Lincolnshire Pride

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Farming in Lincolnshire

As the county that feeds the country, Lincolnshire is renowned for its cereals, vegetable production, livestock and horticulture. This month we celebrate farming in the county!

NB: Click above images to make page layouts larger.

Cereals in Lincolnshire

By the time you read this, you’ll be able to look out of the window and see combines rumbling steadily across the fields, gobbling up massive quantities of wheat, barley and oilseed rape. In 1850, harvesting an acre of wheat took many labourers 23 hours. With the advent of early combines that dropped to about eight hours and a single person. The same task today takes 20-30 minutes, and the driver enjoys air conditioning and listens to Smooth Radio in their cab.

Yields are better too, thanks to agronomists, and modern combines are both comfortable and sophisticated, using cameras to report yields in real time. Software like John Deere’s HarvestLab automatically measures moisture, protein and starch even before the crop has reached a combine’s 16,000 litre (on average) grain tank.

Scotland’s Patrick Bell first invented a ‘reaping machine’ in 1828, then a couple of American firms refined the design in the 1850s. Finally, the steam engine and threshing machine maker Clayton & Shuttleworth, based at Stamp End Works in Lincoln, created the first European-built combine in 1931 with a three-metre wide ‘header.’ The first combine harvester as we know them was created by Claas in 1937. Fancy getting behind the wheel of a state-of-the-art combine? A new John Deere X9 1000 or Claas Lexion 800 will cost between £750,000 to £1m depending on configuration.

Record breaking yields

Farming 1,500 acres in the Lincolnshire Wolds, Tim Lamyman is a world champion cereals grower, achieving yields of 16.21t/ha for his Tardis winter barley and 18t/ha of Champion variety wheat during his 2022 harvest… that’s over twice the average yield, and still today Tim holds the world record for cereals yields. 

Unfavourable weather in spring and summer means yields across Britain are likely to fall shorter this year, but Lincolnshire’s farmers will still produce 11% of the country’s wheat. 

Cereals in Lincolnshire

The total farmed area of Lincolnshire is currently just under 490,000 hectares; about 5.4% of all agricultural land nationally. 272,520ha comprises cereal crops. Around 253,856 hectares of Lincolnshire land is used for farming cereals, of which 178,337 (61%) is wheat; 19,878 (13%) is winter barley; 43,815 (17%) is spring barley; 7,245 (6%) is oats and the rest is made up of other cereals. Most cereals are harvested from the middle of July and harvest runs into August, but the weather can have a huge impact on this. A typical cycle for an arable farmer starts in September when the ground is worked and the crop is drilled. In spring time the crops start to grow rapidly, and fertiliser is applied to give the crops the nutrition they need. Harvest then starts in July where the crops are brought into the grain store.

Grain Marketing

Farmers typically use grain merchants to achieve the best prices for their crops. Founded in 2005, headquartered at Witham St Hughs near Lincoln, and with 1,100 employees, Frontier Agriculture turns over £1.5bn/annum and sells 20% of the British grain market on behalf of farmers, about 5.5m tonnes/year. 

Openfield is based at Colsterworth and trades around 17% of the UK’s grain market with a turnover of about £806m. Uniquely, Openfield is a cooperative, owned by 4,000 farmers, who work together to supply British grain to some of the biggest and most well-known foods brands in the UK to make bread, cereals, drinks and spreads and animal feeds.

Sugar Beet Production

Knobbly, pale and shaped a bit like an oversized parsnip, sugar beet is responsible for satiating Britain’s sweet tooth. We consume 1.7m tonnes of sugar each year of which 25% is from imported sugar cane. Another 25% of our sugar is from imported sugar beet, and 50% is made from beet grown in the UK with Lincolnshire satisfying 17% of that demand. Sugar beet is drilled in March/April, harvested (right) September-March.

British Sugar is the UK’s only sugar beet crop processor, and turns 8m tonnes of sugar beet into 1.2m tonnes of processed sugar, relying on 2,300 growers and its factories including Wissington near Kings Lynn and Newark’s factory. The latter broke records in 2023/24 by working for 228 days, and British Sugar overall supports 9,500 jobs.

Cane and beet sugar are identical in chemical composition (99.95% sucrose) but the process of refining each is totally different. Sugar beet is washed, sliced into thin stripes (cossettes), then mixed with hot water to extract the syrup before being mixed with lime to remove impurities. 

The syrup is filtered, heated and seeded with sugar crystals which grow and are then washed, dried and cooled before being packaged as caster, icing, brown or liquid sugar products. The by-products of the process are sugar beet pulp – which is used as animal feed – and two soil conditioners, Topsoil and LimeX, which help to keep land fertile.

It’s worth knowing that only Silver Spoon is made from beet, whilst Tate & Lyle is made from cane. By choosing Silver Spoon, you’re cutting down food imports and supporting local farmers!

