Time to grow your own to avoid horse meat

Family Farm Shop

The recent horse meat scandal has made most people realise that the only food you can really trust is local or home grown. Local because the producer will tell the truth about the food they have grown, because their local reputation is at stake. And home grown because you have watched it grow and waited patiently for that, just right, day when you can proudly show the family the fruits of your labour.

So now is the time to get organised for this year’s crops, and even make money on any excess produce through BigBarn’s Crop for The Shop scheme.

Most green fingered veggie growers will already have their veggie patch dug over with rotted down compost adding nutrients to the soil. They will have seed trays in the green house, or window sill, sprouting tiny plants ready to plant out after the last frost has gone.

As an amateur grower my seed trays are sprouting mixed lettuce, beetroot, coriander and chard and getting a bit spindly on the floor of my office as they search for the sun.

This year I have opted to make life a bit easier by using Growrings, a ‘cheats’, raised bed. The rings arrived in the post as a flat pack and assembled by simply clicking together. I put some well rotted compost at the bottom and added some soil improver that was free from my local recycling depot then adding good fertile bought compost on top. This means I have a sterile, weed free soil to grow my veggies and can harvest without bending my back so far.

I have also opted for a green house Growring to help my plants get a head start and protect them from frost and pests. I also have some Poshcloches on my weed infested veggie patch to encourage some early asparagus and protect my chard from rabbits.

Now I just have to wait and hope the last frost is early this year, unlike 2012 when most of by beans were killed.

The BigBarn local food map

I also hope that my crops will be so successful that I will be able to sell some through a local ‘Crop for the shop‘ shop. To find them look for a rosette on icons on our local food map.

If anyone has some top tips to share please add them below. My tips are:

You can see a video and buy Growrings in our MarketPlace by clicking here. And Posh Cloches here;

For old, unusual, taste not shelf life, varieties of seeds here

And to learn about veg growing try You Tube videos

We, must, must, must, take kids blackberry picking!

Squidoo.com

This time of year is fantastic for one of the most nutritious, tasty, seasonal, fruits, and they are FREE! Blackberries.

Not only are they so good, but a brilliant way to get kids eating real fresh food, often leading to an interest in other fruit and veg.

Blackberries seem to be everywhere this year and our network of byroads and footpaths allow most people to find and eat a good snack, as well as take some home for a pie or pudding.

Kids love hunting for a prize and a tasty, healthy, snack that could lead to a love of fresh food should be a responsibility we all enjoy. So take the kids out this weekend for a blackberry hunt. Do however leave the ones at the bottom of the hedge that might taste of labrador pee!

How can we protect ourselves from the coming Food Price crisis?

A new Food price crisis is feared as erratic weather wreaks havoc on crops in the USA and around the world. Here are some ways we can protect ourselves from price hikes.

Experts are already predicting a large rise in food prices as rain in this country has caused fungal disease in wheat crops, and in America, drought has reduced Corn yields leading to a sharp rise in all grain prices.

These rises will soon increase the price of bread and cereals and then meat, as the grain to feed animals rises.

I think it is extremely irresponsible of governments around the world not to stockpile grain for times like these. Grain stocks will be at the lowest since 2007 with only enough for 72 days consumption.

So after you have told your local MP to store more grain, here are some ideas on how we can protect ourselves from global price increases.

Walsingham Farm Shop

1. Buy local seasonal food
You need to avoid buying any food that will be affected by global commodity prices. Unfortunately any animals fed grain (chickens, pigs, some cattle, some sheep) will also see prices rise. So find meat from animals fed on grass, which will have more flavour and have a great deal less dangerous fats. For more on the dangers of grain fed beef click here.

Other products like potatoes and seasonal veg should be the same as usual, so significant savings can be made.

2. Make your own bread
Bread prices will rise as the cost of wheat rises. The price of a loaf however will rise my much more than the flour ingredient. You will also be able to avoid all the additives in bread. For more on Real Bread click here.

Or to buy flour in our MarketPlace here

No Cows, No countryside

3. Eat less meat or cheaper cuts
To buy grass fed meat and cover the extra costs of food you may not be able to do without, like pasta, cut down on the amount of meat you buy, or get cheaper cuts. A grass fed, well hung, topside of beef from your local farmer or butcher will be cheaper and much better than a supermarket sirloin joint, that was mooing in an intensive stock shed the day before. To find you local meat producer or butcher type you post code in to our local food map

4. Grow your own
This is really cheap food and a possible earner when you sell your excess via our Crop for the Shop scheme.

5. Buy in bulk
Buying in bulk will often mean a wholesale price 50% of retail. Why not get some friends organised and share your bulk purchases.

