Preston Crowmarsh, England
Due to the nature of my work, I have visited many agricultural enterprises. These visits tend to expose me to differing agricultural methods and practices. The visits also provide me, as an educator, with the insights I need to better prepare my students for the industry they are entering. Finally, these visits help me build relationships with people. As my friend, colleague, and mentor Ted Feitshans has mentioned to me many times l, “Everything in agriculture is based on relationships.”
On our trip to England, we were fortunate to go to the University of Reading’s Farms, the Essex Young Farmers’ Country Show, and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. However, it was a real treat to visit a working farm in the United Kingdom. Crowmarsh Battle Farms sits on about 1,800 acres in the River Thames Valley in Oxfordshire. The land has been farmed for many years, but now for over a century by the Chamberlain family. Our tour guide was the owner of the operation, Philip Chamberlain. I was introduced to Mr. Chamberlain through Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), a group of farmers, environmentalists, and food and agricultural organizations that focus on sustainable practices. To prove Dr. Feitshans’s point, the only way I found out about LEAF was through a contact I made with the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Anyway, working with Mr. Chamberlain was a real treat, and farm tours are truly at their best when the person giving the tour has invested their blood, sweat, and tears into the operation.
Mr. Chamberlain gave us a brief overview of the entire operation, focusing on crop production and biodigesters. Adrienne was not with us for this leg of the trip, so Mr. Chamberlain climbed up front with me after his introduction of the farm, and we drove around to the rest of his operation. Besides seeing the differences and similarities between row crop farming in the United Kingdom and the United States, we gained several key insights. One, the agricultural industry in the United Kingdom was not a fan of European Union policy. For example, there was a strict ban on the use of GMOs in crops sold in EU nations. Mr. Chamberlain pointed out that, marketing-wise and ethically, it might be the right decision, but he felt it was unfair to British farmers that they could not try crops grown with different methods. Many people are automatically scared of GMOs without knowing what they are and why they are prevalent. Two, Mr. Chamberlain explained the discomfort of farming when either you want to retire or if you have no heirs who want to keep the operation going. When he mentioned how much his farm was worth and his concern that his sons might not want to continue the operation, the students could not believe that this affable man was running such a large operation. However, the problem that Mr. Chamberlain was describing to us is a major problem with the mostly family-owned and operated farms in the agricultural industry. The United Kingdom, just like the United States, has not figured out the best way to plan succession in its operations. Three, there is a lot of potential in biodigesters. Crowmarsh Farm had a contract with all the McDonald’s branches in Oxfordshire, which brought their food scraps to the farm for use in the biodigester. The methane produced by one biodigester could provide enough energy for thousands of homes. The fact that we could use a waste product for something useful is something that we should employ more often in the Agricultural Industry.
Meeting with Mr. Chamberlain was like carrying on a conversation with a lifelong friend. People in the agricultural industry can usually have conversations that focus on the “joys and discomforts of agricultural life,” and I am glad that my experiences in the United Kingdom were similar to the lifetime of experiences I have had in the United States. My takeaway points were that I have referenced this tour many times in my career since it happened. I’ve also been able to improve as a guide, probing other owner/operators with questions that prompt them to share their answers. Finally, I wish I had done a better job of keeping up with new friends. Life happens, and it is difficult to keep up with the people that we meet. That does not mean that we should not make an effort to do this, as one of the best parts of travel is the chance to meet other people. I am very appreciative of the time that Mr. Chamberlain gave me and my students as we once again enjoyed ourselves in the English Countryside.