Growing in Lincolnshire

For over 400 years, Lincolnshire has boasted some of the best farmland in the country, so it’s little surprise that the county is always known as ‘Britain’s veg basket’ or as ‘the county that feeds the country,’ and so on. When Charles I tasked Cornelius Vermuyden to drain the Fens, he began to uncover what now constitutes an area of 1,500 square miles in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk which makes up 4% of Lincolnshire’s farmed area and is responsible for 7% of England’s total agricultural production.

Fenland is defined as being soils which gain their moisture from rock and soil with dissolved minerals that create favourable growing conditions, as distinct from bogs which receive their water from rainfall which is more acidic and less able to support such diverse vegetation. 

Growing Vegetables in Lincolnshire

Land in England and Wales is given one of seven classifications based on climate, gradient, soil depth, moisture and stoniness, from Grade I to Grade V (there are a couple of ‘sub-grades’). Because the Fens are mostly comprised of Grade I and Grade II soils (not just silt but peaty and calcareous in geology), they’re highly valued for growing crops, in particular brassicas and potatoes. That’s reflected in that fact that Lincolnshire (and especially the Lincolnshire Fens) are responsible for producing 20% of England’s fresh vegetables, and 20% of its potatoes, crops worth about £1.23bn/year.

The Big Three  

Lincolnshire vegetable-growing operations are dominated by ‘the big three;’ Lincolnshire Field Produce was formed in 1997 by Robin Hancox, Aubrey Day and Martin Tate and it currently farms about 16,000 acres (6,500ha). Based in Whaplode but farming across South Lincolnshire, the company employs 140 people and produces brassicas and potatoes as well as cereals and sugar beet.

TH Clements is based in Benington and are now third generation farmers who have been growing fresh vegetables since 1940, working with major retailers since the 1980s. T H Clements produces 

around 200 million packs of vegetables each year, farming over 12,500 acres of crops like purple sprouting broccoli, leeks, cabbages and cauliflowers. Supplying supermarkets in the UK and Europe, if there’s veg on your plate, chances are it has been grown by Clements.

Also along the A52 at Wrangle, between Boston and Skegness is Staples, which grows broccoli, cauliflowers, kale, Savoy cabbage, red and white cabbage, spring greens and Brussels. Staples’ owners, George & Vernon Read, farm 10,000 acres and employs 600 members of staff.

Growing Potatoes

Lincolnshire has long been synonymous with tates, and Branston Ltd handles over 350,000 tonnes of potatoes each year… roughly 20 trillion individual potatoes, supplied by over 100 growers. Virtually all of Tesco’s potatoes (and the retailer has over 4,000 stores) are supplied (fresh, prepared or mashed) by Branston. 

In total in the UK, we grow 5.31m metric tonnes of potatoes; about 14,337,000,000 assuming a yield of 20t/ha yield. Lincolnshire grows 13% of the UK’s potatoes, using 14,000ha (34,500 acres) land. Across the UK, 108,000ha (266,873 acres) is used to grow potatoes each year.

Say Yes Peas   

Crops aren’t the only things that grow rather well in Lincolnshire. Businesses tend to grow quite well, too. Fen Peas, a producer organisation – or cooperative as most would know it – began life in 1969 when four farmers got together. At the time they grew just 600 acres of peas.

“We’re half-way through the harvest now, yields are good and quality is holding up,” says Stephen Francis. “We produce 10,000 tonnes which is 10% of Britain’s consumption. Planting 14 varieties means we can stagger the crop through the year and harvesting lasts from mid-June to August, slightly delayed this year because of the weather.” 

The company uses Ploeger 540-EPD harvesters which work in a similar way to a cereals combine; combing the crop, separating the pod and threshing it to free the peas. Timing is very much of the essence, and the time from field to factory is never more than 150 minutes!

A year in the life of a vegetable farm

Later in this edition we’ll meet Mark Nundy of Windy Ridge Veg near Boston, who produces cauliflower, broccoli, cabbages, sprouts and potatoes from his 890 acre (360ha) farm. Mark has recently appeared in a four-part video on a year in the life of a Lincolnshire veg grower produced by tractor manufacturer Valtra. You can see the first of his videos on Valtra’s social media channels, or at www.valtra.co.uk.

Supporting farmers

Househam Sprayers, based near Woodhall Spa, employs 47 people and produces its own range of sprayers, designed and manufactured in-house with a wealth of bespoke options. Its Spirit (3,000 litre), Harrier and Air-Ride (6,000 litre) models are delivered worldwide. The company was established in 1970.

Cope Seeds of Sleaford specialises in regenerative agriculture. The family-owned company was established in 2003 and is run by Managing Director Gemma Clarke, providing conventional and organic seeds, grains and SFI (e.g.: wildflower) crops.

