- 2 days ago
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00:01Go on then, show me how to pick a strawberry.
00:03Try to do both try. Both hands.
00:05Oh, both hands!
00:07You didn't give me tummy of that! Both hands!
00:09Why don't you tell me both hands?
00:12Adam, you're costing us money here. You're costing us money.
00:14That's fast!
00:30Every landscape tells a story of farming families who've worked it for centuries.
00:47Growing our food, caring for nature and ensuring that rural traditions thrive.
00:55For many of them, farming isn't just a job.
00:58It's a way of life, handed down through the years.
01:01It's the only thing I can see myself doing, really.
01:03Over four Countryfile specials.
01:05My word, I'm a bit nervous.
01:07I'll be travelling to Somerset, Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire
01:12to meet some of those families that have farmed these agricultural heartlands for generations.
01:17Don't work with animals and children. Did somebody say that?
01:20From grandparents to grandchildren, everyone plays their part.
01:23I'll be getting a glimpse into the way they work together day to day,
01:26the challenges they face and the inventive ways that they're keeping their farms thriving for the future.
01:31Today, I'm in Worcestershire, visiting the Padda family's fruit farm in the Vale of Evesham.
01:44It's a very busy operation.
01:47It's gone from zero to hero.
01:49With the recent hot weather pushing things into overdrive.
01:52This year will be our biggest year ever.
01:55As generations of the family...
01:57We argue, we fight, put in make-up.
02:00Hello, you all right?
02:02..all work together.
02:03Hello, lovely to meet you.
02:04More family members.
02:05More family members, family members everywhere, isn't it, Adam? We've got a big family.
02:08..to grow delicious strawberries.
02:10There's one in there, that's a really nice one.
02:12Making a fortune.
02:13I'm making a fortune.
02:15Adam, we've got to pick it all, yeah?
02:17Tell him if you want to pick it all, yeah?
02:19This is a finely tuned operation.
02:22This is smooth.
02:23Tell him to get lost.
02:24Go on, Adam.
02:25We'll also take a look back through the Countryfile archives.
02:28Oh, my word.
02:30I mean, that's massive. I've not seen a blueberry that size.
02:33It is huge.
02:34Celebrating the best of British produce.
02:37Bright amount of runniness.
02:39Yeah.
02:40Perfect for a summer's feast.
02:42Look at the size of that! Cheese wheel!
02:45At Vicarage Nurseries, they don't do things by halves.
02:56There'll be up to 150 workers here through the season,
03:00picking and packing more than 4.5 million panets worth of strawberries.
03:09The farm was started by Makhan Singh Pada,
03:12together with his wife, Pal Binda, almost 30 years ago.
03:18Now this family affair is being run by their son, Bao,
03:22his brother, Harjit, and cousin, Jaswinda.
03:26With wives, husbands, cousins and kids
03:29all playing their part in the business.
03:31Fruit growing plays a big role here in Worcestershire,
03:40and the Pada family are big characters playing their role
03:43in this rural community.
03:47I'll be meeting lots of members of the extended family today
03:50on this 57 hectare farm.
03:52But I'm starting the day with Bal, the current boss.
03:58Hey, Bal.
03:59Hello, how are you?
04:00Good to see you.
04:01Long time.
04:02Quite a time of year?
04:03No, no, no.
04:04Very busy time of year.
04:05We're just checking the quality.
04:06It's gone from zero to hero.
04:08Really?
04:09Yeah, really crazy.
04:10Just because of all this heat?
04:11Yeah, because of the heat.
04:12It's been good weather, so cooler nights, warmer days,
04:15and also what we've planted as well,
04:17the varieties we've planted this year
04:18has allowed us to get a better crop and earlier cropping.
04:21We've planted a lot earlier as well.
04:23So, for us, it's just gone phew.
04:25Has it?
04:26Yeah.
04:27Perfect.
04:28Making a fortune.
04:29Making a fortune, yeah.
04:31We've got to pick it all yet, don't we?
04:34I think Bal's hinting that I should do some work.
04:38Go on then, show me how to pick a strawberry.
04:40I'm not going to...
04:41One over here is going to show you how to pick, yeah?
04:42How do you do it?
04:43She's the expert, not me.
04:44Okay, so in with your fingers so you don't bruise the fruit.
04:47Like this?
04:48Yes.
04:49Very good. In there.
04:50Look at the size of these strawberries.
