Future Farmer Award Winner 2008

Pete Ritchie and Heather Anderson of Whitmuir Farm are the winners of the 2008 Future Farmer Award. Three other farmers were commended.

Whitmuir Farm

Whitmuir is a 54 hectare upland farm in Peeblesshire and until recently it was, like many other farms in the Scottish Borders, a single-enterprise sheep farm. In 2000 Pete and Heather took over Whitmuir and they have already completely transformed it: they keep pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry, grow a wide range of vegetables (outdoors and in polytunnels), run an on-farm butchery and sell all the farm produce direct to local people through a busy farm shop and a home delivery service.

Whitmuir benefits from access to local markets as it is close to the town of West Linton. It is on a main road and is accessible from Edinburgh. However, the land itself is north-facing, high and poor. Pete and Heather have achieved the transformation of Whitmuir by applying tremendous enthusiasm and energy, converting the farm to organic and engaging with the local community. They have made use of a Scottish Government grant for farm business development and have had a loan from Triodos, a bank which lends money to enterprises which promote sustainable development.

Environmental sustainability

Pete and Heather set out to try to farm as sustainably as possible and the first step was to stop using nitrogen fertilizer on the grass because its production is energy-intensive. Instead they use clover to fix nitrogen in the soil and grow green manure to improve the overall fertility of their arable fields. Rather than spraying herbicides the pigs are run on the fields to clear the ground of docks and other perennial weeds before the vegetable part of the rotation.

They started converting the farm to organic as soon as they bought it and now all the enterprises at Whitmuir are managed to Soil Association organic standards. This gives the farm shop a unique selling point and allows them to set prices which reflect the costs of their production systems. They have participated in a Soil Association Organic Horticulture Support Programme and have benefited from the advice and support of other organic producers.

The conversion of farm buildings was done to the highest energy-efficient specifications and there are plans to install a 25kw wind turbine to supply all the power to the farm and butchery.

Developing local markets

To be sure of having a market for their produce Pete and Heather asked friends and neighbours to commit to buying produce from the farm and set up a standing order for a set amount each month. Their original target was to get 100 'farm supporters' but they now have over 130 supporters, with standing orders ranging from £10 a month to £600 (the average is £50). There are also a few wholesale customers, such as a local bistro. When the farm was only producing meat they ran a home delivery service for their supporters. Then, when they started to grow vegetables, a weekend shop was set up in the draughty back of a barn. Demand was overwhelming and they quickly had to convert a farm building into a permanent shop which is now open seven days a week.

The shop stocks: Whitmuir meat, backed up with meat from a limited number of other organic farms, Whitmuir vegetables backed up with vegetables from other Scottish organic producers; exotic fruit bought from an organic holding in Spain; organic milk and dairy produce; a wide range of organic wholefoods. When supporters make purchases in the shop the cost is deducted from the credit in their account but other customers pay in cash. Despite the success of the shop Whitmuir still does home delivery runs to Edinburgh and to the West Linton area. Several families have decided not to shop at supermarkets any more but instead to buy all their food through Whitmuir and have it delivered. They email with a full weekly shopping list and shop staff make it up for them. For Pete and Heather, this ties in with the notion of farming as providing a food service rather than being a primary industry producing a commodity.

Farm supporters get regular emails about what produce is available and these also explain why certain crops have failed or how the weather has affected production. There is an occasional paper newsletter, Pigmail, which has articles about wider agricultural and environmental issues and a website. Supporters are invited to events such as BBQs, cookery demonstrations, wine tastings and talks. Pete and Heather are keen to help their customers learn more about food production, for instance by producing a detailed seasonal veg chart to help people understand when different vegetables can be grown in Scotland. All visitors are encouraged to take a look around and see the animals and there are plans for a cafe and an education centre which will allow further opportunities for developing the relationship between customers and the farm.

Employing local people

As a single-enterprise sheep farm Whitmuir would have been run by the previous owners without paid staff. Now, with diverse agricultural enterprises, the butchery and the shop, it provides employment for nine people, as well as Pete working on the farm side of the business and Heather on the butchery and farm shop. They employ an experienced farm labourer /tractor driver part time, a young man full time on farm work and general help, an experienced organic grower four days a week on the horticultural enterprise, a master butcher and a butchery assistant three days a week and four people part-time in the farm shop. The butchery is currently only operating part-time and more staff will be needed if it starts butchering meat for other organic farmers. The diversification of Whitmuir has created new rural jobs which have been filled by people from the local area.

Enhancing biodiversity

Because Whitmuir is organic Pete and Heather hope that wildlife can make use of the farmed areas, but they have also taken every opportunity to create habitats for wildlife and enhance biodiversity. The old field boundaries on the farm were a double ditch and mound system which is being protected and restored using Environmentally Sensitive Area funding: the boundaries have been double fenced and hedges planted alongside the existing mature trees. Hedges have also been planted to subdivide the fields in the horticultural rotation.

There are two main areas of woodland on the farm and they have been connected up by new planting under the Woodland Grant Scheme. Pete values the woodland as shelter for stock and he is trying various ways of allowing stock controlled access to woodland areas. There are two established ponds on the farm which are managed for biodiversity. A whole-farm survey is currently being carried out in order to set up a 'biodiversity trail' for visitors.

To contact Whitmuir email pete@whitmuirorganics.co.uk or phone 01968 661908