When I was growing up I can clearly remember a song which began “I’ve got brand new combine harvester and I’ll give you the key …” It was sung by the “Wurzels”, in thick West Country accents, but it did actually top the charts. It came straight back to mind when I climbed up into our combine harvester as part of my efforts to understand a little more about our farm and how it works.
Brian, who drives the combine through the weeks of harvest, put me in the driving seat and, with a sunny word of caution – “The edge of the Lime Kiln field is sharp and deep, so don’t go down it”, I lurched forward. Funnily enough I had just been discussing vehicle insurance with my husband so, feeling even more panicked, I achieved barely 2 km an hour. Luckily Geordie neither knew what I was doing (plus ça change), nor was anywhere near.
Not wishing to let the side down I began to go forwards as directed and then put down the head so the cutter could begin to harvest the rapeseed. Given it was the first time up the field I had to steer, whilst thereafter the GPS would kick in. They are extraordinary machines, able to separate the crop from the stalk which is then chopped and spewed out the back. Young Robert had come with me out of interest and because he was going to try to take some video. (The office suspected it would be hilarious and they wanted proof.) He had already found the cross country journey interesting as I drove rather close to hedges and along game crops to find the right field. He then spent much of his time leaping around to avoid the blades and the dust whilst finding how prickly the remaining stalks of the rapeseed crop were. I managed to turn round, go forwards and back before settling in at a steady 3km an hour which Brian had said was about right.
Farming was the core of the transformation from nomadic tribes to settled societies and a good harvest was essential to survival. Bronze Age people farmed on the western side of the Highclere estate where the soil is lighter. By the Iron Age, farming tools had improved and the area of cultivation had increased slightly but it was with the arrival of the Romans and their stronger ploughs that our predecessors began to farm where we are harvesting today. Food production remains a significant business from collecting the grains to their transportation to be refined and used in a myriad of different everyday foods, all of which we take for granted every time we enter a supermarket.
People often also forget that much of the landscape, particularly in this country, that they enjoy walking in, exploring and admiring, with its colourful patchwork of fields, hedges, woods, downland and hill-country, looks as it does because of the work of farmers. Like every other farmer we carefully review sprays and fertilisers to focus on what it best for the soil, the wildlife and the budget. We practise crop rotation to clear out invasive weeds. This year my husband is really worried about the weather: some of the crops are flattened, prices fluctuate and he hopes we might break even. Farming is a way of life for us. We know where our food comes from; we keep high standards of harvested crops and aim like other farmers, to survive to farm another year. We employ people, contribute to the food supply chain which in turn employs millions of people –and produce good food.
I enjoyed driving the combine harvester and I will be back even if, unlike in the Wurzels’ song, it is not brand new. The rapeseed I harvested will be cold pressed and the resulting canola oil bottled, some to use in our own kitchens and some to be sold in the gift shop. Like other cooks, I am conscious of the debate around which “fats” we should be using for our families. I certainly use butter and olive oil, sometimes coconut oil but I have found rapeseed is by far the best and safest with which to cook; high in omega 3, vitamin E, and it has a lovely, slightly nutty taste and, in the end, food should be delicious. It is worth considering when you are shopping wherever you live.
PS I give a little to the horses and dogs as well – it is very good for their coats!!!
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What a relatable story. Never in a million years would I have associated Highclere and farming. It makes sense. Grown up in the Northwest United States, I see this stuff all the time.
Great video and advice, thank-you! We shall be using rapeseed oil with our cooking in the future….
I wondered if you knew I was really a farmer’s wife!!!
You and Geordie should come and visit us here in the Quad-Cities! This is the home of the John Deere. There is a wonderful museum that chronicles the history of the development of farming equipment and the Deere family.
Considering your unending commitment to preserving the history of Highclere, I’m sure you and your family could relate to the Deere story!
As always, thank you for sharing your story and dedicating your life to carrying on the family estate.
So add ‘combine operator’ to your very long lists of talents. Now we need to get you a John Deere green baseball cap and a pair of Levi jeans to wear while running the machine. White pants could offer a unique challenge in the end. Great story!
I always seem to wear white trousers on the wrong day! I did put practical trainers on….
