It seemed a long, long way to go for a breakfast. Rosie and I were invited to the national launch of the new umbrella organisation for care farming, called “Care Farming UK”. Only drawback – it was at 8.30 am at the Norfolk agricultural show!

Anyhow, we thought it a good thing to do – both to represent our organisation – “Green Age at Blore Heath” – as well as the “Staffordshire Care Farming Co-operative” (which we are members of, along with 8 other Staffordshire care farmers).

We stayed at a farm B&B the night before – quite eventful, but that’s another story – and got there in good time for the breakfast feast. Even at 8 in the morning, people were flocking in, partly because the weather was Summer- perfect.

The Reverend Dr Gordon Gatward opened the proceedings, welcoming everyone and clearly proud of this milestone in UK care farming that he had helped to make happen. Gordon has embraced care farming as a valuable part of the social benefit that farming has, in his capacity as Director of the Arthur Rank Centre (supported by the Royal Agricultural Society).

After hearing the experiences of some care farmers, Sir Donald Curry (Northumberland farmer and author of the 2002 Curry Report on the Future of Food and Farming in the UK) then formally launched “Care Farming UK” and thanked us all for coming.

Why did we go all that way for breakfast then? Well, for one thing it is a decade since the first inklings of a national movement for care farming in the UK – so that’s pretty cool to be part of. For another, it was important to support Gaynor Orton (the new administrator and lead of Care Farming UK- see photo below) and her team as they move care farming up a rung of the ladder of importance nationally. And I suppose we just wanted to be nosey – to know what is going on and hopefully influence it positively.

Gaynor Orton, her deputy Linda and our grandson Callum at Blore Heath discussing plans for the care farm

By the way, there are over 300 farms on www.ncfi.org.uk (the current web home of Care Farming UK) – early days, but a growing force in health and social care.