Mick Westrip

My journey in horticulture began in 1990 driving a bus in County Durham. Just one of those days when a light went on. This led on to me taking a 3 year National Diploma in commercial crop production. There weren’t any organic courses then and I often had to ride the derision as I enquired about alternative methods of pest control. Work proper began in 1994 with John Davenport on 80 acres of Herefordshie clay near Ledbury. A variety of scales and levels of production followed that including establishing a 12 acre unit for the Mayall family at Pimhill Farm near Shrewsbury in 1999 and, more recently, five years growing a family as well as vegetables at Penpont, a walled garden near Brecon. In February this year my partner Alice and I have begun renting and converting some land to develop our own market garden enterprise in the Welsh Marches.

During my time in Wales I have also worked as “vegdoctor” for growers within Powys. Essentially providing technical (and moral) support along with training days and help with establishing Powys Growers Group.

I feel the unique strength of the OGA is that it is solely a “ground up” organisation; growers representing growers, independent and free of constraint. Individually we would struggle to be heard, but now we have our voice back.

These are hugely challenging times but feel that those of us with the craft of growing food will be central in rebuilding some very basic core values in the communities of the future.

Alan Schofield | Scott Sneddon | Tim Deane | Roger Hitchings | Phil Sumption | Peter Richardson | James Clapp | Iain Tolhurst