IF FARMING’S a job, it’s a labour of love – a love of nature, the outdoors, and the landscape, crops and livestock we work with.

Respect for nature can be harsh, but it’s honest, and doesn’t provide short-cuts to ease and profitability.

Of nowhere is this more true than the uplands of Cumbria, where farmers work daily with land and weather that is often poor, to sustain the healthy growth of good quality plants and animals, for food.

Sourcing food as close to the farm as possible then makes good sense as it reduces the links in the supply chain which can be filled with profit in the form of sugar, salt, fat, chemicals or horsemeat etc, at no benefit to the consumer.

It’s a sensible direct and less wasteful route too, for the money we spend on food to get ploughed back into and fertilise the farms.

We’ve known this here for some time and this year we’ll mark the 20th anniversary of the Farmers’ Markets in Cumbria, and celebrate our part in the long tradition of country markets in our towns and villages.

 

Jane Merritt, stallholder on Kendal Farmers’ Market