Our Field Weston updates

FARM VISIT
Message to all Ourfield members
30 September Farm Visit - 11.30/12.00 pm to about 3.00 pm

Dear Ourfield members
The material is provided in two messages as Loomio will not deliver big attachments. I hope the second message will be delivered. It has maps and images
This message provides information on the time and date of the visit and a draft agenda for the meeting at the farm. It also provides information on how to get to Lannock Manor Farm at SG4 7EE. There is also information on how to arrange a seat in a car.

The second message has an attachment with maps which should help those driving to the farm. There are also satellite google map images of the Weston area and of the farm. The attachment is a big file and I have not discovered how to send it.

PLEASE
1 CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE - the OurField Organising Team need to know that members are receiving messages via Loomio.
2 GET BACK TO TONY ON [email protected] WITH A COPY TO [email protected] IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL AGENDA TOPICS.
3 GET BACK to [email protected] IF YOU WANT TO TAKE UP THE OFFERS OF DRIVERS WHO ARE OFFERING SEATS IN THEIR CARS.

Looking forward to a full and stimulating afternoon.
Thank you John for making the event possible.
Best regards Tony (Allan)

Thanks, have seen the message.. will not be able to come as sadly the date does not work for me.. hope to come to a London meet up because I live in London and an evening will be easier to attend..

Dear OurField members
This second message provides a map and some google images which would help those driving to the farm on 30 September 2018.

With very best regards, Tony (Allan)

With very best regards
Tony (Allan)

Hi, I won't make the meeting but wanted to let you know that I did receive the message. Hope everyone has a productive and enjoyable day.
Keesje

Hello Keesje
Very many thanks for letting us know. We are very sorry you will not be with us.

EVERYONE PLEASE NOTE THAT
Christine's email is [email protected]. I advised the wrong number in the notice of the Farm Visit.
Best Tony

To add it is [email protected]

I am coming on the 30th and did receive the message on Loomio. I also received the email and tried to email Christine on theaddress given but it was returned as undeliverable.

Hello Helen
I am sorry I posted the wrong email for Christine.
Please send me a message on my email - [email protected] - and I'll send her correct email.

Tony

I have seen the loomio and email, thanks Tony.

Thank you for confirming that you received the email. Let me take this opportunity to ask all members to confirm receipt of the notice of the Farm Visit. The almost total silence out there is disconcerting.

I have seen the Loomio message and received the email about the farm visit Tony, thank you. Unfortunately I can't make the visit on the 30th, I have a new baby boy and my husband is away that weekend. I hope it's a productive gathering!

Dear Tamsyn
Very many thanks for sharing your wonderful news. Many congratulations.
Thank you for finding the time to confirm that you are reading the Loomio correspondence. Best Tony (Allan)

Hi all. Just a quick reminder that I have two car spaces available for Sunday's farm visit. It sounds like it's going to be an interesting day and hopefully as lovely weather as today! If you want picking up from Cockfosters station on Sunday at around 11am please let me know.

Hi Wendy, do you still have a space in your car for Sunday?

Hi,
I have sent apologies already but to be clear I am sorry that I will not be able to come to the farm on Sunday. I'll be at the Essential Trading Open Day in Bristol all day.
Hope all those who do get along to Weston Farm this weekend have a great day.
Cheers, Steven

FARM VISIT - SUNDAY 30 SEPTEMBER
1 Final Agenda and advice on getting to Lannock Manor Gram, SG4 7EE- is attached in case your filing is flaky like mine.
2 I shall arrive at Stevenage on the 10.41 am from King's Cross arriving AT 11.06 AM - to organise taxis. I shall stay until 11.40 am
3 I shall be wearing a dark brown jacket.
4 Don't forget to bring a snack and a drink.
5 Amir Kassam has just published a very usefu review of the global adoption of CA. It is attached.
I am looking forward to a very stimulating day. Thank you John and the Weston Team for devoting your precious time to the OurField project.
Thank you Steven [Jacobs] for your comments on glyphosate. The topic will be discussed. We should note that CA reduces the application of glyphosate from 4 or 5 applications to one per year. The exposure of groundsmen - as in the California case - is a particular version of the Round-up problem. CA farmers are very angry with the chemical farming fraternity.
Be assured we are aware that the system needs to be regulated.
Best Tony (Allan)

@johnanthonyallan @christinelewis1 @oliverrubinstein @wahome @darren4 Thanks to all who organised the farm visit today, it was a great day wandering around the farm and chatting all things grain. And glyphosate of course, there was lots of chatting about that!

Although those of us there voted on the type of grains we would like John to sow for us within the next few weeks I don’t think the consensus on ‘to spray or not to spray’ was as clear cut as both may still be options available to us. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong though and forgive me for only relaying part of today’s discussion but I realise time is short at the moment and wanted to make a proposal.

I also realise the last vote included the following step “Use the least amount of glyphosate which John and Richard Harding believe is necessary to terminate the remaining crop” but following discussion today I would like to suggest we hold another vote on whether this step should be included or not. @grahamehunter is this something you can maybe set up for us to vote on quite quickly?

The farm visit was very enjoyable and it was good to meet those members who could make it to Lannock Manor Farm. I shall be circulating a short DRAFT report/minutes for those who attended for editing.

Meeting the cows grazing OurField was the big moment. As cows do they greeted us loudly and stood close as we discussed the future of the field. They looked in very good shape. John has devoted a lot of time, energy and investment on fencing and electric fencing. As a consequence our venture has a number of important options in our project to regenerate the health of the soil.

