Farm day 2023

This year we had the pleasure of visiting the Lamers Family farm once again who are growing our second harvest of white beans.

This project has taken many steps forward again this year including some major improvements in the weeding process. We naturally want to avoid the use of pesticides and fertilisers. Last year that meant weeding by hand, however cutting the weeds back early after sowing the seeds to allow the beans to get ahead as well as regular mechanical weeding kept the weeds in check for this year’s weeding.

In addition to removing weeds from two hectars of white bean fields and seeing the progress of the project first hand, our group of volunteers was also joined by Abco de Buck from the Louis Bolt Institute to give an insight into the benefits and shortcomings of regenerative farming.

This day more than any centralised why we do what we do. It was very inspiring to hear about the Lamers Family wider ambitions to make the farm regenerative over the upcoming years. It also reiterated the importance of addressing some of our food systems biggest issues at their route cause, namely - localised supply chains, local protein growth, nitrogen fixation, more holistic models of farming and working with farmers to help them transition.