04:51I know, they're beautiful, aren't they?
04:52Do I need the little stalk on it like that then?
04:54You do, you do.
04:55Okay, that's all right.
04:56On some varieties, some varieties you don't.
04:59Now, your management, Bal, you wouldn't be doing this, would you?
05:02You've probably forgotten.
05:05I actually never did this job.
05:06I'm not going to lie, I didn't do this job.
05:07Did you?
05:08I've done the planting, the bagging and everything else, but I've never picked.
05:11Really?
05:12Yeah.
05:13And it's really difficult.
05:14I've done four and already are my fingers hurting.
05:16Yeah.
05:18What sort of volumes are we talking?
05:20This year will be our biggest year ever.
05:23God wishing, yeah, so we'll have about 2,000 tonnes.
05:25So we've got an all-in this year.
05:28With so much fruit, and all of it hand-picked, Bal needs a large, dedicated team.
05:35We rely on seasonal workers, but they can only come over after six months.
05:39So they leave six months, they come back.
05:41So last year at our peak, we started in June, so they're not going to arrive back until June.
05:45Sure.
05:46So now, we have to bring in extras, and our regular staff are still waiting to come, and where the crop is earlier.
05:51So it's like, you can never get it right.
05:53Just because of the weather, your seasonal experience staff haven't arrived.
05:57That's why I'm like going crazy, my hair's falling out, you know.
06:00So many different things to do.
06:01My supervisor there, Jess Winder, she's learning the job as well, so we're teaching her what to do.
06:05Go.
06:06Here we go.
06:07Try to do both sides, like both hands.
06:09Oh, both hands.
06:10Both hands.
06:11You didn't give me tummy that, both hands.
06:13Why don't you tell him both hands, innit?
06:16Adam, you're costing us money here, you're costing us money.
06:18Twice as fast.
06:26I love this job, it's brilliant.
06:27Every year there's new people coming in, so you're kind of like a holiday camp, but I think, you know, I'm doing what I'm born about to do.
06:33I'm growing.
06:34It's in your bones.
06:35It's my bones, in my blood.
06:37Our culture is very rich in farming.
06:39We come from bread basket, India, which is Punjab.
06:42So my dad's come from there.
06:44Everything is connected to farming.
06:46Yeah.
06:47And back in the old days, the kings of the world used to be the farmer, the grower.
06:51Now we become like, oh, well, you know, not so important.
06:55It's got to be the guys from the IT and this and the YouTubers and all that.
06:58It was always the farmer.
07:00The farmer was one with respect.
07:01The farmer was the one that everybody wanted to be looked up to.
07:04That's a skill set and the skill set that these people, ladies and gentlemen, have got here and the people that are growing the fruit for us.
07:10There's one in there.
07:11That's a really nice one.
07:12Look at that.
07:13Am I allowed to eat?
07:16Try it.
07:17Yeah, you are.
07:18Try it.
07:19Try it.
07:20And how that tastes.
07:21Did you hear the crunch as well?
07:22Mm.
07:23Isn't that beautiful?
07:24To hear the crunch, to hear the noise.
07:25And really sweet.
07:26Yeah.
07:27Extra sweet because of the weather?
07:28Yeah, because of the weather.
07:29And the variety as well.
07:30I'm going to show you some more variety.
07:31Come on.
07:32Let's have a look.
07:33At this time of year, strawberries and Wimbledon go hand in hand.
07:45And of course, so do strawberries and cream.
07:48A few years ago, Matt visited a family farm in Cheshire that keep a rare breed of cow to help make their clotted cream.
07:57This is cattle country.
07:59Well-drained flatland ideal for high-quality grass.
08:03And that means high-quality milk.
08:09Generations of the same family have worked this farm in the village of Clotten, near Chester.
08:18I'm meeting one of the new breed, Henry Cook.
08:26And his older brother, Rob, who runs the farm.
08:33So how many generations are you then, Henry?
08:35So I'm the sixth generation here.
08:37So we have been here quite a long time.
08:39Yeah.
08:40The pressure then that comes with being the next generation of farmers on the very same farm.
08:45How did you cope with that initially, you and your brother?
08:48Yeah, there was a lot of pressure, to be honest.
08:50We had to make a big decision on what the future of the farm was.
08:53It's not quite big enough for me and my brother to both work on together.
08:56So this is why I've sort of had to look at a different way of bringing in extra income for myself.