Bailey Trailers was established in 1982 by Tom Bailey and moved to its 70,000sq ft site in Sleaford in 2010. It’s in the third generation of the family now and has a range of 17 different trailers with multiple variations, of which it produced 943 in 2023.

Tractors & Machinery

Last year in the UK, 11,816 tractors (full-size, over 50hp) were purchased, making them the most commonly purchased items of large farm equipment in the country. For the 2022/2023 season, UK farmers purchased 200 combines, 700 round balers and 255 square balers.

ATVs and Utility vehicles were the next most common pieces of kit after tractors, selling 7,800 and 7,000 respectively. Telehandlers were common too, conducting heavy lifting tasks and allowing grain or sugar beet to be pushed into piles or loaded onto lorries with buckets at the front. They were the next most common pieces of kit with 4,230 sold. 430 ploughs, 620 power harrows, 2,000 tedders/hay rakes, and 800 sprayers were also purchased by UK farmers last year.

The value of sales for all agricultural machinery in the UK reached more than £2.4 billion in 2022, the last year for which data is available.

The most popular brand of tractor is John Deere, with a 30.4% market share in the UK. Case New Holland is the next most common manufacturer with a 26% share (16.3% New Holland and 9.7% Case). Agco has a 22.2% market share (is brands are Massey Ferguson 10.6%; Fendt 6.5%; Valtra 5.2%). Kubota has a 7.3% market share. Claas has a 3.6% market share, JCB has a 2.1% share, followed by a few other brands.

The most common months to buy a tractor are March/April, an ‘average’ tractor is 160hp-180hp and will cost between £125,000 and £150,000, although the spend will probably be a bit more for Lincolnshire given they’re employed for arable tasks and necessitate a bit more power to work our heavy soils.

NB: Figures from Agricultural Engineers Association

Horticulture in Lincolnshire

Horticulture… it’s a tricky term to define. It’s thought that horticulture is worth £5bn to the UK economy each year (according to the Chartered Institute of Horticulture) and it is estimated to employ over 50,000 people all helping to grow fruit and some vegetables, as well as herbs and ornamentals; ‘plants for decorative rather than practical use.’

Lincolnshire has 209 horticultural holdings, totalling 19,000 hectares (12% of all horticultural land in England), which contributes significantly to the UK’s veg exports (worth £82m) and its fruit exports (worth £70m). 

In terms of ornamentals, the UK’s flower and bulb industry is worth £179m, its potted plant market is worth £330m and its hardy ornamental nursery stock industry is worth £1,177m.

Horticulture in Lincolnshire

There are over 300 horticultural categories under the umbrella term  which cover peas and beans, other veg and salad, glasshouse and protected crops, top fruit, small fruit, hardy nursery stock, herbs, hops for brewing etc. 

Lincolnshire produces 22% of the country’s peas and beans, 26% of its vegetables and salads, 7.7% of its glasshouse crops, 0.8% of its top fruit (e.g.: apples, pears), 0.6% of its small fruit and 23% of its hardy nursery stock.

South Holland constitutes the greatest area in the local horticulture sector, responsible for about 31% of the county’s horticultural output, followed by Boston at 27% and East Lindsey at 19%.

Horticulture in Lincolnshire  

Among the biggest names in Lincolnshire’s horticultural sector is Bridge Farm. Established in 1988 by Jayne and Tony Ball, the couple’s son David joined the business in 2010. Initially Bridge Farm Nurseries had a modest quarter of an acre of glasshouse space which has grown steadily over the years. In 2018 the farm gained planning permission for a new glasshouse facility costing £45m situated on a new 100 acre site. 

Today the farm comprises 60 acres of glasshouses, employing 130 people, which increases to 200 staff in high season, and it produces 70m plants a year. The company produces 70 different types of bedding plants, from spring into autumn such as geranium, petunia, dahlia, pansy, fuchsia, sunflower and busy Lizzie. It also produces perennials such as hydrangea, delphinium, salvia, hosta, and verbena. The business also grows 25 stems of tulips each year, one million poinsettia plants for Christmas and crops for the bioscience sector.

Elsewhere in Lincolnshire, fifth generation farmers Smith & Munson  specialises in growing British tulips, lilies and ranunculus, which they sell directly to the public online at www.smithandmunson.com.

Naylor Flowers grows flowers for retailers such as M&S and Waitrose, from daffodils to delphiniums, sunflowers to sweet Williams. 

These businesses are among several hundred in the UK Food Valley (Lincolnshire and Rutland), contributing to a sector of agriculture worth over £600m/year.

The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society

The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society was formed in 1869, a charitable organisation whose original mission statement was the ‘furtherance, welfare and progress of the agricultural industry and all professions, trades and crafts connected therewith.’

Long before purchasing its permanent showground at Grange-de-Lings, north of Lincoln, the Society held a ‘Lincolnshire Show’ initially in late July with highlights including poultry, pigeons, seeds and roots. Before settling in the showground the show was peripatetic, held at Scunthorpe, Bourne, Brocklesby Park, Skegness and Louth among others. 

