Community Spirit
from waitrose.com
Old Plaw Hatch Farm is noteworthy not only because it employs
biodynamic methods, but also because its financing involves the local
community in the food production process, says Sarah Freeman.
Photographs by Lisa Anders.
Old Plaw Hatch Farm, near Sharpethorne in West Sussex, is one of
about 90 farms in the UK to be run according to Rudolph Steiner's
agricultural principles, known today as biodynamics. In addition to its
farming methods, Old Plaw Hatch is remarkable for the way in which it
is managed. Along with another farm in the area, Tablehurst, it is one
of only a few examples in this country of community-supported farming.
The land and buildings of both farms are owned by a local charitable
trust, in return for which the farms have educational obligations, such
as offering work experience to students and showing the public around.
To raise money for improvements and expansion, Tablehurst sold its
day-to-day business, including the animals, to a co-operative, while
Old Plaw Hatch's business was sold to a few large shareholders. In both
cases, the backers are more interested in good food than profit.
Under the guiding hands of the recently appointed farmer, Michael
Duveen, and his partner Jayne Thomas, the money generated by the sale
of the business to shareholders has enabled Old Plaw Hatch to add beef
cattle to its dairy herd and introduce pigs. There are also plans to
expand both the farm shop and the dairy. A new head cheesemaker has
joined them and, in collaboration with cheese expert James Aldridge, is
developing a washed-rind cheese which will be the only one of its kind
in the organic repertoire.
The farm is reached via a tunnel of trees. The sunlight shining
through the leaves makes a pattern of gold on the road; the ground is
covered with a mesh of bracken which in autumn turns the colour of
toast. On the left sits a row of red-brick stables, the first of which
houses the farm shop. The produce on sale here
includes succulently marbled beef hung for three weeks, newly laid
eggs, honey from the farm's hives, unpasteurised milk, cream, yoghurt,
and the original, spicy Old Plaw Hatch cheese, which won a gold medal
at the 1998 British Cheese Awards. According to the season, fruit and
vegetables include strawberries, the juiciest raspberries and snappiest
green beans in Sussex, potent but soft-tasting rocket and truly bitter
radicchio.
Two gardeners tend to nine acres of market garden, and 100 hens,
which reliably lay 100 eggs a day, have the run of a field so green and
immaculate that it looks as if it were grazed by sheep. Milk is
supplied by a herd of Meuse-Rhine-Issel (MRI) cattle and the beef is a
cross between MRIs and Aberdeen Angus. None of the cows are de-horned
and the calves are left with their mothers for five months instead of
being separated after the customary 24 hours.
Evidence of Michael's energy is everywhere, yet he possesses a great
philosophical calm, or perhaps one should say spiritual calm, since
Steiner's original term for biodynamics was 'spiritual science'. For
Michael, biodynamics is an extension of organic farming in two
respects. Firstly, in order to be infinitely sustainable, the farm must
be self-contained, buying in nothing, or as little as possible, from
outside. It must produce its own animal feed, bedding, manure, and any
necessary treatments and remedies, although, as with organic farming,
the aim is to avoid pests and disease by providing a balanced
environment.
Secondly, whereas organic farmers consider only conditions on earth,
biodynamic farmers take a holistic approach, seeing plants as a living
link between the earth, the air and the cosmos. They examine the
position of the planets and the phases of the moon to determine when to
plant and harvest crops, with the aim of 'restoring life' to the soil,
without depending on chemical fertilizers and sprays. Michael admits
that to the uninitiated, these methods might seem a little strange, but
says: "The earth is part of the universe, which means that you should
look at it in its cosmic context. The effects of the sun and moon are
obvious examples. All the earth's energy comes from the sun, and its
relation to the earth affects the weather."
A number of community-supported biodynamic farms have been founded
in Germany and the US; of the ones in Britain, several are run by the
Camphill Village Trust, including two at Loch Arthur in southern
Scotland and one at Larchfield, Middlesborough, which recently won a
Soil Association award for its meat. The Camphill farms are slightly
different, however, in so much as part of their function is to provide
work for village residents with learning difficulties. Another venture
akin to Old Plaw Hatch is an organic farm near Inverness, which
established its dairy herd by issuing shares worth the price of a cow:
purchasers are repaid with butter, yoghurt and cheese.
This support brings the farms advantages beyond the ability to raise
funds, because it guarantees them a core of regular customers. And for
their part, the customers have contact with the farmers and a degree of
control over the production of the food they put on their tables.
Old Plaw Hatch Farm, Sharpethorne, West Sussex RH19
4JL. The farm shop, which is open seven days a week, can be contacted
on 01342 810201.
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