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Rapeseed Oil
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Balsamic Dressing
Honey & Mustard
Ultimate Chilli DressingHere at Farrington’s, we don’t use neonicotinoids on our rapeseed crop. This is for many reasons, mainly because of the concerns related to this pesticide and the effect on bees. You can read more about our bee friendly rapeseed and what else we do to keep the bees on our farm healthy and happy here.
Friends of the Earth, a campaign group looking for solutions to environmental problems, is concerned about the impact of neonicotinoids on bees and other pollinators and urged farmers to join them in pledging not to use neonicotinoids. We were asked us to join the Bee Friendly Shoppers Guide to Rapeseed Oil, of which we are 1 of only 7 rapeseed oil producers on this list. Of course we said yes! The guide aims to educate shoppers on which oils to buy, and how these oils are helping Britain’s bees. As part of the guide, we have pledged not to use the three neonicotinoid pesticides which are currently restricted across the EU, and will continue to avoid these pesticide even if the ban is lifted.
The Bee Friendly Shoppers Guide to Rapeseed Oil is supported by a number of leading chefs. These include Kevin Gratton, chef director for Mark Hix Restaurants, David Everitt-Matthias of Le Champignon Sauvage, Martin Burge, executive chef at Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa and Tom Hunt, eco chef owner of Poco Tapas Bar. Friends of the Earth, alongside the supporting farmers and chefs, are asking consumers to support the initiative by buying the bee-friendly rapeseed oils detailed in the guide.
Friends of the Earth’s Bee Campaigner, Nick Rau, said “We’re delighted Farrington’s Mellow Yellow is standing up for Britain’s bees by pledging not to use these three bee-harming pesticides on their rapeseed crops. They deserve our support. We hope more farmers and producers follow their lead and say no to these neonicotinoid pesticides. Nature-loving shoppers can back this pioneering initiative by checking out the Bee Friendly Shoppers Guide to Rapeseed Oil and choosing these products in supermarkets, local stores and online.”
To read more about the Bee Friendly Shoppers Guide to Rapeseed Oil, please visit: http://www.rapeseedoilguide.com/
Back in 2012, thanks to the growing success of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow we started using rapeseed from a second farm, working with our neighbours, in addition to the seed we grow on our own farm. See my blog; “Mellow Yellow Popularity Grows” April 10, 2012. Now, we have added a third farmer to the list.
The Bletsoe and Farrington families have been neighbouring farmers since at least my great grandfather’s day. Like most farming neighbours, we have developed strong friendships over those generations, built on trust and the odd bit of occasional light hearted banter.
Emma Bletsoe has, for several years, used our rapemeal, produced as the by-product from pressing the oil out of the seed, to feed her cattle. Then a couple of years ago, Emma and I were chatting at a local gathering, when the conversation moved on to her rapeseed crop and my future needs for more LEAF Marque rapeseed. Emma thought that as well as buying the meal off us, perhaps she could also sell us her seed in the first place. Emma and her guys on the farm, Garry and Stuart, have worked hard to meet the rigorous LEAF Marque standards, which they passed with flying colours.
Now we purchase seed from Emma, which ensures I have a fully traceable, accredited supplier; while Emma gets a little bonus and the odd bottle of oil for the extra work required. Then once we have pressed the seed to produce our Mellow Yellow, Gary or Sturt arrive with their tractor and trailer to collect the rapemeal, which they use to make a healthy and, again fully traceable, meal for their cattle. This is something the cows particularly like in the cold winter months when they are kept in warm straw-bedded barns, as opposed to eating fresh grass in the fields during the summer.
This is a prime example of neighbouring farmers working well together, making happy farmers, happy cows and most importantly, the best quality, delicious Farrington’s Mellow Yellow that you can trust every time.
A while ago we were very excited that an old silver looking ring was unearthed on our farm. Although it showed the signs of having laid in the soil for several years, with damage from years of cultivation and general farming activities, it was decided to have it looked at by the experts. After several months, The British Museum has confirmed that our little battered silver ring is, in fact, a Roman ring, around 1,800 years old! We are obviously so thrilled to learn this and my mind starts wondering about the history and stories it may come with.