Lady Carnarvon,
You continue to amaze and educate at the same time. You are one brave and adventuresome woman! I love big machinery but have only dared (and been allowed) to climb aboard a backhoe digger and that was powerful and exciting enough for me! Being a good steward of our land is a commendable responsibility we all must shoulder these days as our resources are dwindling as our population expands. You might enjoy a recent book by Dan Barber titled: The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food. I feel you will appreciate what he has learned and experienced as it relates to the food we eat and where it all comes from but most especially the section on his notes dedicated to The Land. Thank you again for a most entertaining and educational blog post. Best regards, Lynn B.
Great job! My son would be proud of you! He used to work summers on a dairy farm and just LOVED operating the big equipment. Today he works in construction and gets paid to ‘play’ with the big machines. I hope your crops do well for you. We’ve had a very wet year here in Pennsylvania and everything is coming later than usual. Thanks for sharing!
The land is so beautiful and as a population we do waste so much. Ii think rapeseed may be referred to as Canola as well. Thank you for the note of the book!
I enjoyed watching you drive the combine. I live iin Iowa, where John Deere makes all sorts of farm and lawn equipment, and at first glance, your combine looks remarkably like the John Deere green of the ones made here. We used to have a mid size farm, but used a farm management company to run it ( hence we were what is known here as city farmers) and sold when the land prices got too good to pass up. Since Iowa is the heart of US farming, we still go to some of the farm progress shows, and I have climbed up into a lot of very large farm machines, and I know even getting in an out of one is no small feat for those who don’t do it a lot. Although I can fly a multi engine airplane and used to be a volunteer engineer for a local tour train, I have never gotten to drive a combine, but can imagine it is pretty intimidating until you get the feel.
I clearly need to catch you on your driving!! It is a John Deere.. and we take part in farming shows here. We have won quite a few prizes this year which is a tribute to Simon our farm manager – and he is working daily with my husband at the moment – or not giving it is pouring with rain!
Love seeing you in your white linen slacks commandeering a combine! That gave me such a chuckle. That is so you. 🙂 When I tell people that you are a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of Lady who doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty, they can’t believe it. Now we have proof that whether it is a back hoe, combine, white tie dinner, or a huge Prom event, you know how to get things done at Highclere! Keep the adventure stories coming. A truly modern lady….!
Thank you Patsy – and I hope I get the chance to return soon to the USA, gives some talks and do our USA charity fund raising !
So nice to see a good old John Deere combine doing his job over there in GB. I grew up on a farm and there’s nothing quite like watching this amazing piece of machinery work. Thanks most kindly for your post! And – happy farming!
It is extraordinary and I always feel humbled – how the crops grow from seeds through the spring into summer. It is amazing.
I think it’s great that you take such and interest in everything that pertains to Highclere, including how to operate the harvester. What fun (a bit scary) it must have been. I would have loved to try my had and operating such a huge piece of machinery. Loved the video!
Thank you – I got better!!!
The plow and its cousin, the tractor, truly revolutionized the agriculture industry. It must be very gratifying to create meaningful jobs in the local economy and act as good stewards of the land through sound farming practices.
Thank you for the tip on using rapeseed oil! I normally cook with olive oil, butter and coconut oil. Does it have a high smoke point? Is it good for sauteing? What is your favorite recipe using rapeseed oil?
Thanks again for a fascinating and educational post! My Virginia ancestors were farmers too (Tobacco and corn, mostly.), and I enjoyed reading it. I hope the weather cooperates this year and the harvest is plentiful!
Kindest Regards,
Stacey Brown
The Woodlands, TX
Rapeseed oil has the highest “smoke” point. I know I should only use olive for salads as when it is heated it changes and the fats are not so good for us. Coconut oil is fine and good for us but harder if you are cooking and it is all becoming very hot. So rapeseed, which derives its name from Latin, has been used for a long time is really excellent for cooking. I am about to go and cook a risotto and i will use a little butter plus a good glug the rape seed oil. I thought I would mix in cauliflower and scallops tonight. Risotto is probably my store cupboard basic dish and cauilflower has so many vitamins and minerals, but its real power comes from cancer-fighting compounds known as glucosinolates, so I consciously move round food groups during the week.
Thank you for sharing your cooking oil tips and recipe, Lady Carnarvon! Out of the 25+ grocery stores in my township (Including our local British market), only one store, Aldi Grocery, carries British Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil. Otherwise, it is available through Amazon. Your risotto dish also sounds delicious! Risotto is such a great pantry staple. I look forward to trying it all out very soon. Healthy cooking and good fats are beneficial for health and longevity.