In 1898, as part of the event, Lincoln’s Stonebow was decorated with thousands of flowers, and in 1959, the 76th Lincolnshire Show was the first held at the current Lincolnshire Showground, which is owned by the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society.

Entrance was charged at 10 shillings – double the price of previous shows – and 13 stewards oversaw the event. Today there are over 200 stewards helping to bring to fruition an event which attracts around 60,000 people, with 500 exhibitors, 2,927 livestock and equine entries, 5,000 rosettes awarded, 18 hours of entertainment in the main ring, 3,307 glasses of Pimm’s consumed, 20,000 ice creams sold (subject to the weather!), and a boost to Lincolnshire’s economy of up to £11m each time it’s held.

The 270-acre Lincolnshire Showground is home to other events too, like Countryside Lincs in spring and the Food & Gift Fair which will be held from Saturday 30th November to Sunday 1st December this year. See www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk.

The National Farmers’ Union: Representing 45,000 members

Where else could the NFU originate but in Lincolnshire? Back in 1904, our farmers founded the Lincolnshire Farmers’ Union, which was itself based on the Lincolnshire Labour League which had about 10 local groups, but disbanded in 1896. 

From 1904, neighbouring counties followed Lincolnshire’s example and established similar organisations, and in 1908, these organisations all merged to establish the National Farmers’ Union with Colin Campbell as its first president.

In 1910 the group established an additional but separate organisation, NFU Mutual, offering insurance and latterly financial services. By 1913 the NFU had 20,000 members, and today it represents 45,000 farming and growing businesses. 

Headquartered in Warwickshire with NFU Cymru in Powys, the NFU also has offices in Westminster and Belgium, as well as four regional offices including NFU Midlands.

Here in Lincolnshire, Rhonda Thompson represents northern Lincolnshire and her remit is combinable crops, sugar beet and livestock. South Lincolnshire is represented by Gabriella Gregory, whose farming specialisms includes vegetable production and horticulture.

The NFU’s purpose is to champion British agriculture and horticulture, to campaign for a stable and sustainable future for British farmers and to secure the best possible deal for its members.

From lobbying Westminster and Brussels to championing food standards and bringing together the rural community, the NFU can offer anything from professional services and technical expertise, also hosting regional and national events as well as securing coverage in the media. It represents farming in 2024 under its current president, Tom Bradshaw, who succeeded Minette Batters in 2024. See www.nfuonline.com.

Livestock in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is predominantly arable in terms of its farming output, but that’s not to say it’s totally devoid of livestock… or livestock heritage. It is the only British county that developed its own breeds of livestock in all five farming  categories; Lincoln Red cattle, Lincoln Longwool sheep, Lincolnshire Curly Coat pigs, Lincolnshire Black horses, and Lincolnshire Buff chickens. 

In the early 20th century, you’d see a Lincolnshire farming landscape much more abundant in livestock before a combination of large, flat fields ideal for larger machinery, acknowledgement that of our high quality soils are great for arable crops, and the favouring of commercial breeds of cattle all conspired to see Lincolnshire’s arable bias dramatically increase. But there are still large quantities of cattle and sheep to be found in our marsh, heath, and Lincolnshire Wolds areas, typically on land less suited to large-scale arable farming.

The Lincoln Red

There are around 4,000 Lincoln Red sired calves born every year, with the 160 members of the Lincoln Red Cattle Society running some 3,250 Pedigree Lincoln Red breeding cows.  Just under half of the Society’s members are based in Lincolnshire, the breed being widely spread round the length and breadth of England and Scotland. There are also many Lincoln Reds to be found in Ireland, Wales, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The notion of selective cattle breeding was first floated by Gervaise Markham in 1695, with deliberate selective breeding conducted from the 18th century. The original cattle of Lincolnshire were distinguished by their enormous size, but slow powers of fattening. In the late 18th, and early 19th centuries, the new type of Shorthorn  was imported from Durham and Northumberland, the most famous being a bull called Comet bought at Charles Colling’s great sale of 1810. The best known of these forward thinking breeders was Thomas Turnell of Reasby near Scothern. When the first Lincoln Red Pedigree Herd Book was published in 1896, a year after the formation of the Lincoln Red Shorthorn Association,  a lot of the cattle registered could be traced back to his famous herd. Every animal entered in the 123 Herd Books,  published by the society since 1896, has its Sire and Dam listed, thus enabling a family history to be built up, with many of today’s Lincoln Reds having a 30 generation Pedigree. The Lincoln Red was a good dual breed, producing plenty of milk, delicious meat with a good marbling of fat throughout. It’s naturally polled (hornless) and thrives on natural pasture, with an average working weight of 750kg for a cow, 1,000kg for a bull.

