Mat Cole shares the magic of taking the farm to inner-city children.
We had some fantastic weather through late spring and early summer. Many farmers made hay in May and June which is unheard of, as usually it doesn’t get anywhere near dry or hot enough until July. The little rain there was saved our grass harvest – we were starting to worry about winter feed, although I’m sure some farmers in dryer parts of the country will be short for the winter. Our climate is changing, with more extreme swings in the weather; it is a real concern.
During the good weather, we managed go camping in Cornwall – along with everyone else, it seems! Gemma and I also had a lovely trip to the Bath & West Show, where I judged the Scotch Blackface sheep. There was a good show of sheep, which made it difficult, but the champion was never in question – a young ram from the Abel family of Peter Tavy.
I also visited London back in June, as I had been asked to help with a Farm to City event in Battersea. There is a community centre there called Providence House, which works very closely with East Shallowford Farm on Dartmoor. The event I helped with was all about taking the farm to the city. With the help of lots of local partners, Will Dracup and his team, plus farm animals, a peat bog and a splattering of Dartmoor natives and their paraphernalia, we created a farm at Providence House! I wasn’t really sure what I was letting myself in for, but it was an amazing experience with over a thousand children visiting the event over four days. I have spent many years telling our Dartmoor Farmers story to like-minded people in Devon, but trying to communicate our message of local food, environmental delivery and sustainable farming in harmony with the environment was a much harder sell when the children of inner-city London have very little understanding of our green spaces. It really opened my eyes to the challenges we face and the diversity across different parts of our society.
In other news, Dartmoor Farmers lamb is back in season! We start the fifth year of our partnership with Morrisons supplying Dartmoor lamb to stores across the south of England, London and hopefully Battersea. We are confident that the quality and provenance of Dartmoor lamb shines through and hope you will support your local Dartmoor farmers and help make their futures more secure.
Mat Cole, Greenwell Farm