I admire your “can-do” attitude, and I hope you have a great week!
Well, that was an invigorating read, Lady Carnarvon. thank you.
I used to enjoy teaching a class (not that I stopped enjoying the business, I just quit doing it) on “The English Novel: Law and Innovation, from Fielding to Hardy”. Most of the students at this prominent, American university were quite “good” students…and certainly bright. It was great fun to go through all those British novels (most of which, like “Pride and Prejudice”, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Joseph Andrews, and anything by Trollope) had been read in high-school by me eager-beaver, far-too-sentimentally Anglophilic students.
It was always interesting to read the novels in light of “New Historicism”…as the students learned that every one of these British novels were shot-through with concern (which would have been utterly obvious to any contemporary reader) over massive changes in agricultural, legal, industrial changes, etcetera. Most Americans have no idea whatsoever what “enclosure laws” or the reforms of 1836 meant and did, and they assume that all those Briitish hedges and abandoned cottages just came about “naturally”..
Reading your posting, I wondered how much input you, yourself, had in developing the script for “Downton Abbey”; I distinctly recall the episodes when a fairly daunted (and initially, quite haughty) Miss Mary realizes that she is going to have to LEARN about agriculture (or “How this place supports itself”). No surprise that the Irish former-Chauffeur is the one who teaches her how things/the land are run. Who would have thought that a person’s entire character and moral-outlook could be significantly improved by learning about pig-raising and crop-rotation?
I was recently amused when a visitor here picked up a copy of the lovely-but-snooty-boots “World of Interiors” and, referring to an article some-titled-aristocrat (which contained the phrase “learning how to survive into the 21st century”) said “Well, did anybody ever tell this man that ‘survival’ becomes a lot less precarious once you realize that, actually, you DON’T really need 36 bedrooms?”
Trying to be fair and being sufficiently familiar with the dilemma, I told her that I hadn’t read of anyone (except for a few Kardashians and Donald Trump) who was actively WISHING for 36 bedrooms…..but there were plenty of folks who, for better or worse, had inherited that many and had to figure out a way to keep 100-and-more folks, who’d lived there their entire lives, gainfully employed on the place.
In any case, you do seem to do truly admirable (and, I can tell, by no means easy) work,and thanks for sharing some of the experience.
On an entirely different note?….yes, rapeseed oil is a good thing to have around for certain sorts of cooking. Americans always flinch, of course, when you tell them “That’s not a field of ‘mustard’; it’s rape.” They react similarly when given a French cafe menu citing that ubiquitous, grated-carrot salad.
Just stay away from Safflower oil (which was the big rage among foodie/hippy/”health food” types for ten or so years back in my twenties. One of Julia Child’s most amusing comments was “I once had some young cuckoo types living in our house when we were away, and they cooked everything in safflower oil. And it took me months to clean that stuff clogging up my stove. So, if it does that to the stove, who knows what it does to the lining of your stomach????”. I’ll stick with butter, olive oil, Sunflower oil, and safflower oil (for good for deep-frying, as you’ll know).
thanks as ever for your good blog. It’s one of the four (at most) that I always turn to with pleasure.
Sincerely,
David Terry
Hillsborough, NC
Do have a look at my comments on cooking with oil – I guess I am back in my Latin grammar books and think Rapeseed and turnips!
Thanks for a most enjoyable reading. It sounds almost like the Archers. I’ll share it.
Thank you – and I like the Archers!
You are always fashion forward, Lady Carnarvon, no matter what you are doing.. 😉
Lovely to see the wide fields of crops… the last time I was over in Britain for a visit (many, many years ago) it was spring and the fields were such a vibrant bright yellow you almost needed sunglasses even on the overcast days. I hope you get a good yield from your fields.
The estate has so many varying pieces that inter-mesh to keep the whole thing running – it reminds me of a clockworks; there is something different and interesting to learn about at every turn.
Thank you for another very interesting post! I’m sure Robert will eventually get all the dust and chafe out of his shoes. 🙂
All the best to you and your family and staff from over here in South Carolina.
You are very right – it is very interconnected.