Michael Read has one of the larger herds of Lincoln Reds, it is based in Hemingby and currently numbers around 55 cows. His father established the herd in 1941, but sadly it is being dispersed in October 2024, because he has no one to carry on his lifetime’s work. The herd was not exhibited at the Lincolnshire Show this year for the first time since 1955 and because of this, Michael was honoured to be asked to judge the Beef Interbreed classes. There was another strong turnout of Lincoln Reds, though; over 50 head for their National Show.

Dairy in Lincolnshire  

In 2010 there were 39 dairy holdings in Lincolnshire, a decade later that number fell to just 14. One of the remaining dairy herds is Adam Duguid’s Home Farm Dairy at Caenby Corner. His mixed farming operation spans around 1,880 acres, a third of which is used to graze 380 Montbéliardes, Norwegian Red and Holsteins. 

The farm’s milk is taken to the dairy daily, from milking twice a day (total production about 3.1m litres/year), by Arla, the largest dairy cooperative with 10,300 farmers overall, of which 2,400 are British. You can also enjoy purchase milk fresh from the farm gate at Home Farm Dairy as the company has its own vending machine.

Incidentally, the UK produces about 15.3bn litres of milk each year, with a UK-wide dairy herd population of 1,086,534. The market is worth £4.4bn and employs over 80,000 people nationally. Each of us consumes 144 pints a year, 98% of the population regularly consumes dairy products and a pint will provide milk for about 20 cups of tea.

Whilst we’re on the subject of consumption, the majority of beef consumed in the UK is from Limousin, Charolais and Simmental herds. The next most common breeds are Angus, Shorthorn and Herefords.

A word, too, for the county’s cheesemakers, including FW Read of Alford, best known for producing Lincolnshire Poacher with help from their 230 Holstein Fresians. Meanwhile, near Market Rasen, Mary & Michael produce Cote Hill cheese with help from their sons Joe & Ross, and from their 80 pedigree Fresians.

Sheep Farming in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire’s total sheep and lamb population is 147,402, including 1,812 rams and 72,123 lambs under a year. The Texel, Suffolk and Charollais (NB: Not Charolais!) sheep are some of the most common sheep breeds in the UK. As for Lincolnshire’s own breed, the Lincoln Longwool Sheep Breeders Association was founded in 1892, and there are currently 91 registered flocks with 116 registered members and 11 official heritage breed shows including the Lincolnshire Show. 

The national population of Lincoln Longwools stands at between 700 and 800 breeding ewes. Among the champions of the breed are Louise and Ian Fairburn of Risby Grange, and the South Orsby Estate. 

Shepherdess Sophie Arlott has lived on her farm since 1999 and established her Lavinton flock – about 250 ewes – carefully breeding in desirable traits to create her own breed, with characteristics of the Hebridean and Southdown. This is slow-reared lamb, or more technically, hogget as it’s over a year old at point of consumption. The meat is high-welfare in nature, pasture-fed, sweet, flavoursome and quite unlike anything you’ve tasted for years. 

Sophie’s current restaurant customers include Restaurant Sat Bains, The Six Bells at Witham and Lincoln’s Jews House. You can purchase Lavinton Lamb directly from Sophie at www.lavinton.com, including her gourmet lamb burgers, plus Merguez & Moroccan Sausages. 

It’s also available at the Burghley Fine Food Market (24th-26th August); from Lincoln Farmers Market (third Saturday of the month); Fulbeck’s Artisan Market (second Saturday of the month) and at Kingscliffe Active Farmers Market (held on the first Sunday of every month).

Pigs in Lincolnshire     

And finally, this little piggy is delighted to be one of Grasmere Farm’s Hampshire Cross animals. Established in 1969 the company is the best in the business, and its pork and sausages are favoured in some of Lincolnshire’s finest restaurants… a shame, though, that the last of Lincolnshire’s own heritage pig breed, the Curly Coat, died in 1972. The stocky and rather large breed typically weighed in at a porky 250kg!

Poultry & Egg Production in Lincolnshire: Counting your chickens

Whether they’ve hatched or not, there’s no need to count your chickens, as we’ve done it for you. There are about 131m across England and Wales, about 15.1m of which are right here in Lincolnshire. The county is home to about 25% of the country’s breeding stock, 20% of the country’s broiler (meat) birds and about 7% of the country’s breeding flock.

About 11bn eggs are laid each year, each of us consumes about 200 eggs each year, 85% from supermarkets. UK egg production is worth £1bn year. Free range eggs now account for 70% of the UK egg market. The Happy Egg Co is the most common brand on our shelves and is produced by Lincolnshire based Noble Foods, the UK’s biggest producer and supplier of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda’s eggs. The company packs 32m/year at its North Scarle Premises between Lincoln and Newark, and the average size of the company’s laying flock is 16,000 birds.

