National Organic Cereals 2011 is go, go, go
Date Published: 07/07/2011
It’s a big day for us; National Organic Cereals occupies a great deal of our time and attention throughout each year, all to ensure that it runs smoothly on the day. Today is that day – and so far, so good.
Already today we’ve heard some fascinating presentations, particularly from Waitrose, BQP and farmer, John Pawsey, on the supply chain trial they are all deeply involved in. It’s a system that aims to smooth out the price and cost bumps along the chain and it’s working well so far. The hope is that it could provide a model for stability in the chain that others will successfully follow.
Charlotte Smith, presenter of Farming Today on BBC Radio 4 and former Countryfile reporter, is our moderator and is doing a superb job. You really can tell the difference when you’ve got an experienced high-calibre journalist pulling the threads together and teasing out the issues.
There’s a good reason for this; the farm walks are a key feature of the day and we wanted to make sure everyone had the chance to fully appreciate them. We broke people into smaller groups and sent them off to hear from different experts on each trial plot (41 varieties of organic wheat, triticale, barley, etc).
Now we’re looking forward to an organic hog roast (pig courtesy of Waitrose via BQP) with a very tempting looking vegetable paella for the non-meating-eating types.
We’re looking forward to the afternoon and, once we’ve all recovered from packing up and the three-or-so hour journey home, there will be further reports and plenty of pictures and videos to share. We hope you find them interesting and welcome any comments below.