Enjoyed your blog today and I too, am a farmer/rancher’s wife and raised my family in the country of southwest Idaho, USA. All my children wish they could have the best of both worlds for their children, my grandchildren, as they had growing up on the farm. We had John Deere equipment and we all contributed to the labor of the land. Thank you for driving home the point of food production, respect for the farmer and the beauty of it all. Have a blessed day!
Thank you – I agree with you – firstly buy what is delicious for each season where you live because that is so often what helps us live well. Thereafter it is fun to experiment
Every time you write a blog it somehow refers to something going on in our lives which gives me a small chuckle. Currently we are looking at purchasing a small farm and seeing you jumping on the equipment just gives me a bit more confidence somehow!
I just love how you get involved in all aspects of your world, so much respect coming your way!
I enjoy reading your blogs especially after visiting Highclere in May when attending the Jane Austen seminar, tea, and garden tour. One disappointment… I emailed the gift shop and have not heard a reply. I purchaded 2 small silver creamer pots (gave one as a gift), and when returning to the states, took the second out of the silver teapot box, and inside was a china creamer with the Highclere symbol, not what I asked for, not what I purchased, but what I received. I emailed the bookstore what can we do about this? No resoonse in two months. It was an easy mistake for the clerk to make since the box was correct item, not the contents. I’m in the states and an easy stop by and exchange is not possible. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sally in the gift shop would be delighted to sort this – did you email [email protected] ? I will ask them to look you and forward to her..
Oh LDy C. I’ve tried sending an email 3 times to the aforementioned address from you. All three have been returned as undeliverable.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Another most enjoyable blog and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film of you driving (or should one say’ “piloting”) the combine harvester.
I have never heard of the “Wurzels” or of their “chart-topping’
harvester song. However, one of my favourite bands of all time was/is “Jethro Tull”.
By coincidence, that ties in very nicely with your blog – given that the band were named after the great English agriculturulist of the 17th &18th Century. My memory is that at school we were taught that Jethro Tull, the man, was regarded as the ‘father of modern agriculture’.
A further coincidence vis-a-vis your blog is that Jethro Tull perfected the horse drawn seed drill which enabled seeds to be planted evenly in rows. (No GPS back then.).
It also is my understanding that Tull pioneered the horse-drawn hoe. How far we have come since those simple horse-drawn devices to the massive GPS operated agricultural machinery of today. However, we should never forget the magnitude and importance of those early ‘inventions’ and methods.
The final coincidence (at least of which I am aware) is that Jethro Tull lived in Berkshire only about 15 miles from Highclere. I assume that his pioneering methods were readily adopted by his neighbouring great landowners, including at Highclere. Maybe the topic of a future blog?
With kindest regards,
Jeffery Sewell
Jeffrey: I have found this link to the Wurzels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btEpF334Rtc – it is worth listening to …
Jethro Tull did live near here as did Stephen Switzer with who he had various deep seated arguments about husbandry. Switzer may have been involved here at Highclere with the creation of the Park. Some of the tenant farmers would have known about Tull’s strategy. It was really about the soil and looking after it, the knowledge of which remains at the heart of how every farmer cultivates today. There is so much here!!!!
Thank you for posting that link to the Wurzel’s song. Very amusing.
I wonder what Melanie Safka (who composed and performed “Brand New Key”) thought of the Wurzells’ “combined harvester” song – especially as you have said that it topped the charts in the UK.
Maybe Melanie had a crystal ball and foresaw what the Wurzel’s were going to do, thereby prompting her to write “Look What They’re Done To My Song, Ma”? Of course, “Brand New Key” was a major hit and undoubtedly remains Melanie’s most famous song.
You are a woman of many talents! Keep it up – and I agree – you always look good no matter what task you are undertaking. Love it when you reply to some of the comments – I really don’t say anything worth replying to – love your blog!!!
I think I know my limits!!!
Just read this blog & now i have this song stuck in my head with different words in it hee hee, I have driven many things in my time but Never a Combine Harvester this has to be on my wish list now hee hee I know the field where you & brian were cutting Lady Carnarvon, just thinking what it life was like back in the Iron Age & through the ages on wards, just think if they could talk what wonderful stories they could tell, some great harvest & some poor ones too. I have just watch your film Little Robert you were very brave well done nice film & music too..