The Lincolnshire Buff was the county’s very own poultry breed, first recorded around 1854 and thought to blend the characteristics of a Chinese Cochin and a traditional British Dorkin. Its breed standards were never recorded and by the 1920s/1930s the breed had all but disappeared from farms.

Happily, in 1981 Riseholme College embarked on a project to resurrect the breed’s popularity. Brian Sands registered the breed’s characteristics with the Poultry Club of GB in 1997 having established the Lincolnshire Buff Poultry Society – of which he is still the President – in 1995. Unusually the Lincolnshire Buff has five toes (most poultry breeds have three). They’re easy to rear, docile and prove to be good layers.

Looking After Farmers in Lincolnshire

Undoubtedly farming is a not just a job, or a career, but a vocation that brings a huge amount of satisfaction to anybody who works and lives within the profession. However, it’s by no means a career without its challenges, as highlighted by the recent Big Farming Survey conducted by The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI). It found that:

427,000 people work in agriculture across the UK, responsible for 71% of the country’s land. Of an estimated 219,000 UK holdings, over half are under 20 hectares in size, i.e.: households or families, not large holdings.

47% of the farming community say they are experiencing anxiety, whilst 35% report depression. Livestock and dairy sectors are statistically the worst affected. The most common sources of stress and anxiety in the farming profession are regulation, compliance and inspection issues (45%); Covid (44%); bad or unpredictable weather (43%); loss of subsidies or future trade (40%); rural crime (38%); the future of the farm (35%); financial pressure (31%); and not feeling valued by the public (30%).

52% of farmers report ongoing pain or discomfort as they work; 31% report anxiety or depression; 24% report mobility problems. A quarter of farmers surveyed report that ill-health has directly affected their ability to undertake physical farming work.

A poor work/life balance (e.g.: both living and working on a farm) and long or antisocial hours are associated with poor sleep quality, commonly linked to depression and obesity.

It’s never been more important to look after the physical and mental health of our farmers. Happily, Lincolnshire is well-served with many organisations and charities keen to provide support across the profession.

Lincolnshire Rural Support network

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, LRSN provides a lifeline to members of the agricultural community

For 25 years, Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) has been providing tailored, confidential and free support to farmers and allied industries in Lincolnshire.

From issues surrounding financial pressures and succession issues to bereavement, physical and mental health challenges, LRSN has a nine-strong team of professionals and a further 60 volunteers who are all on hand to ensure that nobody in Lincolnshire’s agricultural, horticultural or allied industries has to face difficulty alone.

“Farming is an industry that faces increasing commercial pressures, with an ever-greater need to maintain unprecedented yields, and to invest in new technology,” says LRSN’s Head of Charity, Amy Thomas.

“It’s also an industry that is unpredictable by virtue of the weather and increasingly isolated by virtue of the displacement of labour in favour of technology, making it an increasingly solitary profession.”

“LRSN helped nearly 250 families last year with a range of issues, providing tailored advice and access to experts to help maintain the business health, the mental health, and the physical health of Lincolnshire’s farms and farmers. Our advice is free, tailored and there are no limits on the time we spend, when helping families through acute or chronic difficulties.”

Health Hub & Health Hut

LRSN is keeping an eye on local farmers’ healthcare needs, with free check-ups

Lincolnshire’s Rural Support Network (LRSN) helps to look after the physical and mental health of farmers, offering printed self-help guides for conditions like sleep problems, stress or bereavement.

LRSN’s Health Hub offers telephone or video consultations with medical professionals for those in agriculture unable to secure an appointment with their GP. The service has fortnightly clinics in Louth and Spalding, as well as Melton Mowbray and now in North Lincolnshire too.

Separately, its Health Hut attends farm sales, county shows and farming trial days. No need for appointments; the hut’s nurses provide an instant, free service which checks blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and BMI as well as offering physical and mental health advice.

Women in Wellies

LRSN’s brand new project aims to look after women in agriculture

The saying goes that a woman’s work is never done. Sadly, that’s never been more prescient as the role of women living and working in agricultural settings is broader and more pressured than ever. Juggling supporting a working farm with office or physical work, looking after their family, running the household and often holding down a separate career too means women are more stretched than ever, often to the detriment of their own physical and mental health. 

Women in Wellies aims to create a support network for Lincolnshire women offering support such as health screening, and wellbeing opportunities, but also providing a chance to socialise, with events like a Wine Tasting session at Mayfield Vineyard near Sleaford on 26th September and a Wild Medicine Walk on 5th October.

For more information on Lincolnshire Rural Support Network and its free, confidential support for farmers’ physical, mental and business health, see www.lrsn.co.uk or call 0800 138 1710.

Charities and organisations providing help and advice for the farming community…

Lincolnshire Young Farmers

The future of our countryside

Celebrations are underway this year as 2024 sees the 50th anniversary of The Lincolnshire Young Farmers. The Federation was created in 1974 with the joining of previous countywide clubs, and when Lincolnshire affiliated to the National Federation of Young Farmers, whose history dates back to the founding of the first club in Hemyock, Devon, in 1921.