09:03And Henry's done that in an unexpected way.
09:06Right here, in the heart of Cheshire, he's making something that you'd usually associate with Devon and Cornwall.
09:12Clotted cream.
09:14It was quite a risk, wasn't it? It's not really done around here.
09:17It's not at all. For some reason.
09:18No, but there's no reason why not though.
09:21Yeah.
09:22As we've found out since we started, there's a big demand for it.
09:25And the brothers have brought in a rather unusual breed of cow to provide the perfect milk for the job.
09:31You've got quite a mix of breeds in here, haven't you?
09:34So why did you decide to run the stock that you've got?
09:37Rather than the standard Holstein cow, we needed a more high fatty cow.
09:40Right.
09:41And that really gives you the flavour and the milk.
09:43So we've gone for the Danish red, as you can see here in front of us.
09:46Beautiful cow.
09:47We've got jerseys, jersey crosses.
09:49Right.
09:50So with the Danish red then, I mean, did you have to go far and wide to go shopping?
09:53Yeah.
09:54Denmark.
09:55Denmark, right.
09:56So yeah, my brother went over to Denmark and come back with 40 cows.
10:03Time to get these beauties in for their afternoon milking.
10:06With older brother Rob.
10:11As with the years of family history on this farm, teamwork is vital.
10:16You're looking after the farm side of things and he's doing the kind of the dairy.
10:20Yeah.
10:21So how is it working out?
10:22It works really well.
10:23Everyone has their own area of the business.
10:25Yeah.
10:26So you can focus on it.
10:27You know, we help each other out as and when is needed.
10:29Henry still does the morning milking for me, which keeps him in touch with the farm side of things.
10:34No, I'm really pleased about how it's working.
10:37And how are you actually tweaking your farming system in order to kind of work with his green business?
10:42Yeah.
10:43We're trying to tailor the milk supply to match that.
10:46We've shifted the carving pattern slightly to ensure that we have an all year round supply.
10:51Right.
10:52And then we're just trying to maintain the quality of the milk really.
10:54Yeah.
10:55And it's the ultimate goal then that all of the milk from here will go in to making cream.
10:58Every litre.
10:59Every litre.
11:00Every litre.
11:01Every litre wants to go through that creamery.
11:02Yeah.
11:03Fantastic.
11:04That's the plan.
11:05So the milk is coming from these milking machines up through these pipes into this vat.
11:13And then it's stored and cooled in here in the dairy before being transported into the creamery.
11:22Let's go and get changed.
11:23So there's the cream coming out now.
11:24It's a beautiful colour isn't it?
11:25So we're just going to check the consistency.
11:26Mm-hmm.
11:27Check it's a nice thick golden cream.
11:28Yeah.
11:29Looks beautiful to me.
11:30There's a fine art to getting it right.
11:45Different fat content gives different results.
11:47Oh, that is luxury in a bucket that.
11:51Henry adds back a tiny amount of the separated part of the milk called skim.
11:56There we go.
11:57Mm-hmm.
11:58It's only the smallest little bit of skim we need to put back in.
12:01Just to get that kind of...
12:03It's not looking too bad to me.
12:04Bright amount of runniness.
12:05Yeah.
12:06Only when the fat content is right can the clotted cream making really begin.
12:11We can't go over there because this is the top secret there.
12:14Yeah, you just stay over there now.
12:16So that's pretty good cream that is.
12:19Is it?
12:20Good.
12:21That's as generic as we can go.
12:23Now for the big moment when the cream becomes clotted cream.
12:27And for that to happen you have to bake it.
12:30Yep.
12:31Bake it.
12:32This would normally be the bit where we say at what temperature and for how long.
12:37But guess what?
12:38That's a secret as well.
12:40Roughly ballpark figure.
12:41Under two hours, over an hour.
12:43Okay.
12:44That'll do.
12:45Yeah.
12:46So after under two hours, but over an hour, the baked cream goes into a fridge overnight
12:52to really thicken up.
12:54And that's how they've ended up making clotted cream in a village of Clotten.
12:59I still don't know why Henry hasn't called it Clotten cream.
13:08I'm spending the day in Worcestershire on the Padder family farm.
13:13Right Adam, we've specially set something up for you.
13:15A little taster.
13:16Let me introduce you to young Giovanni, my cousin's daughter.
13:19Hello.
13:20Hello.
13:21Lovely to meet you.
13:22Still in the family.
13:23Jazz.