I have been becoming more and more dissatisfied by the voting process. Its outcomes are in my opinion as dangerous as the Brexit referendum. Think - our first decision to sow spelt.

As a group we do not have a level of experience to understand the risks with which we engage. We cannot even frame the options effectively. I shall abstain on all future votes if we continue with this approach.

We need to prioritise our understanding of the food production system and the constraints and accounting systems faced by farmers in the sector in which the Weston farm operates.

We also need to be aware of the special role played by the Cherry family and their staff in UK cereal and livestock farming. If we want to have an impact it should be on the food choices of irresponsible fellow food consumers who are manipulated by the corporates.

Thank you John - and everyone at Weston - for having us visit especially in the circumstances of the past week when you lost your mother and have been so busy with getting the other fields prepared and drilled.

Tony (Allan)

And here are a couple of photos - inspecting the soil with the cows and the pile of our Spelt in storage.

Dear Christine

Many thanks for the photos.

Best

TonyA

Ourfield gathering at E5 Bakehouse - dates

As mentioned at the farm visit we are planning another gathering this time at the E5 Bakehouse in London - to make sure the date is suitable to as many as possible I have set up a Doodle poll in the link below. Please indicate which dates you are available to attend and we will go with the most suitable date. Don't worry if you can't make any of these - we are going to increase our communications and options for meeting up.

PS Do let us know if you are in a position to host a gathering in the future.

Members meeting - Friday, 26 October 2018 - E5 Bakehouse in Hackney - Let us know if you can come

Hi all - just posting a reminder of the details of the meeting we are holding on Friday 26 Oct which Tony sent out by email a few days ago. We are expecting around 15 members plus John Cherry at the meeting. The meeting will be 6.30 pm for a 7.00 pm start and ending at 9.00 pm. There will be vegetable stew and bread available for a small donation (thanks Rosy). As with all OurField meetings we will be quite flexible on the day about the agenda but we hope to cover as much as we can from the following:
* Update from the farm visit
* Update from John on the 2019 crop, the status of the field and what has been happening since the farm visit in September 2018
* Discussion of immediate cropping and soil health improving options
* Discussion of longer term options and preferences including thoughts on the development of the relationship of the OurField community with the transition of the Weston Farm to conservation agriculture practices
* Marketing of 2019 crop(s)
* OurField communication and reporting - members views on what you would like

How to get to the E5 Bakehouse

The E5 Bakehouse premises are immediately beneath the London Fields rail station. Travelling by train is by far the easiest way to get there by public transport. E5 occupies two railway arches immediately beneath the station. No walking. No searching.
London Fields station is on the line from London Liverpool Street. It is a two stop 7 minute journey. It is on the services to these destinations:
1 To Enfield Town or Cheshunt - London Fields is the second stop. The first is Bethnal Green
2 To Chingford London Fields is the second stop. The first is Bethnal Green
London Fields Station can also be reached from the north on the above rail services. Hackney Downs is the station before London Fields coming from the north.
Hackney Downs Station is on the Liverpool Street services to the above destinations. Hackney Downs station just one stop to the north of London Fields Station. It is a short very dark walk from Hackney Central Station which is on the North London Line.
There should be parking after 6.30 pm near the E5 Bakehouse.
E5 Bakehouse, Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
MAP at http://e5bakehouse.com/contact/

Look forward to seeing you there!

A shame I will miss this.. am away for 4 days..
Will there be another meeting or will I have to wait one more year?

Hi Niki - we are hoping to have more regular meetings in the future so you shouldn't have to wait a year - especially as we want to plan out a longer term planting schedule and need to work out our views on the field, lack of organic status and Conservation Agriculture etc. Thanks for making contact

Thanks

I've got a few days off next week, between jobs and would be really keen to see how the field is getting on. If it's ok with you John, can I come and take some photos of the field to share with the members? I only live 30 mins away from you.

That would be ace if you visit @johncherry and share an update on the field with us all!! Thanks @oliverrubinstein

Yep, I've spoken to John and will pop over next week some time.

I went to have a look at the field today and John kindly came and spent some time with me, to explain what's been happening. I took some video and a few photos, which will hopefully help people get a better idea of what's been going on.

To recap: the bottom section of the field is planted with Crusoe (modern wheat), the middle with Millers' Choice (a heritage mixture) and the top section with Wakelyns population (a mixture of new and heritage varieties). John sprayed the field with glyphosate before Christmas, to kill off the cover crop and allow for drilling - apart from in a small section of Millers' Choice, to act as an experiment.

You can clearly see the difference between the different wheat varieties. The section with no glyphosate in particular, is basically grass with some wheat plants hidden in it. However, as John explained, the grassweeds tend to like lots of nitrogen, so if we avoid putting nitrogen fertiliser on, this might help the wheat outcompete the weeds. either way, it will be interesting to see what happens where he hasn't sprayed. There are also some broadleaved weeds knocking around too, so we'll need to keep an eye on them.

I live fairly close to the farm, so am happy to drop by every so often, to take some photos etc. for the collective.

Here's the video : https://youtu.be/7rTRaulnZM4

Brilliant to see how the field is coming along - thanks for visiting.

Thanks @oliverrubinstein. It's really great to have a view of the field from afar. There are lots of interesting decisions ahead of us!