Today there are 46 County Federations across seven areas, and a membership of around 22,000 young people aged 10-28. 

In Lincolnshire there are 16 clubs each with around 600 members across the county. Each club typically meets on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, and then they come together for county, and national, events.

“Being a Lincolnshire Young Farmer member is a great opportunity for young people to make friends, learn new skills and have lots of fun,” says County Development Manager, Kate Knight. “Our mission is to offer fun, learning and opportunities for achievement, helping to make a meaningful contribution to rural communities.” Find out more at www.lincsyfc.org.uk and all social media platforms.

LIVES – Lincolnshire’s Voluntary Emergency Service

The charity with volunteers responding to 999 medical emergencies in Lincolnshire

LIVES is Lincolnshire’s voluntary emergency service. Founded in 1970 by Dr Michael Cooper and Dr Richard Harper-Smith, LIVES has been active in our community for over 50 years. This year LIVES is marking 25 years since its Community First Responder initiative began! The service’s network of Community First Responders attend 999 medical emergencies and are dispatched by the ambulance service. 

Impressively LIVES is on scene first 85% of the time providing immediate life-saving interventions to patients across the county. Given the rurality and geography of Lincolnshire LIVES responders are a crucial part of the chain of survival, working in tandem with EMAS (East Midlands Ambulance Service) making Lincolnshire a safer county to live in. There are four levels of CFRs, meaning that LIVES can deal with a huge range of medical emergencies. In the last 12 months, LIVES has responded to 33 agricultural incidents: 16 of those involved a vehicle/traffic, and six of those involved a fall.

Anything you can give to LIVES ensures that the service can keep its responders on the road, and can maintain the high level of training the service delivers. Donate to LIVES or find out more about the charity at www.lives.org.uk.

Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance

Marking 30 years of care in the air for famers and those in rural communities

Since airlifting their very first patient on 13th May 1994, Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) has provided a truly life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the local communities of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire and to date, has responded to over 29,000 missions. 

2023, was the busiest year ever with LNAA responding to 1,771 missions, including farming, industrial or equestrian situations. That makes the service essential for farmers and those who spend time in the countryside. The combination of being able to land in the middle of a field, reach any part of its catchment area within 20 minutes, provide smooth transport for those with spinal injuries and to avoid congested traffic all make it a valuable resource for reaching remote casualties. 

Agricultural contractor James Bannister knows how vital LNAA is. His left arm had to be amputated after he fell into a potato harvester but he believes that the speed with which LNAA’s air ambulance got him to hospital, gave him the best outcome. James was trapped in the machinery for two and half hours, with an LNAA doctor monitoring him constantly. Once free, it took just nine minutes to fly him to Sheffield Northern General Hospital, a journey that would have taken at least an hour by road. James believes the quick delivery to hospital saved his life; as he says, “Nothing else compares to what they do.”

LNAA receives no government funding, instead the £13 million needed to keep the helicopter flying and critical care cars on the roads, 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, is provided by the generous donations of wonderful supporters living and working in Lincs and Notts.

That generosity enables LNAA’s highly-skilled team of doctors, paramedics and pilots bring the equivalent of a hospital emergency department to any patient in the county within 18 minutes. They deliver a range of life-saving treatments including blood transfusions, anaesthetics, and life-saving drugs at the scene, giving patients the very best chance of survival when minutes matter. Donate via www.ambucopter.org.uk.

RABI: Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution

Free, confidential mental health support financial aid

Emmie Shaw is the Lincolnshire and East Midlands Regional Manager for RABI, which was established in 1860 and supports farming people through practical, financial, and emotional assistance. The service operates a 24/7 freephone helpline, 0800 188 4444, as well as its ‘click and chat’ and face-to-face counselling services. For more information see rabi.org.uk.

Lincolnshire Rural Agricultural Chaplaincy

25 years of Rev Canon Alan Robson

“I think it’s the future of faith,” says Rev Canon Alan Robson. The Methodist Minister, and Ecumenical Canon of Honour Lincoln Cathedral, moved to Lincolnshire 44 years ago and was involved in founding both the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) and the Lincolnshire Rural & Agricultural Chaplaincy (LRAC), which aims to offer pastoral and spiritual care to the rural community, plus promotion for (and participation in) projects to benefit resilience and wellbeing, as well as provoking ethical debate about countryside and agricultural issues, also connecting many organisations around the County.

“Chaplaincy is the fastest growing area of ministry and there are already excellent chaplaincies in schools, hospitals and prisons.” 

This year represents the 25th year of LRSN and 25 years of Alan’s role, the value of which has been proven over and over again.

