We’ve all heard and read about it. The media is awash with anecdotes about farmers getting a raw deal, forced into selling produce at prices that are unsustainable.
The fact is, our farming system is set up to subsidise larger farms, and ensure prices stay low. As a result, the price of fruit and veg has seen very little inflation over the past 50 years, relative to other commodities.At The Community Farm, we are different. We give our producers a good deal. They are on a journey with us, and the more we grow, the more they do too.
We work closely with our local suppliers to ensure we pay a fair price for produce. We crop plan together, setting prices and, where possible, committing to buying set quantities. Our joint planning enables us to allow different growers to supply items throughout the year, supplementing our own field produce, while providing them with the security of income.
The success of our veg box scheme has allowed us to work directly with farmers and co-operatives in Spain. Moving away from importers has given us control over the provenance of produce. We are now able to trace all items to their farms, and can be confident that it’s coming from an ethical supply. We can also ensure the money is going to the farmer direct, and that those farms are having a positive environmental, and in some cases social, impact.
It’s important to note that organic farms can have bad practices as well. All intensive farming for cheap produce will come at a cost to the earth and our health. That’s why we strive to have a strong ethical supply chain that rewards good farming.
When you buy veg from The Community Farm, you know you are contributing to a vibrant and healthy food system. A system that’s having a positive impact on people and the planet, and helping farms to thrive in an adverse marketplace that has been engineered to favour a false economy of putting cheap produce over our future.
Further Reading:
Small farms CAN feed the world
- International Institute for Environment and Development - Can small-scale farmers feed the world?
Photo essay on small scale farms
- National Geographic - Why we need small farms
2015 milk crisis
- The Telegraph - Dairy crisis: farmers facing 'blow after blow’ as milk becomes cheaper than water
- BBC - Q&A: Milk prices row and how the system works
Milk vending machines
- FarmingUK - Milk vending machine praised for reconnecting public with farmers
Small farms failing in UK
- Campaign to Protect Rural England - Smaller farms heading towards a cliff edge
- The Prince's Countryside Fund - Is there a future for the small family farm in the UK?
