Suffolk potato grower Chris Suckling is set to open up his farm for the first time this year as part of Open Farm Sunday.
He’s one of a number of farmers across the region to get involved – inspired by the idea of bringing their end-consumers into contact with the people who grow their food through a fun, free day out for the family.
The Shotley Peninsula farmer launched a small Potato Hut shop to help people out during the pandemic and was overwhelmed by the reaction from locals.
“It was heartwarming,” he said. People flocked to the shop – which now sells eggs and vegetables as well as potatoes – and were full of enthusiasm for his crop.
The experience has inspired him to open his farm gate and let in the public – but pre-booking is essential.
As well as being a ‘thank you’ to his new band of local customers, he also wanted to acknowledge those who helped him in his hour of need after he suffered a near-death experience six or seven years ago.
He was involved in a serious farm accident and was airlifted to hospital by the East Anglian Air Ambulance. All funds raised from his Open Farm Sunday event will go towards the charity.
“If it were not for them, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” he said. “I was crushed between a potato harvester and a trailer.”
His leg was broken in six places – and without the fast response he might not have survived. “At the very least it saved my leg – and at the outside it saved my life,” he said.
The public will get a chance to see a working arable farm. Woodlands Farm at Holbrook is a 600 acre operation with Chris growing wheat, barley, oilseed rape and sugar beet as well as his potato mainstay. Large contract farmer James Foskett also grows onions on the farm.
Chris started his potato harvest at the beginning of June on his early varieties. “It’s looking good – I’m quite optimistic about it,” he said. “It’s about getting the quality right with early potatoes.”
He supplies chippies across Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk via potato merchants. It’s the “engine room” of the operation.
The current economic situation – with spiralling inflation – has thrown up some challenges in terms of fertiliser prices and fuel bills. He’s considering a large £30k investment in solar to help offset the high costs.
But he added: “Weather-wise I think it’s been a smashing start to the year. Everything does look remarkably good for the time of year. This part of Suffolk caught some very, very useful rains.”
Already his open day is heavily booked. There’ll be a barbecue and a talk by an agronomist who will explain precision farming.
“We thought it doesn’t hurt to educate people gently,” he explained.
Andrew Sturgeon of Lindsey Lodge Farm, near Hadleigh, is a fruit grower whose strawberries and raspberries – grown on table tops in polytunnels will go out to shops around the region.
He’s an East of England Co-op supplier and has been participating in Linking Environment And Farming’s (LEAF) Open Farm Sunday for about four or five years.
“It’s always been a lot of fun – not just for the people who come but also for the people on the farm. Farming is usually an isolated job,” he explained.
As well as pick-you-own fruit and other attractions, it’s also a chance to get some feedback from the public as they try out the different varieties of strawberries, he explained. It’s not just about what the farm grows, but also the environmental schemes it is involved in, he said.
“We are very much a community-based food production system and the opportunity for people to see where their fruit is grown that they are buying in their shop is quite a good thing to do,” he said.
“It’s a free event – we don’t do it to make a profit on the day. Of course, we sell fruit but we like to think of it as a promotional day for our business.”
Geoff Mayhew of Pond Farm House, Warren Lane, Erwarton, on the Shotley Peninsula, is returning to the scheme after a break of a few years.
“We have done it twice before then obviously took a break through Covid so this is the first time back.”
He’s a LEAF farmer who grows a number of crops across his 2,000 acre farm, half of which he owns and half of which is contract farmed.
His potatoes are destined for supermarket giant Asda, and he produces the crop over an 11-month period. He’s also growing yellow linseed for human consumption as well as a number of other arable crops.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I love engaging with everybody and we are raising funds for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) which is an excellent charity,” he said.
“There’s a big appetite for people to get out.”
Andrey Ivanov, farm manager at Tiptree farms, said the celebrated fruit grower and jam maker had supported LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday for many years.
“It has been a great opportunity for people in the village to see the other side of the hedge and visit the strawberry fields and taste different varieties of fruit,” he said.
“June is a busy time on the farm as we reach the height of the strawberry season towards the end of the month. During the year we organise a number of school trips, as we believe it is good for children to have a greater understanding of where their food comes from, and they are quick to pass that knowledge to their parents.”
Below is a list of some of the farms in East Anglia which are taking part in Linking Environment And Farming’s (LEAF) Open Farm Sunday on June 12.
Each of them have slightly opening times and their own range of activities and attractions.
Please make sure to book a place prior to attending via the Open Farm Sunday website.
Some farms will be heavily booked, so it’s essential to reserve your plan and let the farmer know if you can’t make it in order to open up a space.
Deersbrook Farm, Littles Lane, Shalford Green, near Braintree, CM7 5AZ;
Geoffrey Mayhew Farms Ltd, Pond Farm House, Warren Lane, Erwarton, Ipswich, IP9 1LH;
Hundred River Farm, Jays Hill Road Sotterly Beccles, NR34 7UH;
Lindsey Lodge Farm, Lodge Farm Lindsey, IP7 6QA;
The Agricultural Science Unit, Saffron Walden County High School Audley Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 4UH;
Valley Farm Equestrian Leisure, Valley Road. Wickham Market, Suffolk, IP13 0ND;
Wilkin & Sons Ltd, Tiptree, Colchester, CO5 0RF;
Woodlands Farm, Woodlands Farm, Holbrook, Ipswich, IP92PT.
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