The Source

I'm Charles Goadby, a 42 year old farmer from Nuneaton, North Warwickshire.  I farm alongside my two brothers and dad.  We milk 350 Holstein cows housed all year round; 300 of which are milked traditionally, twice a day, and the other 50 through a Lely robotic milker.  All of our calves are reared as either dairy replacements or as beef which is taken through to slaughter.  We farm around 1,400 acres in total, half of which is owned and half rented. Arable crops grown are wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape.  Until this year we grew potatoes but have decided to stop and allow a neighbour to grow them on our land and we have some of theirs in return for maize, grown for our cattle feed.  We also do some contracting, mainly maize drilling and hedge cutting. 

While many would label me as an intensive farmer having housed livestock all year round, I also consider myself as a regenerative farmer.  Soil health and sustainability are key features to me along with supporting and enhancing the environment, but while maintaining production levels of high quality and welfare produce.
 
Two years ago I took part in a brand new initiative by a journalist, Anna Jones, called Just Farmers.  This gave me the confidence and know how to deal with the media. How to create my story, and how to get it out there into the media.  I now feel confident and happy to put myself out there and shout about British farming and British produce be it in written press, radio or TV. 

I care passionately about encouraging people to engage with their local producers and find the real story behind their food.  And I want to encourage producers to communicate with consumers and sell the story of their produce.  Too many people have the misconception that local food is expensive.  We need to get people back in the habit of buying local, seeing that it is affordable, but also that by building a relationship with the producer it can lead to tips and new ideas.  For example, I have so many friends who would complain that meat is too expensive and often dry or tasteless when cooked.  By using a local butcher you can not only get the tips on how to cook each joint purchased for the best results, but also be shown new cuts and joints that will not only save money but also be a better eating experience.  Likewise with fresh produce: learn what is in season, when is the best time to eat it and how best to store it to minimise waste.

Much of the disconnect between the consumer and the food they eat is down to education. People have so little understanding of farming and how their food is produced.  As a consequence they have little care about what they eat or are easily led into changing eating habits for the wrong reason, based often on a sensationalised headline.  Personally I put some of the blame for this onto farmers.  Our failure to engage with our customers, the consumer, has led to a void of understanding.  For many, that void has been filled with others with ulterior agendas such as the ultra-processed food market using climate and ethical horror stories to try and push their products.

 
Playing my part in teaching the next generation, I have enjoyed working with schools doing educational videos about farming, through the Soil Association's Food for Life program and several lockdown learning initiatives during the Covid pandemic.  I also enjoy doing more educational posts over my social media platforms, @thisfarmlife, predominantly on Facebook, but also Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
 
I've also had a number of discussions with local MP's over food and farming standards and policy.  When Covid eases I have plans to host my local MP at the farm here for a more in depth chat about the future of farming and food production.  I will be focusing very strongly on public procurement of food.  This was highlighted to me in article recently in The Independent on schools and hospitals serving sub standard produce from overseas.  It is a no brainer that the public sector should buy more British food.  And we as farmers need to gear up to supply it.