The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 17

THE ORGANIC PANTRY 17
• AUG/SEP 2018
SELBY NFU MUTUAL IS
PROUD TO BE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE
ORGANIC PANTRY
We offer you an attentive personal, local service for your insurance, pensions and
investments.
For a real conversation with real people
call 01757 704336 or pop in
NFU Mutual,
9 Finkle Street,
Selby,
North Yorkshire
YO8 4DT
Our Agents are appointed representativ es of The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited (No. 111982). Registered in England. Registered Office: Tiddington Road,
Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7BJ. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
A member of the Association of British Insurers.
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D-125286AF
‘Our growth has been built on those first
‘It’s also interesting how times are
40 boxes bought by friends and our farm-
changing in our food habits. We were the
ers market activity which we still maintain
generation of dirty eaters as the fast food
today with 12 per month,’ says Jonnie. ‘Our
era came about. Today’s young people
best farmers market is at Leeds University,
aren’t as bothered with fast when they are
but we also do well at the others including
considering their diet, they would rather
Leeds city centre, Otley, Horsforth and
have a plate of proper food and know
York. It’s funny but if we’d set out bags of
where it has come from with everything
kale on our stands or in a box years ago
grown or reared ethically with care also
we would have had complaints from peo-
for wildlife. People like Jamie Oliver are
ple who thought we were selling sheep
making healthy trendy.’
and cattle food. It’s now our best-selling
The farm was part of the Toulston Estate
produce by a considerable margin. We
until 1980 when Jonnie’s father Christo-
are also very aware of the work that goes
pher Watson took it on, but the family has
into farmers markets from the organisers.
farmed at Newton Kyme since 1884 having
These things
don’t
just
happen.’
moved from Seaton Ross.
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Proud suppliers to the Watson family wishing them continued success
‘We were originally cattle dealers in the
Borders and very strict Methodists. I’m the
fourth generation to farm here. Keeping
pigs was extremely stressful as there were
so many variables from feed price to per-
formance and pig prices that were up and
down like a fiddler’s elbow. We came out
of them during foot and mouth year.’
‘This is limestone land that is by no
means perfect for vegetable growing. It is
8 inches of soil and then bedrock. It’s free
draining but the downside is we get a lot
of stone in the fields. We grow crops that
benefit from being picked and sold within
12 hours and we can do that through our
box schemes, our contracts with schools
and supermarkets such as Booths, and
our own farm shop on site. We grow, pack
and deliver for Booths and the Dalesford
organic group of shops owned by Lady
Bamford in Gloucestershire.’
‘We aim not to be reliant on one main
vegetable. Rather than 20,000 of one we
would sooner have 2000 of ten products.
That fits nicely with our boxes that have 10
different items.’
‘Grass and clover are our predominant
fertility building crops. We are trying to
get our cereals down to a minimum. We
are growing 30 acres of vining peas for
Hartleys this year and they have acted as
a useful nitrogen enhancer. We produce
50 per cent of the potatoes we need main-
ly older varieties such as Cara that is more
resistant to blight and red Desirees and 15
per cent of the vegetables. We buy the rest
from other organic growers in Yorkshire
and some are imported from Holland,
France and Spain. That’s how much we
need to fulfil our orders and in reality,
farming here is now only a small percent-
age of what we do business wise.’
‘We are in the Higher Organic Entry
Level Scheme (HOELS) and our fields have
wide margins, we plant hedges and there
is plenty of bird cover. With the dry weath-
er season, we’ve just had and may be
extended further it has proved an incredi-
bly challenging season and we’ve already
lost one variety of potato that just simply
collapsed, but we’re not whingeing, we
just get on.’
Taking over veteran comedy duo star
Tommy Cannon’s veg box business and a
company in Bakewell were seminal mo-
ments in the development of The Organic
Pantry business along with the addition of
the farm shop, but it has been Freddie’s in-
volvement that has brought about recent
fresh impetus.
‘We now have a fully accredited pack-
house with all of the accreditation needed
to deal with supermarkets. He pushed for
it and in doing so enabled us to deal with
the likes of Booths and Dalesford as well
as county councils in supplying schools.
Freddie has given us a new approach and
we’re doing well.’