News from The Farm - The Community Farm

Spring wildlife on the Farm

2024-04-29T11:09:53+01:00

Spring is such an exciting time on The Farm, not only has the growing season commenced but all our non-human residents are springing to life and our hedgerows and margins are a hive of activity, as Engagement Leader Emmy discovers...

Spring has well and truly sprung on The Farm...the birds are in full swing, singing, feeding, courting, marking their territories and building their nests. Most of our nesting boxes look like they've been claimed for the season, and our abundant hedgerows are providing a home for a whole host of species...we will be graced with the chatter of hungry babies before we know it!

Greater Spotted Woodpecker have been drumming with gusto, and Green Woodpecker, as always, seems to add a soundtrack of laughter to all our days on The Farm. Kestrel is still a daily visitor, dancing on the breeze, hovering over our fields in hope, and Red Kite seems to be visiting with increasing regularity, and offering up some impressive close-up acrobatics - changing pace in the blink of an eye! We're also keeping an eye on the skies looking out for the first arrivals of swifts and swallows who will soon to be moving in for the summer.

Survey season is now underway and we are already on to the second of our monthly Bumblebee Surveys. At the first of these our group witnessed a leap from zero spots last March to 16 this year. Our weekly Butterfly Surveys have had a slower start but we're hoping that these last few days of dry weather and warmth will coax out those hibernating beauties and we're already beginning to spot the first few on the wing.

There is an abundance of flowers out in bloom, providing a feast of nectar and pollen to our insects, from cowslips, primrose and pulmonaria in the hedgerows, to dandelions and daisies in the lawns, to wallflowers, forget-me-nots, calendula, lamium and geums in our borders - and there will be plenty more colour and feeding-opportunities to follow as the weeks go by! The first of our apples and other fruit trees are also bursting into the most deliciously-scented blossom helping to fill both the bees' bellies and our hearts! We've been busy sowing lots of flower seeds, including a proliferation of sunflower seeds, which are always hugely popular with a range of wildlife - human and non-human alike!

Now is the time where our patience and prepartions over winter pay off as the world around us bursts into an abundance of life - all we have to do now is keep up with the pace of all this growth - and find moments to be present and give gratitude for the amazing abundance that surrounds us on this magical little corner of the world....come out and join us soon, the land is waiting for you.

Find out how you can get involved here.

Working at The Farm - one year down the line!

2024-06-26T10:31:06+01:00

It’s been a year since our Content Creator, Sam, started working here at The Farm. Sam designs all the marketing materials you receive in your veg boxes and she captures the daily coming and goings at The Farm to share on our social channels and in our newsletters. We asked her to reflect on her first year here which resulted in this lovely reflective blog post - enjoy!

I’ve experienced a full cycle of seasons, and seen the fields and beds in the market garden and polytunnels transform from green to brown, to green; enjoyed the swifts and swallows performing their aerial acrobatics in summer, the crows calling mournfully in winter; and watched the hedges morph through a kaleidoscope of colours with each changing season.

I was recently asked if I had a favourite part of the farm, and I struggled to think whether I did. Was it the wellbeing garden, where so many groups of people convene, learn, and share in a tranquil setting? Or perhaps the fields beside the yurt, which can be quieter, and boast beautiful views? Or was it our new polytunnel, Goose, which must have the best view of any polytunnel anywhere, overlooking Chew Valley Lake?

I came to realise that my favourite part of the farm wasn’t any particular spot out on the land — instead, I realised that it’s all about the food!

I have a confession to make — I’d dabbled with getting veg boxes in the past, but for one reason or another I never really stuck with it for long. Since being at the farm, I’ve now been enjoying a Small Gert British box each week for a full year, and I can honestly say it’s changed my approach to cooking and eating.