Tomorrow i will pop in & buy a bottle of this lovely oil as i have been told it’s fantastic for cooking as a food lover this will be great for my diet,
Fantastic Blog as usual Lady Carnarvon
Paul
Good news Paul as along as Alfie the Labrador has not had toooo much ..
I am fairly new to your blog, but so far I am enjoying it tremendously . Being a brit , now living in USA I am always happy to hear about what goes on at home. Reading your blog makes it seem a little closer . I, like everyone else so enjoyed getting to know the inside of your house. I do hope you can continue restoring the rest of it. England has lost so many of it’s wonderful Manor Homes, so it is a pleasure to have people who care about the land and the future of farming. I commend your tenacity and say thank you.
Dear Lady Carnarvon, this is a lovely post. Reminds me of “There is a time for everything”. I remember my Grandfather plowing his fields with one big white horse with him walking behind his hand held plow. It took him days to do just one small field. Then he had to go back and plant the seeds. He also grew crops to grind it up to make cane syrup. My Father sold International Harvesters (with red paint) and raised cattle by growing their crops to be mechanical harvested. My husband and sons grew up driving combines. Now it has passed on to my grandson. Time sure changes things. The only worry I have is about small family farms losing their livelihoods to big commercial farming interests. It is amazing to think since the beginning of time our earth has provided farm land for each generation. I so enjoy your blog posts.
I visited your home today which was beautiful. I just wondered re the floors upstairs whether they are habitable. Thank you for allowing us to visit
Some of the rooms are bedrooms that we use – you can see the Robing Room in a video and that lie under the Tower. I am beginning to figure out what makes sense in today’s world. I would like to re-create the nurseries for example in one section a I think people might enjoy a special tour to see them . I might persuade my Nanny to sit in rocking chair and tell her stories which might be hilarious ! I just tend, as usual, to run out of hours in the day.
Thank you so much for your reply. That sounds a lovely idea. I look forward to returning in years to come. A truly lovely castle and home.
We have a sundial near the Castle and I have had inscribed on it:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;” I wrote it in Latin, which may not have been right, but I could translate it, under it . This is a place for all seasons. You paint a great picture!
Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed your combine harvester blog and the video. I, too, remember the song and it brought many happy childhood memories back. I thought it incredibly brave of you to drive it, to be honest, as they’re massive machines, and you did such a good job on your first run. I wish you all the best with your crops this year – the very changeable weather must be a challenge.
Very interesting information about rapeseed. I shall look for it in future. It’s always fun to see your blog and the very interesting things you do on a real working estate.
Do try rapeseed oil – that and good olive oil are two key glass bottles in the pantry. Glass in better than plastic which can leach …
Lady Edith Crawley would be so proud of you! Lol
Every year farmers face challenges – and it quite a tense few weeks, are the oats a good colour, with the wheat, the worry is the levels of protein and the Hagberg Falling number, is the barley good enough for malting …have we got the haylage baled, normally some machinery then breaks down especially when the sun comes out..
There is a huge John Deere plant about a mile from our son’s house in Ankeny, Iowa where they make these wonderful machines. “Nothing runs like a Deere”. Made in the heartland of the U.S.
This is the most clever blog post of yours I have seen yet… it is educational, it made me belly laugh (when the combine rocked in the video), and it induced the desire to log on to Highclere’s website and purchase Highclere’s very own rape seed oil. Great marketing approach, which leads me to share a story from college. My marketing professor was adjunct, a retired head of sales for John Deere, and his surname is Ferrari; he always used to say (and I imagine that he still says it): “the only thing that runs better than a John Deere is a Ferrari!” Thanks, Lady Carnarvon, for bringing back a fun memory from my days in Marketing 101. Whenever I see a John Deere, I think of the fun Professor Ferrari. Happy harvesting!
I am really interested in looking at how we can eat well! It was a bit of a kerfuffle starting the combine.
Oh my!!! I remember when “Beand Znew Key” was a hit here in the US and had no idea of the spoof!!! Being a farm girl, I love it!!! Another reason to love Highclere-I’ve used canola for several years and appreciate its healthy merits! Grow and go!
I love your posting! It reminded me of my growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, USA and our annual harvesting season of wheat, oats and flax. Sweet memories of our family all working together.