13:24Yeah, good to see you again.
13:25Good to see you.
13:26This is lovely.
13:27Wonderful.
13:28So what have you got here then?
13:29We've got seven varieties of stories here.
13:32Seven varieties.
13:33Why have you got so many?
13:34What happens is because all varieties come different times.
13:37So they have their phase, first phase, second phase, third phase, because the customers
13:41demand.
13:42They have a variety from April to middle of November.
13:44From April to November?
13:45Yeah.
13:46November, yeah.
13:47Wow, that's a lot.
13:48So the different varieties ripen at different stages, but do they taste different too?
13:51Yes, you tell me.
13:52Is it a different taste or not?
13:54Right.
13:57Well, it's delicious.
13:58Very sweet.
13:59Yeah.
14:00Then try another one.
14:03What do you think?
14:04What's your favourite in like these two?
14:06Well, actually, I really like that one.
14:10Slightly crunchier.
14:11Yeah.
14:12Maybe a little bit sweeter.
14:13Really lovely.
14:14Yeah, that variety is quite sweeter than that one.
14:16Is it?
14:17Testing for sweetness isn't just done by taste.
14:20This clever bit of kit is called a refractometer, and it measures sugar levels in the juice of
14:25the fruit.
14:27What should that be, Jas?
14:28To be perfect?
14:29Is it?
14:30Normally we have ten, twelve.
14:31No, not below seven.
14:32So at the moment this is 14.3.
14:35It's like a record.
14:36So 14.3, that's really high.
14:38That's really, really high, yeah.
14:39And why is it so good?
14:40Because the weather has been really, really nice.
14:42The spring was really warm and the nights were cold.
14:46Yeah.
14:47The plants make the sugar in the daytime and convert into the fruit later.
14:50And there's love in it as well, isn't it?
14:52So everybody here has got a bit of love in it as well, so it's got that little bit uniqueness
14:55as well.
14:56Selling all of these strawberries, I mean, that must be a logistical nightmare, is it?
15:00How do you move them all to different places?
15:02Well, that's the bad job.
15:03That's the bad job.
15:04That's why you come in.
15:05Yeah, you push it onto me.
15:06We're trying to get it within 24 hours, pick it today, pack it today and out.
15:11So it's within 24 hours each store.
15:1224 hours, yeah.
15:13It will be on the shelves, yeah.
15:14The record we've had is 12 hours, isn't it?
15:1512 hours, yeah.
15:1612 hours, yeah.
15:1712 hours, yeah.
15:19The latest trial on the farm uses any surplus or wonky fruit for a new potential product.
15:26It was initially developed as a treat for Makan, who's diabetic.
15:31We produce germs that have more fruit and less sugar.
15:36So this is for your dad?
15:37For my dad.
15:38Yeah.
15:39Do you want to taste it?
15:40Yeah, yeah, why not?
15:41It's, like, delicious.
15:46Mmm.
15:47I'm not just saying it, but that is really, really good.
15:49Yeah.
15:50Because you don't actually, there's so much sugar in the fruit.
15:53You don't need to add sugar, do you?
15:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:55I'm going to put some more on.
15:56Yeah.
15:57So your family too?
15:58Yeah, so I am the third generation.
16:01I am his cousin's daughter.
16:02Okay.
16:03And my background is more kind of accountancy, but, like, here working in the farm, it's,
16:08like, very different experience and a very wonderful experience.
16:13It's, like, seeing people putting their hard work, it's, like, motivates you to do more
16:18hard work.
16:19It speaks very highly of you, Baal.
16:20I know.
16:21They do.
16:22I played them with strawberries and jam.
16:23Yeah.
16:24Good currency if you're having it, you know what I mean?
16:26It's wonderful.
16:27And from these conversations, you know, as a family, I can sort of feel the passion.
16:30It is a passion.
16:31Most of the time we spend here, we just go home, let's sleep and come back here.
16:35So that's our passion, you know.
16:36We love it.
16:37Yeah.
16:38Living, eating and breathing.
16:39Yeah.
16:40That's it, yeah.
16:41Let's celebrate that by eating some more.
16:42Yeah!
16:43Yeah!
16:44Yeah!
16:45These British strawberries are a true taste of summer.
16:50A couple of years ago, Sean was in Cambridgeshire for another sweet seasonal harvest.
16:58This is buckwheat, and it's got a rather particular smell.