Eating with the seasons has been an absolute joy, and I’ve enjoyed veg in my box that I could never get at my local supermarket. I tried Jerusalem artichokes for the first time (try splashing them with oil and a sprinkling of sea salt before giving them a good roast in the oven — the skin will be caramelised and the flesh soft); cast aside my hatred of turnips (golden turnips are beautiful roasted in butter and thyme, and served with a whipped feta and pea dip); and threw away my rigid weekly menu plan (it’s far more fun to go with the flow).

After a winter of making the most of root veg (and never once was I bored of it), spring arrived with a flurry of greens in my box, marking the change of the seasons in my own kitchen. When I received my first tomatoes of the year, I knew summer was really on the way, and being able to see that change in the seasonal food I receive from the farm helps me to feel more connected to the land, to the seasons, and to nature in a way I hadn’t fully experienced before.

And unexpectedly, this switch to proper seasonal eating also has another added benefit — it creates a nice way to talk about food, and to share ideas with others.

I was recently struggling to use white cabbage. It was crunchy and delicious, but I’d made all the coleslaw I could stomach, and my kids wouldn’t touch another cabbage stir fry. While chatting in the kitchen at the farm, a fellow colleague suggested I try a recipe I’d never heard of before — a Turkish stew called kapuska. It was a recipe he’d tried on the suggestion of someone else he knew. The dish was simple, easily adaptable, and really tasty, and I certainly would never have thought of it if it hadn’t been suggested to me.

I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about food — it opens doors to sharing, to passing recipes and ideas on to others in a way that perhaps doesn’t happen all that often these days. Not sure what to do with your leeks? Ask a friend or talk to your neighbour — they might have a great idea for how to cook them that you’d never find in a recipe online, and then pass that recipe on to someone else. As well as being really useful, it’s a lovely way to feel connected to your community.

If, like me, you’ve dabbled with getting a veg box in the past but struggled to cook with what you get, give it time, and an open mind, and I can guarantee you’ll be enjoying your seasonal food more than you have before. And if you come up with a great dish that you love, please share it with us! We’d love to hear what you do with your veg — maybe others can try it out too and change their mind about a veg they’d previously written off, or find a new favourite dish. Bon appetit!

Farm Dragons!

2024-04-30T13:40:59+01:00

Over the last two years The Community Farm has been building a partnership with our local secondary school, Chew Valley School, and with some excitement, this year we embarked on a new way of working with them.

The school identified a whole year group that could benefit from learning more about The Farm during their Aspire curriculum that is designed to allow students in KS3 (11-14 years old) to gain access to leadership development, study skills, business and enterprise skills and learning about careers.

We tasked the classes to research how we could sell more fruit, vegetables and groceries in the Chew Valley. In the final session we hosted a Dragon's Den type session, inviting the best group in each class to come in and tell us about their ideas.

It was a freezing morning, but we lit the stove in the yurt and got cosy in there as we were bowled over by the creativity, enthusiasm and eloquence of each of the eight groups. They presented to four 'dragons': new Management Committee member Naomi Kent, our Food and Farming Manager, John Miller, our Engagement Lead, Emmy Wurmli, and myself. We awarded two 'best idea' awards and two 'best presentation' awards and the best ideas will now be considered by the rest of the Senior Team over the next few months for their viability. From soup recipe boxes to customer surveys and customised boxes there were plenty of brilliant ideas to explore. Naomi said:

"As a new Management Committee member, it has been great to be able to use my skills in research to feed into a project on this scale, especially in the school that my children went to. The students were hugely impressive, with really great ideas, and it was a pleasure to hear their presentations and give them some feedback"

Alongside this project we have also hosted two 'fork to fork' sessions for Year 10 Food Technology students to learn more about how their food is grown and how to get creative with seasonal produce; and two sessions for Year 10 students who struggle to engage with the regular school day.

This project has been funded through DEFRA's Farming in Protected Landscapes programme and has been a great new partnership for The Farm. I have worked with many schools over the years and am so impressed with the students and staff at Chew Valley. We are delighted that The Farming in Protected Landscapes team at the Mendip Hills AONB have just awarded us with further funding to continue our work in 2024-5 and can't wait to get going.