We are harvesting oats now …
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
It looked like fun driving the combine, and thank you for reminding me of the Wurzel song, I know I am going to be singing that for the rest of the day, I am also going to start using Rapeseed oil for cooking, and also putting some in my dogs food, I see it is high in Omega 3, which is also good for stiff joints, As always another wonderful blog. Thank you. Best wishes Lorraine.
We have all been singing the Wurzel song – it lingers!!! I cooked again today with it – I made a tomato tart which came out ok…
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Am having trouble getting my comment to you. Have sent 4 to no success. Do you know what the problem might be?
Thank you,
Catherine Splane
The blog has protective software to prevent spamming, can I suggest re-sending your comment without any website links you may have put in?
Dear Lady Carnarvon, yes I will. Hadnt thought of that . I was trying to tell you about our Elephant Sanctuary where we view our eles on line. Will get you that in plain spelling
Thank you so very much,
Catherine Splane
Thank You your lovely video and Autumn is busy time to farmers and myself I know what is…
ROCK ON LADY CARNARVON, AS THE PREVIOUS WRITER WROTE, LADY EDITH WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU, BUT THE DOWEGER COUNTESS, WOULD BE SHOCKED. SMILE. BUT THAT IS WHAT MAKES PROGRESS. THE LAND THE SOIL, AND THE CROPS, NOT TO MENTION THE EARL WILL THANK YOU. SMILE . DESIREE
Thank you !! I think Maggie Smith’s character was practical and she survived because she got on with it! I think she would think it ok although the machine itself is out of sync with her time. We have all changed the word a lot in the last 60 years
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Still trying to get my comment to your blog. Spelled out our elephant sanctuary website with no dots. But still no success. Will keep trying.
Catherine Splane
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Immensely enjoyed the video on the combine harvesting rapeseed at Highclere. For over twenty years, canola oil has been my favorite. I love its taste, its frying results, its sauteing
When sitting in the combine’s driver seat, how high are you off the ground?.
During WWII, my father served on our USA Soil Conservation Service. He went round to farms in his district and helped farmers get higher crop yields as food was being rationed.
How are your animals doing? What cute things have they done lately? My adopted elephants at our elephant sanctuary in Tennessee are viewed daily on the elecam. The Girls are so cute. Their bios are heartbreaking. But now they sre loved, cherished, comfortable, and free. ELEPHANTS DOT COM.
Best wishes to you, Lord Carnarvon, your son, your animals, and the Castle staff.
Sincerely,
Catherine Splane
You father’s role was very much part of the dig for victory campaign wasn’t it? It all starts with the soil.
All our animals are doing fine, the horses have very shiny coats and have a little weight on them as we head towards autumn and winter. I hope to find some time to ride a little more in September , it is one of most favourite months to “beat the bounds” !
I will look at your web site!
Bless you Lady Carnarvon. From one animal lover to another, across the pond. Thankyou. Catherine
Have to search for the eles on camera. Sometimes they are on camera, sometimes they hide. Most importantly, they are allowed to do as they choose. Can hear the deep love for the eles in the staff member’s voices over the phone. Sanctuary practices excellent land management for the Girls, and keeps them intellectually, physically, and medically enriched. Classical music is played for them.
What another wonderful tale from Highclere. It really is a working farm, with beautiful grounds and gardens, and loving home! Thank you for another fascinating blog, and being originally from the corn fields of Illinois, your happy green combine brought back so many warm memories!
Good Afternoon, A friend of mine visited your beautiful Higclere Castle yesterday and gave a Knitted Heart to some sort of director to pass on to Lady Carnarvon. The heart honors the London, Manchester and Portland victims. We hope Lady Carnarvon will put it on Alfie and send us a picture. Thank you very much for listening.
Thank you – farming and food are utterly related to both practical needs and arcadian views and it all makes for our English countryside. I guess my cooking and recipes in “At Home” starts in these fields
Seems like alfalfa might be a good rotation crop, though English soils are a mystery to me. There appears to be huge swaths of canola producing acreage in England, raising the question of a market glut without a good distribution arrangement (which you most certainly have). However, canola oil is canola oil, in the final analysis. Keep the Americans out if you know what’s good for you, as we’re at $4.86 the gallon at retail here (walmart.com). Sorry for that, but that’s the ticker at the moment.
Alfalfa won’t grow around us – it can be grown in the eastern most county, Norfolk. I do think diversity and rotation are key. We need to grow food well, look after and take the time to understand the journey form field to fork!