17:04It's actually an edible seed, and when milled, creates a gluten-free flower.
17:09But we're not going to be harvesting it or doing anything else with it today, because
17:13it wasn't planted for us.
17:15It was planted for them.
17:21Despite the unusual smell, artisan honey producers Simon Crossan and wife Caroline
17:27love the stuff.
17:30So what's the buzz all about?
17:33Simon, Caroline.
17:34Hi, Sean.
17:35How are you doing?
17:36It looks like I'm going to need one of those.
17:37You're definitely going to need one of these.
17:38Do you need one of these?
17:39Great.
17:40And some gloves.
17:41So how easy is it to get one of these?
17:42Oh, I see, so I just...
17:43What is it that sort of got you into bees?
17:45Well, this man used to have honey in his tea, and I saw somebody advertise a beekeeping course.
17:51So that was literally it?
17:52Yeah, yeah.
17:53He just had a lot of honey and you just...
17:54Yeah, and he could produce his own honey rather than me buying it all the time.
17:57Yeah.
17:58So where does your knowledge come from?
17:59So I was lucky enough to work for a charity called Bees Abroad, who allowed me to take
18:04what we called a bee safari.
18:06And I brought lots of useful information from that.
18:09And there's a couple of nasty parasites, diseases that come from all parts of the world.
18:15Maybe in a decade or so, we might start to suffer.
18:18So it was nice having that first-hand knowledge.
18:21You are.
18:22Head over the top.
18:25Since starting in 2021, Simon and Caroline currently have around 680,000 bees.
18:31But we're not the only ones after the honey.
18:36And just getting up to this one, you can see that there's...
18:39I mean, there's quite a few bees, but there's quite a few wasps.
18:41It's been a problem.
18:43And what do the wasps do?
18:44Well, they attack the bees.
18:46They'll get inside the hive, and they're after the honey more than anything,
18:50but they could strip out everything in there.
18:53So what do you do?
18:54How do you get the wasps out?
18:55Well, we have to let nature take its course to a degree.
18:59And you can see on the top there's a few dead wasps there.
19:04So that's the bees have killed the wasps?
19:06Yeah, I think the wasps have gone to this, what we call a travelling screen,
19:09and the bees have got hold of it.
19:13The bees have successfully defended their honey against the wasps,
19:16and thankfully don't seem too bothered by our intrusion.
19:20One bee in there looks a little bit different.
19:23Oh, my word.
19:25That's the queen bee, is it?
19:26That's the queen.
19:27I've never seen a queen bee before.
19:29We'll have to see if we can find some honey.
19:32Ah, show me the honey.
19:38Well, I'm getting that smell of buckwheat now.
19:40You can't miss it, can you, that buckwheat smell?
19:43This is all the honey.
19:45Oh, it's heavy, isn't it?
19:47About two and a half kilos.
19:49So that's like two and a half bags of sugar?
19:52Yeah.
19:53This is just laden with honey.
19:55How much honey does a bee create?
19:57Around about one teaspoon per bee.
20:00One teaspoon?
20:01God, it puts into perspective, you know,
20:03actually when you have that teaspoon of honey in your tea,
20:06how much work has gone in to create that?
20:09How long does it take them to produce this amount?
20:11Dependent on the weather.
20:13They might fill them all up in a few weeks,
20:15or if it's wet and cold they can't go out and forage,
20:18so they stay at home and consume themselves.
20:20But like we do, just sit on the sofa and eat.
20:22Yeah.
20:25Leaving the scent of buckwheat behind,
20:27we've harvested a frame of honey to take back to the farmhouse.
20:36The moment of truth.
20:37Take a bit of that.
20:38The honeycomb's coming off with it, is that?
20:40Yeah, all of it.
20:41Get it all.
20:42Get it all in.
20:43I don't think I went big enough there.
20:45Go big or go home.
20:46Yeah.
20:47Oh, it's wonderful.
20:51Wow.
20:52The bees have transformed this buckwheat,
20:54which has got a sort of strange sort of smell,
20:56into a richness that's in the honey.
20:58It's one of the strongest tasting honeys.
21:00It's really beautiful, isn't it?
21:02Yeah, it is.
21:03But it needs to be had with a slice of bread.
21:06I'll show you one of those.
21:07There you go.
21:08I'm just going to use the knife.
21:09Yeah, scoop in there.
21:10It's gone in.
21:11Gone in.
21:12There we are.