Thanks to Mrs Rowlands, Mrs Bainbridge and Mrs Saxton alongside all the other staff and students, and Megan Godley and Lucy Stockton and their colleagues at the Mendip Hills AONB.

Come on a bee or butterfly walk with us!

2024-03-13T14:02:26+00:00

As a nature-friendly, organic farm, caring for wildlife is interwoven with everything we do, but there are also some specific opportunities to help support wildlife on the farm. An important way of looking out for our wild neighbours is to understand more about who they are and how they use the farm, so we can make positive changes to the site to make life even sweeter for them (by planting more nectar-rich flowers)!

Why not join our small but enthusiastic team of survey volunteers - there is no need to have any experience - we are enthusiastic amateurs and have all learnt what we know by having a go! We have an existing pool of enthusiastic wildlife-spotters already on board, but some more keen eyes would be fantastic!

We carry our bumblebee surveys once a month, from March to October, the dates are set in advance, and the surveys only take about an hour to complete. We also survey the butterflies on the farm every week from April to September, again, it takes between 45-90 minutes to complete - and the days and times for this vary each week as we need to pick the sunniest, calmest day each week - which means it's a great way to get involved if you have limited availability or a flexible schedule. The surveys are pretty simple, and your ID skills develop quickly with the easy-to-use materials and our fantastic pair of 'bugnoculars'! The surveys help us to see areas for improvement on the farm, where we can plant extra pollen and nectar-rich flowers; provide extra shelter and nesting sites, or joining up existing 'wildlife corridors' to link abundant areas of the farm. The data is also fed into national surveys, helping to build an overall picture of the health of some of the smaller creatures in our wild family.

If you're interested to find out more, we are looking for more volunteers to start in April, and we're planning a little pre-survey-season meet-up in late March, which could be a great opportunity to come and meet some of the team and see whether it's for you. There's no obligation to commit, or to sign up to getting involved just yet - you'd be very welcome to come along, meet the other volunteers and give it a go.

Feeling a buzz about it all?! Get in touch with Emmy now to pop your name on the list to find out more!

Hedge-laying: learning new skills to support our wildlife

2024-02-06T08:57:02+00:00

This winter we have been embracing a new task on The Farm, as we have begun laying a hedgerow with our volunteers and Wild Steps groups.

We manage all of our hedgerows on a long-term plan, with cutting only taking place on rotation to allow a diversity of habitats and food sources to flourish within our boundaries. Laying a hedgerow forms part of this plan, and will enable the hedgerow to thicken up, regrowing from the base and continuing to provide a vital habitat for our beloved wildlife for years to come.

Hedge-laying is the process of almost completely cutting through the stems of the trees and laying them flat along the ground. The side branches then become the new upward growth, invigorating the growth from the base of hedgerow and filling up gaps in the hedge too.

This year, we have been working on laying the hedgerow that borders the north end of The Farm which was planted about 12 years ago and has reached quite a substantial height. It is made up of a mix of native species including oak, hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, spindle and field maple, along with some wild privet and some patches of bramble. We have also chosen a range of these trees to leave as ‘specimen trees’ that will continue to grow up and mature along the hedgerow - the next generation to follow on from the beautiful oak and ash specimens which tower above this hedgerow already.

We are extremely grateful to have had the support of the CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England)'s Hedgerow Heroes Project, who very kindly funded a training day with renowned local hedge-layer, Mike Reed, for a small group of our staff and volunteers to get the work started. It has been great to begin this new partnership with such an exciting piece of collaborative work which will benefit the farm's wildlife well into the future.

We were also joined on the first day by one of the team from The Mendip Hills National Landscape (formerly AONB) who have supported us over the last two years, and into this coming year, with grants via the Farming in Protetcted Landscapes fund.

