Lucy Nott: Camping is a chance to see through consumer’s eyes

I’m writing this from a safari tent in Devon. It’s dark, pouring with rain, the children won’t go to sleep and I’m already a glass of wine down.

Oh, the joys of being an arable farmer and only being able to holiday in the autumn and winter. 

It’s got me thinking though, about how we often end up on another farm when holidaying in the UK.

See also: Lucy Nott – it’s been a year of rebuilding myself

About the author

Lucy Nott

Farmlife opinion writer

Lucy lives with her husband, a sixth-generation farmer, and their two children on a 100ha (250 acre) arable farm in Worcestershire. On the farm they have a passion for regenerative agriculture and aspire to transition to a regenerative system. They are also part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot and are trialling lots of new things on the farm. They hosted their first LEAF Open Farm Sunday (LOFS) this year and Lucy is now the LOFS Ambassador for the West Midlands.

Read more articles by Lucy Nott

Whether it’s for accommodation or an activity, I enjoy seeing how other farms outside our region are diversifying and bringing additional income into their businesses.

Of course, this means I inevitably set myself up for spontaneous farming chats with strangers, made all the more likely by the fact that my husband Ben’s chosen hat for the holiday has “Farming – the biggest job on earth” written on the front. He’s literally a walking billboard.

Diversification is often talked about as a necessity, but it doesn’t make sense for everyone.

Good diversification, however, will use your existing skill set and location’s strengths. Despite what the salespeople say, we don’t all need a glamping site.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a break away from agriculture’s day-to-day workload, but I still always find it motivational to see another business succeeding and finding a way to make their farm viable in the current landscape.

Plus, as we are holidaying in a completely different area to our farm, I can enjoy the agri-tourism without the worry of competition.

I guess it’s similar to joining a farm walk. But instead of learning about livestock and crops, we are viewing diversifications through consumer’s eyes.

Visiting various farms has made me see clearly how resilient farmers are. We frequently face adversity and have little choice but to carry on and try to make the best of the situation.

It is often from that resilience – and a determination to make the farm viable for another generation – that diversifications are born.

We add another spinning plate to our collection and keep going. Variety is the spice of life, right?