21:13Oh, look at that.
21:15It's going to get a bit messy.
21:18Perfect.
21:19Beautiful.
21:20Beautiful.
21:21Beautiful.
21:22Love it.
21:28From the bees of Cambridgeshire,
21:33to the buzz of the Padder family farm in Worcestershire.
21:37This is a proper family operation.
21:39Everyone has their roles to keep the wheels turning.
21:42I'm going to catch up with Bao,
21:43and he's going to take me down to the packing room,
21:45where I'm going to meet his cousins,
21:47love, print and happy.
21:48And then we're going to go up into the office,
21:50and see his son, TJ.
21:59Come on in, Adam.
22:00Here we go.
22:01Oh, look at this.
22:02This looks very smart.
22:03Very smart.
22:04Yes, it is.
22:05It's our first year of packing.
22:06All latest equipment brought this year,
22:07ready for the season.
22:08And this fruit is coming straight from the field?
22:10Straight from the field.
22:11What we've seen earlier on this morning,
22:12it's picked and it's brought here,
22:13ready to get packed,
22:14and you can see it getting packed and getting going.
22:16Amazing.
22:17And once it's in the punnets,
22:18Yeah.
22:19Where does it go?
22:20Into shops or supermarkets?
22:21Everywhere.
22:22Retailers, supermarkets,
22:23retailers,
22:24everywhere.
22:25Let me introduce you to one of my cousins.
22:26This is lovely.
22:27Yeah.
22:28Love.
22:29Adam, love.
22:30Hello.
22:31Lovely to meet you.
22:32More family members.
22:33More family members.
22:34Family members everywhere.
22:35Adam, we've got a big family.
22:36She runs the operation side of it.
22:37How heavy do they have to be?
22:38400.
22:39400.
22:4030.
22:41Is that too much?
22:42That's OK.
22:43Now, punnet weight.
22:4415 grams of punnet weight.
22:45OK, so a little bit extra for the punnet.
22:46Yeah.
22:47Do you want to give it a go, Adam?
22:48Yeah, look.
22:49I'm on it.
22:50OK.
22:51Take one out.
22:52Take a little one out.
22:53Yeah, a little one out.
22:54You don't want to give too many away, Val, do you?
22:57There you go.
22:58There's loads in there.
22:59Too many, isn't it?
23:00Yeah.
23:01Oh, it's OK.
23:02Good to meet you.
23:03And what were you doing in India before?
23:04Before I was a bank manager.
23:05You were a bank manager?
23:06Yeah.
23:07Banking the same as it is.
23:08You get accounting, everything.
23:09And every store is accounting.
23:10So there you go.
23:11Yeah, sure.
23:12It's all about money.
23:13And is it good to be working with family?
23:14Yeah, yeah, it's very good.
23:15It's OK.
23:16It's my boss, boss.
23:17Family member afterwards.
23:18Boss at work, but family when you're out of work.
23:20Yeah, yeah.
23:21And there's quite a lot of them there that I did, and now the correct weight.
23:25Oh, you have to...
23:27You have to...
23:28You have to...
23:29You have to...
23:30You have to do it.
23:32OK, show me again.
23:33OK, so I'm checking quality.
23:35Yeah.
23:36No.
23:37Too heavy.
23:38This is too...
23:39Too heavy.
23:40Yeah, yeah.
23:41Still too heavy.
23:42Yeah, yeah.
23:43You have to take out more.
23:44One more.
23:45Before it's...
23:46Yeah, green.
23:47It's OK.
23:48Green.
23:49Good.
23:50Good to go.
23:51Now you can put in the line.
23:52OK?
23:53Happy's not very happy with my work.
23:54OK, thank you.
23:55This smooth.
23:56Oh, yeah.
23:57He's telling me to get lost.
23:58Go on, Adam.
23:59We're going to get on some sales as well, aren't we?
24:00Thank you, everybody.
24:05The business side of things is run from a small office on the farm.
24:09Bal's eldest brother, Harjit, and his team look after the finances.
24:14And Bal's son, TJ, is following in his dad's footsteps, getting stuck into sales and marketing.
24:20OK.
24:21Send it over.
24:22Let's have a look at it.
24:23I'll speak to the old man, and we'll come back to you, won't it?
24:25With Padda Strawberries going out to major supermarkets and wholesalers...
24:30Hi, mate.
24:31How are you?
24:32Nice to meet you.