We are continuing the work on the hedgerow over the coming weeks to ensure it's all finished in good time for our local bird-life to start prospecting the new habitat for potential nesting sites in early spring....then once the hard work is over, we can focus on the margin along the base of the hedge, planting wildflowers and watching the wildlife revel in this newly adapted environment.

By Emmy Wurmli, Engagement Leader

The health benefits of veg boxes

2024-02-01T11:15:29+00:00

If you're already a veg box customer then well done, you're already doing the right thing for your health and the health of the planet! Find out what Angela Raffle, Chair of The Farm's Management Committee Member, found out at the 2024 Oxford Real Farming Conference when she met food systems researcher Professor Angelina Sanderson Bellamy whose research backs the benefits of buying your veg box from a Community Supported Agriculture project like ours...

At the 15th ‘Oxford Real Farming Conference’ early this January I met a wonderfully enthusiastic food systems researcher and teacher from the University of the West of England, Professor Angelina Sanderson Bellamy.

Angelina led a research project, published in April 2023, comparing people who had recently started receiving home delivered fresh produce from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with people in the same area who shopped in supermarkets. The 113 participants in the study completed semi-structured interviews and kept food diaries. This revealed that household eating patterns amongst the CSA customers were far closer to the 2019 “EAT-Lancet Commission” recommendations, which are about best diets for planetary and human health. When asked whether receiving a vegetable box had changed the way they cook or impacted their diet, one fifth of the CSA participants reported eating more healthily since joining the CSA.

Not only were diets healthier and more planetary friendly, the CSA customers also felt positive about the origin of their vegetables. Other linked benefits included improved mood and mental health from visiting the CSA, connectedness within their community, connection with nature, and a sense of excitement about what they would receive in their veg box. They cooked with produce they would never normally have bought, and made sure they wasted nothing.

By Angela Raffle, Chair at The Community Farm

At present The Community Farm is one of only 179 CSAs in the UK. The researchers highlighted the many positive benefits of CSAs and stressed that government policy could and should give more support for farming that enhances human and planetary health, and builds resilient food supply chains. We agree!

Giving the roundhouse a glow-up!

2023-12-07T10:48:29+00:00

Lizzie Tanner, daughter of one of our long-term volunteers, was so inspired by The Farm's values and topography that she based her university textiles project around them, and she's even donated them to The Farm! Here she documents the entire process, from initial inspirtion to curating a wish-list of items with our team to dedsigning and making the final products. Thank you Lizzie - we LOVE THEM!

For my final undergraduate project in Textile Design at Loughborough University, I decided to use The Community Farm as both my inspiration and focus. Being part of the volunteering team on Thursdays has been beneficial to my wellbeing, brought me closer to my local community and developed my appreciation of both organic farming and the natural environment. The underlying objective of my project was to give something back to this community-based enterprise which I value very much and wholeheartedly believe in.

After interviewing staff members Emmy and Ellie, we came up with a wish list of textile items from which I developed ideas of pieces both decorative and useful for staff, volunteers and visitors. My work explores flexible and functional design in order to enhance the activities involved in growing organic food locally and in promoting well-being, which take place at The Farm.

The imagery was primarily inspired by the produce and processes used and included plants, buildings and found objects. It also incorporated contour maps and aerial photographs. The shades of green, blue, lilac, orange and beige were influenced by the branding, as well as from manufactured and natural materials around the site.

I found the project incredibly rewarding especially in creating pieces that I know will be used and have a purpose on The Farm.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone and especially Emmy, Ellie, Ian and the Thursday volunteer crew who have made me feel so welcome and helped me along the way!

You can find more images of my work on my Instagram: @lizzytanner_designs

My final collection:

A landscape quilt creating a ‘window’ for The Yurt, depicting a view of Chew Valley Lake from The Farm. Made from patchworked cotton, calico and digitally printed linen.