6. Cook
Anyone who can read, or even watch a video, can cook. ‘Cook’ means converting cheap, fresh, local, season, healthy, ingredients in to great meals. I made 10 times the quantity of vegetable soup for the same price as one can of soup yesterday. And ended up with a healthier meal.

Ready meals in the supermarket might look cheap but are NOT. For a video recipe see our KIS (Keep it Simple) Cookery video section. Or perhaps, be discovered, and become the next famous chef by adding your own video!

If you have any thoughts or ideas to add to this list please comment below.

How you can help build a new LOCAL food industry

We need a LOCAL food industry to replace the anti-social national food industry where supermarkets are charging consumers too much for food, but giving farmers too little to stay in business.

A local food industry will reconnect producer with consumer and encourage trade and communication. More people will eat seasonal produce and in so doing encourage further production. By cutting out the middle men and supply chain, food becomes cheaper and all the revenue stays in the local economy.

Much better than the average 9p currently going to farmers for every £1 spent on food in the supermarket.

If you would like to help build your local food industry we have the tools and welcome your support.

BigBarn was set up 12 years ago with the mission to get people out the supermarket and build a local food industry.

We are a Community Interest Company, effectively owned by the Community of businesses on our map and the Community of consumers visiting our content. You.

To build a LOCAL Food Industry our strategy is to;

1. To have the definitive database of local producers and independent retailers
2. Give them all passwords to update their details regularly
3. Display them on post code specific maps and get the map and data on as many other websites as possible
4. Provide an e-commerse facility so each can set up an online shop and be within an Amazon type local food MarketPlace
5. Provide a long list of benefits and discounts on products and services to make each business more competitive
6. Set up initiatives like ‘Cheaper than the Supermarket’, ‘Crop for the Shop’, & ‘KIS Cookery‘ to encourage consumers to switch to local and get enthused about cooking.

So far we have 7,000 producer/retailer icons on our map, all with a password to update their page including; video, photos, online shop, etc.

We have 21,000 consumers receiving our postcode specific newsletter, and 440 producers in our online MarketPlace.

We also have around 90 other websites hosting our map and MarketPlace.

To see a partner website click here.

If you would like to help you can;
1. Type your post code in here and tell us if there are any errors or omissions on your local food map info@bigbarn.co.uk
2. Register for our free emailed newsletter to be kept up to date on national and local food news, including special offers added by your local producers/retailers.
3. If your local producer/retailers have not added a video, online shop, joined Crop for the Shop, or got a proper description. please tell them to call us on 01480 890 970 or about these benefits of joining up
4. Perhaps offer to do a quick video for your local producer/retailer
5. Try out our online MarketPlace where 450 icons have added 10,000+ products (you can use discount code BB1 on this page)
6. Add a recipe video to our KIS (Keep it Simple) video Cookery channel to help more people cook, you could even be discovered and become the next famous chef!
7. Start growing your own and sell any excess via your local Crop for the Shop outlet. If there isn’t one on your local map ask your local shop or post office to set up a table and print off our poster. They are then eligible to join BigBarn. (This concept has been a life saver for some small shops increasing their stock and becoming the centre of the community)
8. If you know any websites that would like to have our map, MarketPlace and KIS Cookery and earn through our affiliate scheme, please tell them to call us.
9. If you believe in what we are doing and would like to help financially you can donate here or call us about buying some shares.
9. Please TELL YOUR FRIENDS!! We can make this happen.

As usual we welcome your feedback below, and would like to know if a loyalty scheme would encourage you do any of the above?

If local food is cheaper, and better, how do we get more people to switch from the supermarket to buying local.

Many of our previous blogs have talked about saving money by switching from the supermarket to local food producers and small retailers.

Buying seasonal food, direct, means saving money by cutting out the supply chain cost, and not wasting money on ‘temptations’ like DVDs and special offers.

In these austere times you would expect this to be the major factor in getting people to change. Especially when 80% of people say they want to buy local food. So why do only 25% of people actually buy local food, and what will get more to switch?

Knowledge
Perhaps people don’t know they can save money. Or don’t believe supermarkets are more expensive. “How can they be, with all that buying power”, I hear people say.

Another problem is that most people know where their nearest supermarkets are, but not their local producers, farm shops, or friendly butcher.

Answer: There should be more media coverage, social networking, and price comparison in shops.

And a definitive database of local producers and retailers on many websites, so that people can find their local food suppliers. Like the BigBarn Local Food map. This map has now been packaged so that any other website can have it to look as though it is theirs and earn a commission on trade.

Frightened
Many people also feel safe in the supermarket and are worried that the local butcher or retailer will laugh at them if they ask a silly question.

Answer: Local food suppliers should make a quick You Tube video to show how friendly and enthusiastic they are about their produce. These videos can then be seen on their BigBarn page.

Loyalty schemes
Millions of people are obsessed with their loyalty cards and points.