“All industries – but certainly agriculture –  have their own unique pressures. There’s an acronym I use, VUCA, which stands for volatility, uncertainly, complexity and ambiguity. All of those can contribute to stress in industries like farming.”

“Over the past 25 years the pressures have remained but I’ve noticed that people – men, especially – are more willing to say when they’re ‘not OK,’ and seek out help which is a good thing in a profession in which people work long hours, often in isolation.”

“As a county though we can offer support, comfort and care which is so important to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our farmers and our rural communities.”

“I’m really looking forward to the Festival of Chaplaincy we’re planning at Lincoln Cathedral in March 2025. And we’re also planning a special Harvest Festival event this year at the Cathedral on 3rd November, during which we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of our agricultural chaplaincy and also 50 years of Lincolnshire Young Farmers.” See www.lrac.org.uk.

Valtra at Chandlers

AGCO’s Valtra brand of tractors has an enthusiastic ambassador right here in Lincolnshire, in the form of Mark Nundy, owner of Windy Ridge Veg near Kirton

Mark Nundy is very happy. We’re in a 40-acre field of pristine silty soil near Mark’s farm, Windy Ridge Veg, near Kirton. His newest piece of kit is towering over us, and it’s already proving to be worth its weight in engineering, pulling an Alpego power harrow behind it. 

Operator Trevor is also pretty happy, enjoying unmatched levels of comfort in the cab of the beefy 305hp Q-Series Valtra tractor. Trevor is enjoying a commanding view over the soil, the air conditioning set to a cool 16°c and the combination of a good stereo (tuned to Kiss FM) plus best-in-class sound-proofing. He remarks that it’s a different proposition to the machines he used to drive when he began his career in farming 50 years ago. 

Mark is impressed with the machine, and the other Valtras in his farm fleet, not only because of their comfort and usability, but their exceptional engineering and the reliable support and expertise he enjoys from his local agent, Chandlers. Windy Ridge Veg grows cabbage and brassicas across 360 hectares (890 acres), engaging in seed trials, growing plugs in trays with up to 360 plugs at a time, and planting out in three cycles to supply vegetables to the wholesale market all year round.

“About three years ago I restructured the business to serve the wholesale market rather than just supermarkets and to grow the business, expanding into different markets, growing other produce such as potatoes for Bartletts and providing cold storage.”

“At the time we were used to another brand of tractors but we were already sourcing our KRM spreaders from Chandlers’ Rob Immink. Rob is great and Chandlers is a fantastic company, they’re nice people and the aftersales support they provide is exceptional. When Rob suggested we tried the Valtra brand of tractors we had an N-Series on demo that we used as a loader. We found it to be so intuitive and well-engineered that we couldn’t give it back… so we kept it!”

“Since then we’ve increased our fleet of Valtras to include four A-Series machines ideal for lighter duties like inter-row weeding and crop husbandry which have the benefit of avoiding soil compaction because of their compact size. We have three G-Series machines for pulling harvesting rigs, four N-Series machines for cultivation and ploughing duties, and a T-Series ideal for harrowing and sub-soiling.”

“Then, a couple of months ago, our largest Valtra machine, the 305hp Q-Series, arrived, loaded with technology from autotrack to on-board tyre inflation. It pulls bigger kit like a Simba Cultipress with consummate ease.”

“They’re manufactured in Finland and when I was invited to tour the factory I couldn’t believe how modern and clean and well-organised it was. Just walking around the factory I was inspired and actually ordered a couple of the machines during the visit, committing to becoming a Valtra ambassador, which the company was really pleased about, since most of the brand’s users at that time were more concerned with cereal crops than veg.”

“For us there are machines in the Valtra lineup that serve all different purposes, all working in a consistent, intuitive way with modern telematics and good ergonomics. It’s one brand across our fleet, but with individual ranges of machines that perform each job with uncanny suitability. Machinery is a big investment and its half an investment in the machine itself, but half in the dealer too. Chandlers provides exceptional backup, but the machines are well-engineered and really reliable too. Valtra is really good at listening to its clients too, manufacturing the machines we need, with features and technology that’s genuinely useful and helps to keep productivity and crop yields high.”

“We’ve been delighted with the machines and with Chandlers, I honestly can’t recommend them enough. Without our machines we can’t work; they’re mission critical. So the combination of machinery and dealer have been an integral consideration as I’ve restructured the business, ensuring we can farm some of the country’s best soils to their fullest potential.”

Chandlers has 16 depots across the UK including ones at Belton, Horncastle and Spilsby. The company is one of the largest AGCO dealers in Britain supplying and supporting machinery from Valtra, Massey Ferguson and Fendt as well as other machinery brands including Opico, Maschio and Richard Western, plus Väderstad, Kverneland and Horsch. For more information call 01476 590077. See www.chandlers.co.uk or watch Mark as he appears in a four-part documentary produced by Valtra covering a year in the life of vegetable production at www.valtra.co.uk.