Laser cut cork trivets which, when placed together, form an aerial view of The Farm site. These were requested for use with hot pans and dishes in the Round House.

Fire resistant windbreaks which display contour lines of the local area along with the farm’s values, to offer some protection against breezes from the lake.

Outdoor cushions made from digitally printed fabric offcuts for use on pallet furniture.

A tablecloth printed with a pattern inspired by fresh mint grown in the herb garden at The Farm.

Jacquard woven merino wool blankets inspired by winter salad crops and propagation trays.

A flat-pack designed herb drying rack, constructed from laser cut panels of plywood with etched contour lines.

By Lizzie Tanner

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Winter reflections

2023-12-01T12:49:13+00:00

John Miller, Food and Farming Manager, reflects on the moment of quiet in the fields as focus shifts to rejuvination as we prepare for the start of another growing season.

As winter begins to weave its way through the Chew Valley, we reflect on the quiet beauty and resilience of our nature-friendly farm. While the fields are resting after an intensely productive summer, our focus is drawn into rejuvenating the land and, of course, our team of growers!

We are delving into a vital period in the Farm Calendar. We’re making the most of the tranquillity to clean and sort, to tinker and tighten, to grease and oil, all our tools and machinery, ensuring every blade, harrow, and plough is primed come spring.

Out on the fields we cover the market garden beds in black plastic to kill the weeds, before sowing green manures and over-winter crops such as garlic and broad beans. This allows us to really hit the ground running when the new growing season begins next spring. The polytunnels remain in full production, with our spicy winter salad leaves bringing much needed freshness to our veg boxes. Our wonderful volunteers will be harvesting leeks in the fields well into the new year. We'll also be welcoming back a local flock of sheep to graze and fertilise our fields. Their presence not only helps manage vegetation growth but contributes to the health of our soil through natural fertilisation.

After forensically reviewing the 2023 season, the growers have begun the planning phase for next year. They are strategically mapping out crop rotations, making the most of every inch of growing land we have. Our main objective is to streamline our harvests and extend the shoulder season beyond the summer and autumn, as well as introducing some exciting new crops. While a serene hush blankets the Farm, amongst the hibernation, there remains a hum of anticipation for the year to come.

Taking stock in times of seasonal change

2023-11-30T13:17:35+00:00

Emmy Wurmli, Engagament Leader, takes us through a blissful account of wildlife on The Farm as we slowly move into winter.

At this time of year I try to remember to slow down a little and lean into the changes that the natural world is going through. Taking time to revel in the glorious richness of the low-level sunlight as it picks out a vibrancy of colours across the hedgerows and fields during those golden hours, the glow of the rainbow chard stalks lined up across the field, the hawthorn berries abundant in the hedgerows and the full spectrum of autumn leaves in all their splendor.

We are blessed to have frequent reminders to pause and look up every time another flock of geese honks overhead on route to or from Chew Valley Lake. The skies have now brought new visitors in exchange for the screaming swifts and swallows which have left our shores for warmer climates. Many of our resident birds are beginning to flock-up for the winter months, and we are eagerly anticipating the first arrivals of fieldfare and redwing drawn to The Farm in part by the windfall apples.

Charms of goldfinches have been bouncing around between teasel heads; whilst a myriad of other birds flock their way through the standing seed heads that remain in the tail-end of the crops and marginal areas of our fields. The buzzards have been calling overhead and kestrel is almost a daily visitor, striking lucky over our fields as small mammals forage the gleanings of the crops and abundance of seeds now strikingly dominating the landscape as much of the greenery dies back - sped up by the arrival of our first proper frost of the season.

All of this abundance is made possible by the careful management of the land here - from allowing our hedgerows to grow up and thrive, producing nesting sites, shelter and abundance of food in the run up to the leaner months, to mindfully scything the marginal areas on rotation, ensuring that there are always patches of long grass and bramble creating a diversity of habitat for the wild beings which call this farm home.

