scientist Jed with his lost ring. The ring holds special memories of his late mother whom it belonged to, and had been lost in the fields of our farm. Steve said: “Words cannot convey the joy of reuniting somebody with something they thought they had lost forever and that is the magic of this hobby.”
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