Answer: People must realise that any loyalty points are given are paid for by higher priced products.

Convenience
It is great to go to a shop where everything is in one place and you can wheel your trolley back to the car. You can pick up things you did not have on your list.

Answer; Supermarket meat is not good, and veg not fresh, a local producer/small retailer might be closer and cheaper. Do you need, everything every week, switch to buying local every week for fresh food and leave the supermarket to once a month.

Special Offers
When supermarkets buy so much they have to clear their shelves and often have great bargains.

Answer; Yes, sometimes. More often however they use ‘offers’ to get you to spend more than you wanted and many ‘offers’ are actually more expensive; One 185g pack foe 2.75 or two for £5. Just below a 250g pack is not on offer at £2.50 cheaper!

Trust
With their big business status, their constant marketing & UK food standards you can trust supermarkets to look after you.

Answer; when offers are not ‘special’ and very little of your money returns to farmers & your community, do supermarkets really deserve your trust? A local business who’s reputation is at stake will reward your trust and will grow more and employ more local people as his/her business grows.

And now for some reasons to shop locally where the supermarkets can’t compete:

The Story
Wouldn’t you like to know the story of the food you buy? What’s in season, how fresh, animal welfare, where and how the animals have been produced, the best cuts of meat for your recipe, how long has that beef been hung,recipes for seasonal fruit & veg, why is that bread so tasty, what’s so special about that product

Leisure
Many farm shops have animals for the kids to look at, play areas, picnic sites, tractor rides and some even pig or sheep racing. A great day out while doing the boring old shop!

Selling Grow your own
Many local retailers will be happy to sell food that you have grown. This is a great way for small shops to get fresh fruit and veg and for you to join the food industry. Look for rossettes on icon on the BigBarn local food map for BigBarn ‘Crop for the Shop‘ participants.

Events and celebrations
Many farm shops have seasonal food celebrations and events like ‘Apple day’, ‘Asparagus week’ or regular Farmers Markets to meet the local farmers.

So, some great reasons to try your local producers and make the switch. If I have missed any other reasons please comment below.

Curing a Mad, Mad world with Food

I think most people agree we live in a mad world. 10% of the worlds population owns 85% of total assets, over 3 billion people (nearly half the world) live on less that $2.50 per day, and in the UK milk is cheaper than water in some shops.

People are starving when, according to expert Colin Trudge; ‘everyone who is ever liable to be born could be well fed, forever, not simply on basic provender but to the highest standards of nutrition and gastronomy.’

I strongly recommend you read his article ‘Feeding people is easy‘

According to Colin; ‘If we get the food right then everything else that we need and want in life—good health, fine landscapes, the company of other species, peace, amity, personal fulfilment can start to fall into place.’

Wow, his article certainly makes sense and with facts like; ‘We currently feed well over half the staples that could be feeding us, to cattle, pigs, and poultry. So instead of helping us to feed ourselves, our animals compete with us. By 2050, on present trends, the world’s livestock will consume enough to feed four billion people.’

Madness. But what can we do? Quite a lot, and hopefully start a trend that could spread around the world. The three main problems we have at the moment are; 1. appalling animal welfare making meat too cheap 2. in this country, only 9p in every £1 spent of food going back to the farmer and 3. lack of cooking knowledge and enthusiasm (despite all the shows on TV)

The corporate world has acquired the food industry, taking the other 91p in the £1 and is milking it, for all it is worth.

The exciting consequence is that the corporates have become greedy and complacent, thinking they also ‘own’ the consumer. Luckily, in this green and pleasant land, we have an alternative; Local food producers, who are cheaper and better.

If we switch to local nearly all of the £1 we spend goes back to the farmer and community. This encourages greater production and diversity, increasing employment and getting people involved in their local food industry. Sharing recipes, cooking, preserving and even cider making.

With our Crop for the Shop initiative local people, kids, or schools can even join, and earn, from the industry. Food could become the community builder for the future.

And animal welfare? Successive legislation has not been enough. We simply don’t have the right to keep animals the way many are ‘farmed’. Corporates have taken over and show the consumer great packaging and the tasty, sauce covered, product on a plate. Carefully hiding the story of its production. To see an example of this and the horror of pig farming click The Pig Business

If we embrace, and switch to, a local food industry, we may need to pay a bit more for really good meat and perhaps cut down a little. We will however save money, have a clear conscience, and in time, be healthier, and live in a better, more sustainable, community.

Or am I just dreaming? Your thoughts are very welcome below. Or if you agree switch to local using the BigBarn local food map, and tell your friends.

Oversupply of Onions BUY NOW!

My ‘onion growing’ cousin told me today that the price of onions has collapsed to about £45/tonne. The supermarkets are selling them at 46p/kg, £460/tonne. Nothing new there!

