PROFILE TC SHAW & SONS
Farm walk to say ‘thank you’ for local support Award-winning rapeseed grower Whizz Middleton is strengthening links with other food producers and consumers.
A
Bedfordshire grower and artisan food producer is holding a special farm walk to thank local people for their support during the coronavirus pandemic. An influx of visitors to the countryside during the Covid lockdown led to more people appreciating where their food comes, says Whizz Middleton, of TC Shaw & Sons, Barton Hill Farm, Lilley, near Luton. “Many more people visited the countryside during lockdown – and it was great to see such great support for farming – but many of those people were also oblivious that what they eat is actually what we are growing.” The farm is home to Mrs Middleton’s award-winning cold-pressed rapeseed oil – produced from the highest quality rapeseed. It also grows Gallant wheat which makes plain natural white stoneground flour, ground using waterpower at a local mill. “We’ve had a lot of support – and I have friends who have launched new businesses – from little coffee shops popping up in farm buildings to a pretty
big farm shop which has all happened in the last year,
Dedication Mrs Middleton started her rapeseed oil business in 2012 – driven by a desire to add value and generate extra income from oilseed rape, but also by a desire to show people how food is
produced and the dedication that goes into making it. “I love the link between food and farming. It’s so basic but important to me – that you have a field field, you plant seeds, they grow and then you can be eating them. That’s where my whole business started. “We were so amazed that people >>
Whizz Middleton collaborated with chef Phil Fanning, of the Paris House restaurant, Woburn, to extend her product range.
JUNE 2021 • ANGLIA FARMER 31
