" The birthright of all living things is health. This law is true for soil, plant, animal and man: the health of these four is one connected chain" Sir Albert Howard

"Before the war, farming was a noble occupation. Farmers treated their land and animals with respect. They had a duty to pass the farm on to the next generation in good condition and were proud to produce some of the finest food in the world. Urged by successive governments to produce more and more as cheaply as possible, and amply aided by Britains burgeoning chemical industry, our farms are now highly industrialised, producing some of the most debased food in the world. Animals become figures on a balance sheet and soil a mere medium for advanced hydroponics. Hedges are ruthlessly ripped out to make way for gargantuan machinery and villages die as farm workers are no longer needed.

Organic farmers are fighting to redress the balance, improve the land we farm and treat our animals as living beings deserving respect and good treatment. This requires dedication and hard toil. An outbreak of docks in a field of wheat has to be taken out by hand – back breaking work. Straw bedding is expensive and has to be mucked out frequently – labour intensive. There are no cheap feed alternatives. Animals take twice as long to grow. Yields per acre are lower……..

But we can continue to produce in this way year after year. When we leave there will still be song birds living on our insects and nesting in our hedges. Trees that took a lifetime to grow will still be there to give shelter from the sun and wind. People will still be needed to work the land. And we take pride in producing some of the finest food in the world." - Charlotte Reynolds, Co-Founder of Swaddles Organic

“ If we destroy the soil - and it is not indestructible - mankind will vanish from the earth as surely as the dinosaurs” (Lady Eve Balfour, The Living Soil)