02/06/2026
The future of small family farms in the UK depends on being able to win recognition and reward for the farming behind the food they produce.
We believe every farmer deserves recognition for the way in which they produce food, whether they sell direct or not. So much great food is lost in a food supply chain that puts logistics and consolidation before quality and value, stripping it of its unique attributes and provenance.
Each small family farm will produce food in its own unique way. Food isn’t just organic or conventional. The animal breeds and crop varieties farmers adopt, the soils food is grown in or reared on, the techniques and farming practices farmers use, all contribute to a unique offering at the farm gate.
All of these variables on farms contribute to giving us a wide choice of not just different foods, but differences in individual foods too. For example, beef from traditional Gloucester cattle in the photograph here, grazing on long established pastures, will be very different to beef from entire male animals (bulls) reared largely on cereals indoors.
The French have a saying “Vive la difference”, which means long live the difference. Right now we still have a rich diversity of farms and food available but, every time we lose another small family farm, that diversity and our choices are reduced.
When you buy food in supermarket it is almost impossible to know which farm it came from and how it was produced.
Whilst simple labels can provide an indication of the farming behind the product, they don’t tell the full story. For example, just because a farm isn’t certified as organic, it doesn’t mean food isn’t produced along the lines of an organic system. How do we assess what terms like ‘free range’ or ‘grass-fed’ really mean?
Only by understanding how your food was really produced can you understand (and taste) the difference. You can only know your food if you know your farmer.
Produce & Provide works to connect people with farmers who sell food direct from their farms, because in buying food this way people can get the full life story of the food they buy.
Let’s change that. Let’s put farmers first. Let’s demand to know our farmers wherever we buy food.
Find your farmers at www.produceandprovide.co.uk