Post Brexit, few industries are feeling a sense of uncertainty more than farmers, but two young farmers from Colchester, Guy and Emily French, are working hard and with imagination to protect themselves for whatever the future might hold
AGRICULTURE has reached a crossroads with farmers in Essex and across the country facing an uncertain future post-Brexit. Surviving the fall-out and the inevitable reduction, or withdrawal, of Government funding to support the sector relies on farms building resilience by combining their knowledge of farming with sharp business skills. This involves understanding cash flow, diversifying where possible, seizing marketing opportunities and embracing innovation and technology.
This challenge is being embraced by one young couple farming on their own land at Colne Engaine and at rented sites across the county. Guy and Emily French have created a successful and rapidly expanding pumpkin and Christmas tree business, selling to both the public and wholesale, and now have plans to expand further with a family attraction based around a maze cut from a field of maize.
The couple both hail from farming backgrounds, with Guy growing up on a potato and vegetable farm in Essex, and have strong opinions on the direction of food and farming. While at Harper Adams University in 2003, Guy was so outraged with the high prices of vegetables in the supermarkets, he decided to use his experience to grow his own.
This was still the case in 2010 when he met Emily, though he had decided that pumpkins were to be the focus of his efforts due to their overwhelming popularity compared to the other vegetables he was growing. With the pair enthusiastically working together to drive the business forward, Christmas trees were added to the mix and Foxes Farm Produce began to take off.
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