I’d be terrible at farming. Getting up close and a little too personal – hello, lambing season anyone? – with nature.
But I love to hear stories of farmers bucking the system and reaping the rewards. Take George and Kate Heathcote.
The publicity shots from the British reality TV show, A Farm Life, for which they agreed to be guinea pigs might make them look like an old-fashioned cliche, but this is a thoroughly progressive family in so many ways.
George does most of the cooking and the lion’s share of child care of their three kids aged three to seven, while Kate works as a registrar surgeon in Portsmouth.
The farm is also largely George’s responsibility, although they all muck in, literally, when required.
And, unlike so many others on the land, the family is doing well, thanks to a savvy decision to float modern farming methods.
Warborne Farm is organic, from its 300 varieties of vegetables and 100 varieties of fruit, to the myriad animals it produces.
The couple uses crop rotation, rather than chemicals, to sustain the soil that provides their livelihood. While the more labour intensive farming method requires more bodies than usual, the Heathcotes make up for it by cutting out supermarkets and selling their produce direct to customers.
“Supplying supermarkets was a soul-destroying enterprise,’ George told the Daily Mail ahead of the show’s launch. “No one seemed to care about quality. We were given rock-bottom prices for lamb, for example, which meant we had to cram as many sheep as we could into fields to get maximum yield.
“Overstocking meant sheep were poorer quality. It was also bad for the environment, because the land was overgrazed. I knew there had to be a better way. I wanted to grow food in season that I was proud of, for people who cared and appreciated it. I also wanted to protect the environment.”
Within a few years of going organic they sell 200 boxes a week. Okay, it’s not going to earn them a listing in Forbes rich list, but it does earn them a good living and they do a world of good at the same time. What a lesson for their kids, too (and all without a television in the house).
More power to them and their kind.
