Local food is Centre Stage

More and more south Devon farmers are wanting to get in on the Buy Local Campaign, by selling directly to the public.

Low returns from supermarkets, declining subsidies and a passionate belief in the quality of what they produce - there are many reasons why farmers are getting more entrepreneurial.

Taste of the West, Meat South West and the Rural Development Service have combined to organise a series of six training events across the region. When the roadshow hit Kenniford Farm, near Exeter, earlier this week, the room was full to bursting with farmers eager to learn some tricks of the trade.

Ron Barter, from Farrants, Dunsford, produces Brimblecombe cider from orchards that have been there for 400 years. The varieties he grows are equally old, with names like Fair Maids of Devon, Slap My Lassies, Sweet Alfords, Hand-me-Downs and Pig Snout.

Mr Barter produces 1,500 gallons of organic cider and cider vinegar a year, which is still processed by pressing the apples through straw. At the moment he sells from his cider barn. Atmospheric, no doubt, but he wants to expand his business.

'I am interested to move into farmer's markets. Obviously we want to progress. It's a question of getting in right.' he said.

For others, selling direct to the public is a matter of survival. Mark Stevens and Jo Brown, beef farmers near Hatherleigh, used to sell all their meat to Tesco. They keep 250 cattle on their 1,300 acre farm. But with the cuts in farming subsidies, it was a case of either selling direct to the customer to giving up beef production.

Last May they set up The Natural Beef Company, which sells high-quality beef boxes. Their leaflet explains how the cattle are reared and cared for, the four-mile journey to the abattoir and how the meat is hung for three weeks before butchering.

'We don't inject our packs with water to add weight, or gas to keep the colour and prolong the shelf life,' he says.

Business is thriving.

'We hoped to do two animals a week at the end of two years. We are already doing one animal a week at the end of six months,' said Mr Stevens.

They have got the message that consumers like to know where their food comes from.

John Sheaves, chief executive of Taste of the West, told delegates on Monday that after the butter and grain mountains of the Seventies, the food scares of the Eighties and Nineties and more recently, foot-and-mouth disease, consumers want to feel confident in what they eat.

'It is essential that we back to a connection between food and the landscape it is produced from,' he said.

According to research carried out by Taste of the West, 70 per cent of consumers want to buy locally sources food. They are after freshness, taste and integrity, but more than that, Mr Sheaves believes that it's about community spirit, supporting local farmers and retailers, all of which feeds into a feel-good factor.

Local food in here to stay and if California's experience is anything to go by, the market will get bigger and more professional. with a growing resident population and 20m visitor days a year, people are hungry to buy into the south west.

'It is a lifestyle experience,' he said.

After this inspirational message. came some nitty gritty from Gareth Jones, of the Farmers' Retail Markets Association - Farma for short.

Farma, based in Southampton, is a co-operative representing 550 producers and 250 farmers' markets, as well as 7,000 farmers selling direct to the public. 4,000 farm shops and 1,000 pick-your-own farms.

His research shows that there is plenty of room for growth but farmers have much to learn in terms of marketing and business skills.

'At 4pm, 70 per cent of the population don't know what they want to eat that evening,' said Mr Jones.

Farm shops on busy roads should be aiming to get those people in.

Those shops without passing trade need to capture their customers for up to two hours or more and key to that is providing decent toilets.

'Ladies don't want grotty toilets. You should be thinking about spending £20,000 plus for a good toilet block,' he said.

Somewhere to have a pot of tea, farm trails, a maze for the kids and perhaps some fishing for Dad all helps. His message that businesses need to reach a turnover of £150,000 as quickly as possible drew some intakes of breath.

Not everyone then, is ready to embrace this brave new world.

John Edwards, born and bred in Devon, farms at Barne, Christow, like his father and grandfather before him.

'It's all a bit upmarket for me.' he confessed.

He keeps 70 South Devon sucklers and reckons to sell two or three a year at local farmers' markets.

'You've got to keep the expenses down. If you can't see it back, you're up the Swannee, aren't you?'

Tim and Charlotte Jaykins, who rent a National Trust farm at Wembury, started selling meat from their utility room freezer. Now they run Moostone Meats from a farm building reroofed at NT expense.

'I think that's going to frighten people off.' said Mr Jaykins.

With a young family to bring up, Mrs Jaykins can manage to open the shop only two days a week. Their advertising begins and ends with the parish magazine.

'It's amazing what it brings in,' she said.

Our host, Andrew Freemantle, who is a pig farmer, is further along the diversification road. He has a farm shop at Kenniford Farrn outside Exeter and attends markets in Exninster, Exeter, Ottery St Mary and Dawlish. He also goes to the major agricultural shows and even supplies his local hunt with bacon and sausages.

'You've got to take advantage of every opportunity,' he said.

Author:  Lindsey Sill
Publication:  Dawlish Post
Publication date: 17 March 2006