UK farmers have had very good yields this year so there is oversupply and the price has dropped, lower than their production cost. Helped further by Dutch growers dumping onions on our market. Apparently it is cheaper for the Dutch to send them here at a net price of just £8/tonne than to pay for them to be disposed of! (£8/tonne is 16p for a 20kg bag!)

So, find an onion grower, or ask your local farm shop, using our local food map, and get your recipe books out. Onion soup, Goulash, tart, lasagne, flan, shepherd pie, stews, beef burgers, bolognese, to name a few. Indeed most soups and dishes are improved with onions.

Onions also store extremely well kept in a cool dry place.

This is another example of how the national food industry does not work for farmers or consumers. How many people noticed that the price of onions has dropped in the supermarket, or that farmers will make a loss?

In a local food industry, consumers hear about onions being cheaper and are encouraged to buy more onions, especially if producers add recipe cards to the onion display.

Perhaps more important, by supplying local farm shops and small retailers, farmers are encouraged to grow a wider range of products, rather than specialise, as most do at the moment.

And onions are very good for you, so here’s to a hot soup, warning stew, healthy winter. If you have a great onion recipe please feedback below.

Are we suckers for Shopping incentives?

I was told by a reliable source this morning that the ‘Computer for Schools’ scheme means that you would need to spend close to £500,000 in Tesco to get the equivalent of the high St price of one Apple computer. Are we suckers?

It might be nice to receive little ‘money’ type vouchers after spending money at Tesco, but incredibly annoying when considering the vouchers is probably worth less than the paper they are printed on and the cost of putting them in landfill or recycled. One huge marketing campaign with zero net gain.

Can anyone tell me the cost of the campaign compared to the value of the computers given to schools?

When you buy local food you will not be bamboozled with silly vouchers. You will however know that you are encouraging local growers to grow more and employ more people, all improving your community and the food available. You will also find that by avoiding these expensive marketing campaigns and long supply chain, that your fresh, seasonal, local food will often be cheaper.

So cut down on your supermarket habit and go local as much as possible using the BigBarn map.

Supermarket blindness

Why o why do people blindly support supermarket dominance. The more trade supermarkets get the more money they make and the more smaller high street shops they buy, and re-brand, slowly monopolising the retail trade. Once they have all the shops they will charge what they feel like, or do they already?

I say blindly because supermarkets are already more expensive than many local food retailers and farm shops. People just don’t believe it. “How can supermarkets be more expensive with all that buying power?”. They say.

Well I say; ‘watch out’. Things will get worse if we carry on down this road. We must buy local, where food it is fresher, cheaper and better for the community, AND we must spread the word. The more people buy the more farmers will be encouraged to grow a wider range of products.

This change really should not be hard work. It is simply a matter of getting organised to find local suppliers and cook what is in season, saving money in the process.

To find you local suppliers use our local food map or you can actually buy shares in BigBarn and help build a LOCAL food industry as an alternative to with supermarket.

As land prices hit a new high, how does anyone get in to farming?

Land prices hit a new high of £8,500 per acre recently.  As most farmers consider they need at least 250 acres to be viable you need over £2m to get in to farming and buy the land, let alone the machinery!

Unfortunately British farming is based on the production of commodities such as wheat, barley, vegetables, meat or milk. Once they have been produced the price is then set by world markets. Often a disaster if costs are high in the UK and the world price has dropped.

Farmers have also been separated from consumers with the middle man & retailer making most. On average farmers only get 9p in every £1 spent on food in the supermarket.

Pork farmers have have experienced these problems for years with high feed prices and lower cost of production in Europe pushing down prices. They have also been hit by higher animal welfare standards with legislation in this country pushing up the cost of production. A real tragedy when many consumers vote to say that pigs should have high welfare then succumb to marketing and buy Danish bacon where pigs can still be held in crates.

When food becomes a commodity producers focus on cutting cost and increasing yield, nearly always reducing quality and flavour for the end user.

So what hope is there for anyone wanting to become a farmer???

It seems the only way forward is for producers to sell quality products and market them accordingly. Luckily the greed of the supermarkets means that prices can match the supermarket and leave the producer with a reasonable profit and the consumer with a better product at a reasonable price.

So how do you get some land to become a farmer without having £2 million?

You may have noticed that farm machinery has got bigger over recent years in line with technology and pressure to reduce labour costs. This means that small fields and corners of larger fields are often left fallow or set aside, especially bordering villages and towns.

This land, to me, seems perfect for those interested in farming. The farmer could even come and do some heavy work occasionally, like deep cultivation. Those looking for help and customers could set up a CSA Community Supported Agricultural scheme. Or talk to local retailers, pubs, schools and restaurants about what they might want to buy, and Crop for the Shop.