Criminology To Composting

In what is becoming an increasingly popular move for young members of farming families, Angela Morton left a job in London to return to the family farm and get involved. Martin Betts tells her story

- Martin Betts

ATTITUDES in agriculture are changing, as what was a male-dominated industry welcomes a new generation of rural entrepreneurs ready to take the reins of family businesses. With many farmers realising that their carefully-built businesses sit upon foundations of ever-shifting political sands, they are looking to diversify and utilise the knowledge and passion of their families to exploit new, non-farming opportunities.

In Essex, and across the country, this means that sons and daughters of farmers who have pursued careers, often away from farming and their family homes, are returning because of the diverse range of initiatives being launched and the opportunities they are creating in our countryside.

This is certainly the case for Angela Morton, who has returned to Layer Marney near Colchester with her young family, having spent time living in London, working for the Metropolitan Police Service. She now, alongside her brother Andrew, assists parents Jim and Katie Strathern in running Birch Airfield Composting Services, which complements the 1,500-acre family farm, which is an arable rotation.

Alongside those businesses, Angela’s other brother, Robert, a potato grower, runs the increasingly well-known brand Fairfields Farm Crisps.

‘My father has been farming here for about 55 years,’ explains Angela. ‘His parents came down from Scotland to Essex in the 1930s and they were tenant farmers in the area before he began farming in Layer Marney. It’s predominantly arable, growing wheat, and we also used to rear turkeys.