At the time of writing, I am on holiday with my family in Cornwall. A busman’s holiday, you could call it, as we have had a fantastic range of farm visits so far, with more to come after writing.

Our first visit was to Fentongollan. The Hoskings are close family friends who we have known for a very long time. They raise over 130m vegetable modules a year, including our 10,000 pumpkin plants.

The huge investment in infrastructure over the past few years, due to the expansion of the business, was remarkable. A very special visit to some very dear friends. We won’t leave it as long next time.

See also: What makes the ideal wheat variety for regenerative farming?

About the author

Annabel Hamilton

Annabel Hamilton farms 1,100ha of arable in the Scottish Borders with her parents. The arable area grows 65% winter and 35% spring crops. She is Basis and Facts qualified and runs a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. The farm finishes more than 300 Limousin cattle a year.  Follow Annabel on Twitter @annabelhami11

Read more articles by Annabel Hamilton

The second visit was to the Willsbro Holstein Open Day. The Willsbro herd from Wadebridge was crowned the winner of the 2023 UK Premier Herd Award, and is the highest yielding Holstein herd in the UK.

A huge credit to The Wills family for putting on a magnificent day and showcasing agriculture at its highest standards, in terms of stock welfare, nutrition and environment.

The third visit we had was to Riviera Produce, farming 3,237ha of brassicas such as cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetables, including courgettes.

Another very impressive business operating to the highest standards, with an eye for detail which I strive for myself, and a passion for growing vegetables for the UK markets.

All three businesses we visited had one thing in common – the investment in the future of the business, be it the erecting of state-of-the-art greenhouses, using innovative technology to capture emissions from slurry lagoons, or automated planters, reducing the reliance on labour.

I hope the future UK government appreciate the investment farm businesses make to keep agriculture sustainable and producing high quality food for the UK customer.

Unfortunately, my head is telling me they don’t.

Before our holiday, I managed to get to a couple of variety open days, showcasing what to grow and, in some cases, what not to grow.

We have a substantial soft wheat distilling contract with Simpsons Malt, which has a premium for producing sustainable wheat – the quality of the soft wheats that are now available is impressive and well received.