Good morning,
I knew when deciding to write about Nev, Andrew & Jack that I would also have to cast the spotlight in my own direction at some point.
Writing about myself feels self-indulgent and uncomfortable but I know we need more stories about female farmers, so I will indulge (and cringe).
After today we will have looked at the four people who make up the Trenchmore team, but this is not to suggest that the progression of our farm sits squarely on eight shoulders. We are supported by a community of interesting and inspiring farming friends and I plan to bring you some of their stories, too.
Before joining Trenchmore, I was working with a London distillery. It was a similarly small but efficient team and I enjoyed getting stuck in, and being involved in all aspects of their business. The wonderful founders taught me a lot about the drinks industry and how to run a young business, and I adored the variety in my role and working with the glorious and grubby bars and pubs around London.
Meanwhile, my parents were producing their third batch of cider in Sussex.
This batch had come back from the bottlers’ in spring and all seemed well. A couple of weeks after if had been delivered to trade customers, it became clear something wasn’t right. The cider was going cloudy. It turned out that there had been a fault in the bottling line and tiny amounts of yeast had been introduced to the cider before the bottles were sealed. The cider was re-fermenting in glass bottles that were not designed for high pressure.
They decided to recall the whole batch and needed all the hands they could find to collect the delivered stock and deal with the aftermath of an expensive and embarrassing product recall. So, I moved out of my London flat, dusted off my wellies and have been making the cider and helping run the farm business ever since.
At the beginning of last year, Silly Moo was tasting fantastic and we were finally getting listed with a couple of big deal national distributors. We were supplying some of the best restaurants in the UK with our beef and were starting to be recognised as purveyors of quality produce in Sussex. We were eager for a big year of building our brand and our distribution. And then the lockdown was announced and our customers cancelled their orders.
This is when my role changed. We went online and started selling directly to households and delivering our goods across London, Kent, Surrey & Sussex. It was an exhausting first few months, navigating the impact of the virus whilst figuring out new ways of operating - we made mistakes and learned a lot.
One of the best lessons for me was actually working out what I wanted Trenchmore to be. A successful and ethical farming business, yes, but also something that sparks conversation about the things that are important. How we eat, how we respect our environment and how we leave our community and little patch of land better than we found it.
I didn’t know much about farming before joining Trenchmore, but I did understand the power of good food, good drink and good community. I’m learning about regenerative agriculture through our farm’s practices, by working with Nuthurst Farm & Shrub Provisions, and with the amazing books and videos that are available.
Meeting and talking to the people who eat and drink our produce is a privilege that most farmers don’t get. I discovered that getting people onto the farm for our order collections, yard pop-ups and apple swaps would start the conversations that I was keen to have. I’m looking forward to doing more in the yard this year, hope to see you there.