Just think, how was this ring dropped or lost all those years ago? Who lost it? Was the field it was found in, a field back in 200AD and if so what crops were growing at the time? I learned years ago from my research into Farrington’s Mellow Yellow, that it was the Romans who initially bought rapeseed to Britain. Would I be stretching it a bit far to think that maybe the owner of this ring once also grew rapeseed in the same field?
The ring has been declared treasure and will be on display for everyone to see at the Norris Museum in St Ives, Cambridgeshire from the summer of 2017. I can’t wait to see it in its new home.
Neonicotinoids insecticides hit the headlines because their use for controlling cabbage stem flea beetle in crops of rapeseed and the suspected links to declining numbers of honeybees and native bumble bees. At Farrington’s we have more questions from our valued customers about this, than any other topic. Before I go any further, just to confirm we are growing bee friendly rapeseed, we do not use Neonicotinoids in growing our rapeseed and do not intend to if the ban is lifted.
How we grow our crops and look after the wider environment has always been my top priority at Bottom Farm. Indeed, I joined LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) back in 1997 to learn more about doing the right thing in this area.
Why is Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle such a problem?
Rapeseed plants grow from the tiny little black seeds planted at the end of August each year. The first few weeks are vital in the survival of the crop, which requires a warm, moist soil to help it germinate and tentatively put its head above the surface, from which the tender young plants start to grow. However, these young tender plants are delicious to a number of predators including flea beetles. So much so that if the conditions are right for flea beetles, they can completely wipe out a crop overnight. After which it is often too late to replant a second crop of rapeseed, as the soil temperature has dropped below the minimum required for the plant to grow.
What is a Neonicotinoid?
Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides based on nicotine. In rapeseed, the chemical is coated in tiny amounts onto the seed to be planted and moves (is translocated) into the growing plant as it emerges from the soil. When a flea beetle nibbles on said plant, there is just enough of the toxic chemical to kill the pest. But otherwise, it is a specifically targeted use of an insecticide in an ingenious way.
Concerns grew that numbers of both honey bees and bumble bees were declining, so scientists explored the potential causes. It appears there are several possible causes including; loss of habitat for bees to feed on and live in; potential pests and diseases affecting bees, such as Varroa mite; changing weather patterns, such as cool damp springs; use of agricultural pesticides.
Some research suggested that small amounts of Neonicotinoid translocated through to the pollen and nectar in the flowering rapeseed plants. When bees visited these flowers they were inadvertently ingesting the chemical which was causing them to lose their bearings; a bit like us trying to find our way home after having too much of a good night in the pub. Other research suggested longer term damage to the fertility of the bee colony.
Although research appeared inconclusive with the debate on both sides being passionate, the EU restricted the use of Neonicotinoids on rapeseed crops from 2013, until such time that more conclusive evidence is shown.
Growing Bee Friendly Rapeseed.
I use several approaches to try and grow a successful crop of rapeseed whilst looking after our bee populations.
– I use a crop rotation and have extended the rapeseed from one in 3 years, to one in 4 to 5 years. This will provide a bigger gap between the crop so as there is less food around for the flea beetle to live off, that will hopefully in time reduce the risk of attack.
– Established wildflower meadow areas around the farm to create a perfect habitat with a variety of pollinating plants for bees and other beneficial insects to live off.
– Planting the crop into fertile soil, with the use of a healthy crop rotation which includes nutrient building cover crops to give the rapeseed the best possible chance to grow quickly out of the danger period when it is susceptible to flea beetle damage. This is backed up with a small amount of fertiliser if required.
– A local beekeeper has hives on the farm. The bees help fertilise our rapeseed and other crops, making delicious honey in the process.
– I am experimenting by growing companion crops of vetch and clover within the rapeseed. These create a friable soil structure and add nutrition to help the rapeseed plant grow well. It may also confuse a passing flea beetle as to what crop is actually growing in the field and may pass by unaware that their favourite meal is below them.