There is plenty that you can do at home to mirror these nature-friendly farming practices - and the good news is, many of the best options involve less work! Resist the urge to 'tidy' your garden too much - leaving areas of long, tussocky grass, wild, over-grown patches, leaving dead stems and seed heads standing through the winter not only allows birds and small mammals to feast on the seeds, but also provide safe sheltered spaces for many invertebrates to over winter. If you have a pond, remember to break the ice in prolonged periods of cold (or leave a ball bobbing on the surface to prevent it freezing over) as access to water is always vital and often not that easy for our wildlife to find.

On a personal level, as we see our lives reflected in the natural world around us, it is a poignant time to consider what are the 'seeds worth saving' from this passing season which we want to store safely through the darker months, ready to nourish them into flourishing with the returning of spring...perhaps something to ponder with a cup of tea as you watch the birds flock to your freshly topped-up bird feeder in delight?!

By Emmy Wúrmli, Engagement Leader

Reflections on a season of incredible Community Farmer Days

2023-11-30T13:02:47+00:00

Community Farmer, Ian Sumpter, celebrates another productive, fun-filled and humbling growing season here at The Farm.

As the cycle of the seasons come around we arrive at the end of our Community Farmer Days for another year.

We pause and reflect on what has grown well, learn lessons from what has not done so well and see where and how we can improve as growers.

So much to learn and only so many chances to get it right.

One constant throughout the season is our incredible Volunteer support, week in, week out, through rain, hail, sleet and searing heat you came.

With you all we are an incredible force. We prepare and plant up the tunnels, planting the leeks in the field is a real test, knowing we’ll be harvesting them through the depths of winter. We prune the apple trees and sow the squash seed hoping for a bumper fun harvest day.

It is both so uplifting and humbling as farm staff to host these amazing days, that you want to come along and work so hard. The joyous spirit you bring is so infectious, it reminds us to have fun and notice our surroundings, so often taken for granted.

We feel so supported by you in that we are ‘doing the right thing’ here. It’s incredible.

So whether you came for one day or many through the season, brought your kids or grandparents, we thank you.

Your help is a vital part of the wider, deeper, healing food supply network being pioneered here at The Community Farm.

You’re the best ;) See you next time.

Lots of farm love,

Ian and Farm team :)

If you'd like to volunteer at The Farm over the next few months you are welcome to join our Tuesday or Thursday groups.

Go Organic with 50% off fruit and veg

2023-11-21T14:29:11+00:00

Get 50% off organic fruit & veg delivered to your door with our 'Go Organic' scheme.

Go Organic is for any Bristol residents who have limited access to fresh fruit & veg. You can choose to have a one-off weekly, fortnightly, or monthly delivery and you'll get 50% off your veg box, every time you shop.

People may have limited access to fresh fruit & veg for a variety of reasons including economic, physical or environmental barriers. If you are unsure whether you are elligible, please do get in touch. Please note that due to funding restrictions your delivery address must be within the City of Bristol local authority.

How to register:

Contact Sally: 01275 29 50 29 or box [AT] thecommunityfarm [DOT] co [DOT] uk
Tell her your postcode and where you heard about our ‘Go Organic’ scheme.
Sally will comfirm and send you a code.
You will then need to register an account. For this you will need a credit or debit card.

All a-flutter on The Farm!

2023-09-28T10:47:07+01:00

Annie Price, Management Committee Member, reflects on our first season of butterfly counts at The Farm.

It’s early May and the small group of volunteers doing a survey excitedly spot a brown shape fluttering past –‘there’s one!‘ Then……..’oh it’s gone’ as the unidentified flying creature disappeared across The Farm’s car park. So that was the only sighting for our first hour long butterfly survey – mind you, it was an unseasonably cool spring….and anyway we know we’ve got the summer ahead…

Several weekly surveys later in mid-July it’s a very different story: over 240 butterflies – 13 different species – recorded during one hour long survey!