– As a final resort, we use an insecticide as found in head lice shampoo to kill bad infestations of flea beetle. If we use this, we make sure we spray the crop early in the morning or late at night, as the flea beetle will still be feeding on the crop, but the bees are all tucked up in bed.
In Summary, this hopefully explains some of the conundrums I have as a farmer in trying to do the best thing. Hopefully also, as I write in December 2016, with a temperature of -4.5°C this morning, I am confident that nature will help us enormously in reducing the number of flea beetles surviving the winter.
After nearly ten years, my monthly ramblings of life as a farmer, initially for a local village magazine and latterly for the Evening Telegraph; must come to an end as I need to spend more time helping our growing business.
Ten years ago, the economics of agriculture were not that inspiring and I was just starting out in a diversification project as Britain’s first person to grow, press and bottle rapeseed oil. In my mind this was going to be a small project to help supplement income from the farm, enabling Eli and me and, our young family to remain living and working on the farm. Little did I realise, that Farrington’s Mellow Yellow would become the success it has.
Within four years, Farrington Oils outgrew the farm in turnover. I had to start employing people and with it, learn very quickly how to find the right team to work with, as well as how to work with our increasing number of customers and meeting the many loyal consumers who buy our products that keep us all in business. I am very proud of the fact that in our little village of Hargrave, we now employ over 15 people. We have a fantastic team who are just as passionate about what we do here as I am.
There are many UK farmers now replicating what I started, of which there are three main brands, with us in the top two. However, while the success has been obvious, it is not the time to slow down resting on our laurels’. Competition is fierce keeping us all on our toes. As the market for cold pressed rapeseed oil matures, it is more important than ever to keep pushing forward, because if I don’t, others will and they could take our market. We are now looking for new customers both in the UK and abroad. I am delighted we are now; ‘exporting oil to the Arabs’ – its only small at the moment, but will hopefully grow, especially when Eli and I attend an international trade show in Dubai next February for example.
Closer to home as we need to travel the country visiting customers here, I have just invested in our first company car. To keep in line with our cool British credentials, it had to be a Mellow Yellow Mini from the local Mini dealer in Northampton and I love it. Mini is a successful British brand exporting 80% of what it produces, whilst this may be a tall order for Mellow Yellow, it is certainly something to aim for over the next few years. Look out for our soon to be branded Mellow Yellow Mini on the roads.
Thank-you to all of you who have read my diary over the last ten years, I can’t believe you could have put up with me complaining about the wrong type of weather on so many occasions. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing my diary and meeting so many readers over the years. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016.
Harvest finished in the second week of September, it was a rather drawn out event in the end, but on the whole went well. The new combine was the highlight of the year, a great machine that will hopefully be serving us well for the next decade. However, being a farmer, there is always something to worry about and this year it is the prices. The collapse in milk prices over the last year has been well published; but now it is hitting home with me of the 30% reduction in grain prices also, with no immediate prospect of a recovery on the horizon.
To take my mind off impending gloom on the current viability of British agriculture, I was delighted that our work in Farrington Oils has come to the attention of some influential people, like His Royal Highness.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a mysterious phone call to say we had been selected for a royal visit, to the home of Farrington’s Mellow Yellow “if you are interested?” Of course, we were interested, but the catch was it all had to be arranged within a few days. The timing was perfect for us as we have been investing in the business, hence we had something to talk about and see.
We hastily invited local councillors, colleagues, and customers to the event, with everyone being asked to keep it quiet. The drivers and armed police came out to check everything were up to scratch, with no security issues. Floors were scrubbed, equipment polished, whilst my mother and Eli made some Mellow Yellow inspired cakes and made sure we had enough cups and saucers to hand.