So what are we up to? This summer The Community Farm decided to take part in weekly butterfly surveying to contribute to the Butterfly Conservation Trust’s national database. This monitors the state of butterfly numbers and species across the UK. We’d already been surveying and collecting data on bumblebees for several years and were able to use the same ‘transect’ (a set route across The Farm) for butterfly recording.

So with support from the Bristol and Somerset branch of the Trust a small team of volunteers, all beginners – some new to The Farm, some already volunteering here – began the weekly surveying. One minor complication – sunny and warm weather are needed for the session so we had to be flexible and be guided each week by the weather forecast in choosing the best day to survey. Fortunately we had enough team members so that at least two – and sometimes several more – volunteers made the survey day.

And what better way to spend a summer’s day than a slow hour long walk around The Farm counting and identifying butterflies, and we had so much to learn! The female Common Blue is mainly brown – and looks very much like the Brown Argus - Small Whites may be larger than Large Whites – and many more conundrums besides. So, armed with ID charts and the wonderful ‘bugnoculars’, and sharing our developing knowledge with each other, we smiled our way through the task, a great example of citizen science. We even found ourselves identifying various flowers and bugs along the way whilst looking up info about butterfly lifecycles when we got home.

Late September brings an end to the butterfly recording season – April to September – and we’ve finished the season spotting a flurry of beautiful autumn-coloured Red Admirals and Commas enjoying the hedgerow blackberries.

So what now? We’ll be reviewing our findings alongside that of other Somerset groups and considering how we can improve the habitat across The Farm throughout the lifecycle of these and other pollinators. What we do know is that, across the UK, many species of butterfly are in decline and at risk of extinction largely through loss of habitat. Our Community Farm data will contribute to national and international research.

Then next April we start again! It’s a long-term project so if you’d like to join this or any other volunteering on the Farm contact Emmy, we'd love to have you!

By Annie Price, Management Committee Member

Get Fair About Farming

2023-09-28T10:29:45+01:00

Almost half (49%) of British fruit and veg farmers fear they will go out of business within the next 12 months. 75% report that supermarket behaviour is a leading factor.*

These shocking statistics are why we're supporting a new campaign from Riverford which asks supermarkets to commit to better sourcing policies.

We encourage everyone to sign the petition.

Riverford are calling for supermarkets to:

Pay on time: UK farmers often have to wait up to 12 weeks to be paid - a practice that’s illegal in the EU. Buyers should pay as quickly as practically possible, guaranteeing farmers a regular, reliable income.

Commit for the long term: Farmers should be able to invest in their business with confidence, and not live with the anxiety of short-term contracts. Supermarkets should build long-term relationships with farmers, unless there are good reasons to look elsewhere. If they do need to change suppliers, they should give good notice, and honour all agreed purchases.

Agree on fair specifications: Fair specifications (the standards for a crop, defining size, shape, and so on) should be agreed together - balancing the buyer’s knowledge of what customers want, with the farmer’s expertise about the crop. Buyers should never use unreasonable claims about quality to wriggle out of a commitment to buy.

Pay what you agreed to pay: Farmers are sometimes told one price when agreeing to grow a new crop, and later told they will receive much less. Buyers should always honour the price that was agreed on; a fair price, reflecting the true cost of farming.

At The Farm, we're proud of the relationships we've built with our suppliers. The farmers we work with set their own prices to make sure they’re financially viable and can look after the land where they farm. We work closely with them to plan their crops meaning we sell as much as they grow as possible. By selling veg boxes we get away from worries about crop specifications too and whilst that might mean you get two small cucumbers, rather than one big one, we think its well worth it to make sure that everything is grown, goes to use. Especially when food waste globally accounts for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions. And of course, we pay them on time.

If you think that’s how business should be done, do sign the Riverford petition and speak out about the reality of supermarket exploitation.