It also allowed us to exert some pressure on the local engineers to finish off the work in time for the occasion, it being finally finished the evening beforehand. We have installed more oil presses, increasing our capacity by two-thirds, along with two impressive oil storage tanks, increasing capacity by 400%. On the morning we busily gave the new equipment a final check-over before starting it working, nervously checking for leaks and issues, before getting changed into suit and tie.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester came to visit, spending time touring our factory and meeting the team. He bottled his own oil, before enjoying refreshments, chatting to our guests. It was a great event, I was very proud to show off our team at Farrington Oils. I was delighted to talk about our investment in equipment, a new staff position to look after national sales and our two latest export customers in the Middle East and Asia.
Following the visit, everyone was really pleased with a job well done, although exhausted. It is fantastic for company moral to be able to do something different and exciting occasionally; to invite customers and other guests to show them first hand what we do and, to be proud of our village and our county.
Day 32 in this year’s harvest and exhaustion has taken over from adrenalin. After an initial rain interrupted false start, the rape harvest went without a hitch, which despite the lack of rain in the months before, produced a pleasing ‘good average’ result. Following the rapeseed, we moved straight into to some early wheat on light land that had died a premature death from lack of moisture. This also flew by in record time, although the low yield had something to do with the speed we moved across the acres. Everything went to plan, no machinery breakdowns, long dry days and plenty of packed lunches and supplies to keep us going for two weeks without a stop, clocking up more hours than I like to think about.
Following the early wheat, we then had to be patient and wait for the next bit to mature. The weather was still perfect for combining, many neighbours were at it, but we had to wait a few more days. This is frustrating, as with experience the weather will change at any time. In theory, we only had another two weeks of combining and it would all be done for another year.
Finally, the wheat was just about ready, we combined one field with a very pleasing yield on our heavy land that I would not have expected only a month earlier. Then the rain arrived. The weather reports say the Jet Stream has gone south and our island nation is stuck between a high and a low-pressure system battling it out; the result being a prolonged period of sunshine and showers. All pretty standard, but frustrating never the less. We have now finished all of our winter wheat, combining as soon as the conditions allow, in a stop-start fashion resulting in us harvesting the same hours in a week as we were doing in a day at the start of harvest.
When conditions are like this, it is difficult to keep the adrenalin and motivation going, having to ensure we are absolutely ready in the right place when conditions are right. Late one Saturday night we needed to move the combine 300 metres from one field to another when a tyre blew on a trailer. Quickly Marvin and I got the compressor and tools to try to repair the tyre, but could soon see it was not going to happen. Rain was due the next day and we wanted to keep going. Time for blocks of wood and the forklift, and we were able to drag the trailer to the next field so the work could continue a bit longer.
We still have another few days worth of harvest to do, but I don’t know when we will get these days as August now turns into September. Father, Marvin and I have worked hard over the last month, we are all getting a little tired and some may sit grumpily at times. It is standard procedure and something long-suffering farmers’ wives and families have to put up with on an annual basis. Something I try to remember, as, without the support team in the background, the job would be impossible.
In the following weeks of June, we have been getting ready to harvest which will now soon be upon us. Marvin has been busy cleaning the grain store from top to bottom, with the help of a German exchange student who stayed with us for five weeks to learn about life on a British farm. He has also methodically gone through every piece of machinery that will be used over the next four months. Each machine has been brought to the workshop. Worn out or broken bearings, pipes, electrical wires, and parts have been repaired and replaced, before the machine is then washed and greased in readiness for work. No doubt there will be something we have missed which will come to light as soon as the machine is used, but good preparations should reduce the chances of downtime when we don’t need it.
At the same time, we are currently making the largest investment to date in Farrington Oils, increasing our oil pressing capacity by two-thirds. I have bought four extra oil presses and storage tanks that have arrived and are waiting to be installed. Father and others are fabricating hoppers and frames for the installation. It is a full team effort in order to get everything finished before harvest, firstly because we will not have time for building projects once the combine starts rolling and secondly because we need the space, as the farm yard currently looks more like an engineering works with half-built machines scattered around the place.
The weather continues to be wonderful in Hargrave over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, although I hate to say, but a little rain would have been appreciated. One day my daughters came back from school in the nearby town, soaked to the skin from a heavy rain storm while they were playing sport, while the sun continued to shine in Hargrave. It is a common occurrence that rain misses Hargrave; there must be some very righteous people living in our village. My only hope is that we do not get a repeat of last year, where the heavens open during August, which was the wettest month of last year by some margin.
Farrington’s Mellow Yellow’s commitment to environmentally sustainable farming has been recognised in The Grocer Gold Awards 2015, the most prestigious awards in the food and drinks industry. The company were shortlisted as finalists in The Green Initiative of the Year category. The awards focus on key business areas including innovation and customer satisfaction and this is a new category for 2015 recognising ‘specific and material achievements’.
Farrington’s Mellow Yellow launched in 2005 but it was two years before its launch in 2003 that farmer Duncan Farrington decided to become a LEAF Demonstration Farm and planted his rapeseed crops under the LEAF Marque standard. This decision to grow and produce his brand of cold pressed rapeseed oil to the highest environmental standards, raised the bar of British produced culinary oils as he led the growth of the sector within the UK.
Duncan has taken a long term approach to environmentally sustainable farming, changing the ethos of his family farm and making a commitment to continual trial, learning and development. Duncan joined LEAF in 1993 and has played a vital role in the wider organisation as a dedicated LEAF farmer.
One of the unique aspects of being a LEAF Demonstration Farm is the accessibility people have to the farm. From the nationwide Open Farm Sunday event to visits from local schools or Woman’s Institutes for example; Duncan regularly hosts farm walks. It is on these walks that you learn how agriculture and the environment go hand in hand and Farrington’s, like many other farmers, create the produce on your local supermarket shelf. Duncan’s personal passion is how he looks after his soils, using the very latest technologies, combined with traditional practices learned over centuries. Indeed, Duncan’s mantra is ‘From healthy soils, we produce healthy oils’.
Cold pressed rapeseed oil continues to grow in popularity and is much loved by chefs and home cooks alike who appreciate its culinary and health properties. Duncan Farrington said ‘Farrington’s Mellow Yellow is the only LEAF Marque branded cold pressed rapeseed oil, and highlights our unique approach to quality production that is at the core of our trusted brand. We are delighted to be recognised in The Grocer Gold Awards 2015’. The Grocer Gold 2015 Awards were announced at a prestigious event at Guildhall London on 9th June 2015. Duncan and Eli Farrington were joined by Caroline Drummond, Chief Executive LEAF, and Kelly Castelete, Marketing Manager for Farrington’s Mellow Yellow. Despite not winning the category, the company were thrilled to be shortlisted and enjoyed the chance to celebrate the success with customers including Booths, Ocado, Hello Fresh, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
It’s that time of year when farms around the country start getting our grain stores and machinery all cleaned and tidy, yards swept and gate posts painted. This is partly to ensure everything is in tip-top condition for when harvest starts next month but is also in readiness for the biggest day in the farming calendar. Open Farm Sunday, on 7th June, is the national open day for British Agriculture, where around 400 farms throughout the whole of the British Isles open their farm gates to show the general public what we do on modern working farms.
This year we are stepping over the county border into Cambridgeshire to help our neighbour, Michael Brown and his family at Bottom Farm in Covington. Michael grows many different crops, including borage, chard, and mangels, as well as the more standard wheat, barley, and rapeseed. We will be helping his team on farm walks, tractor and trailer rides, livestock displays, face painting and much more. There will, of course, be local food and drink for sale, but on the whole, Open Farm Sunday is all about getting the general public involved and hopefully interested in the where and how our food is produced, looking at the countryside and learning about the wildlife on farms. As such it is a free family day out which we will hopefully see some of you at ‘farmer Brown’s.’
Visit www.openfarmsunday.org to find out more about the whole day and a farm near you to visit. I have seen three farms in Northamptonshire this year, where in addition to the usual attractions, you can grind your own flour, talk to beekeepers, see how Northamptonshire cider is made and even see a working steam engine. It really is a great day out that has attracted over 1 million people onto farms over the years.