24:33Sorry to interrupt.
24:34It's a vital part of the operation.
24:37TJ, you've got a really important job here, haven't you?
24:39Dealing with, you know, large players in the marketplace.
24:42Yeah.
24:43And your family business seems to be very integrated.
24:45Everyone's got their own little jobs.
24:46Does it work?
24:47You've got your own sector.
24:48Yeah.
24:49So Grandad obviously started it.
24:50The old man and Mia doing sales.
24:52He's obviously leading it.
24:53I'm behind him.
24:54Then I've got my uncle.
24:55My dad's older brother doing the finance with his lad.
24:57Your cousin's in finance, so he's dealing with all the money?
24:59Yep, dealing with all the money.
25:01And the youngest one, because there's three grandsons,
25:03he's doing all the field work, checking on the people,
25:05make sure stuff's going on, make sure people are good.
25:08He's only just turned 18 as well.
25:10Right, wow.
25:11So he's come straight into the family business he has.
25:12Cousins, brothers, dads and sons, you know,
25:15often there's got to be a bit of angst.
25:17Yes, we've all got egos, I'll give you that.
25:19We've all got massive egos and that comes in the family,
25:21but I think we all grew up very close.
25:23We all grew up in Grandad's house.
25:25Come over the summer, after school,
25:27my nan would always cook everyone a meal seven days a week,
25:30even to the point you should cook meals to send with my Grandad
25:32over to the farm, not just for the people,
25:34my old man or my uncle,
25:36it was for people that worked here,
25:38people that have come from different countries,
25:40there's always food on the table,
25:42so it's that family-orientated vibe we've always had.
25:44And is that part of your faith as well?
25:46Yep, yeah, to be there, be equal.
25:48Everyone's the same level, everyone's human,
25:50there's no difference in anyone,
25:52culture, religion, background, nothing like that.
25:55It sounds wonderful, really.
25:57I mean, it's just kind of a perfect situation,
25:59although I know farming isn't easy.
26:00No, it's not easy.
26:01No, but nothing's easy.
26:03Nothing's as easy as it.
26:04So working hard, doing it, you get the enjoyment,
26:06but you sometimes get the hard days.
26:08We argue, we fight, but we make up, you know.
26:11It shows in the strawberry and the berries that we provide,
26:13and that people buy and eat.
26:15TJ, great to meet you.
26:16It's a pleasure.
26:17This area is famed for its fruit production,
26:20and while the Padder family still hand-pick all their fruit
26:23here in Worcestershire,
26:25a few years ago we crossed the border into Herefordshire
26:28to meet Stephen Hare,
26:30who was trying out a high-tech cherry harvester on his farm.
26:33Yeah, I'm a third-generation farmer.
26:38My grandfather moved here in 1943.
26:42Now we've moved on to what we call an agroforestry system,
26:45and that's a diverse mix of trees alongside arable.
26:50So this is what I mean by agroforestry.
26:55Instead of having a huge monoculture right the way across the field,
26:59we started off by planting a wildlife corridor,
27:02and either side of this we've grown two rows of cherry trees.
27:06So as well as giving us more light and air around the trees,
27:11we link a hedgerow at one end of the field
27:14to a hedgerow at the far end of the field,
27:17which gives us plenty of natural predators
27:19to predate on any pests attacking our fruit trees.
27:24And with the cherries ripe for harvesting,
27:27true to nature,
27:28Stephen's about to try something different.
27:33Meet the beast from the east.
27:36Stephen's hoping this clever Polish machine
27:39will shake the cherries off his trees
27:41and save him from hiring pickers to harvest them by hand.
27:45Yeah, so this machine will shake and catch the fruit,
27:50so it doesn't touch the floor and get any bacteria.
27:54It is obviously a gamble, but business is about risk.
27:57Looking forward to the harvest is Stephen's colleague Richard from Latvia.
28:01It is a fantastic feeling when you can go in the field
28:03and see how well you have done.
28:07But already there's a problem with a 50,000-pound machine
28:11they're having to assemble themselves.
28:13A glitch which could scupper the day.
28:16It seems they have delivered the machine without the nut,
28:20which has a very specific thread.
28:22I'll see if I can fit a different bolt in there.
28:24It is a very specific one.
28:26It has a space run as well.
28:29At the moment I'm struggling to find something that's long enough.
28:33Luckily, with a bit of improvisation,
28:36the machine's ready to roll.
28:39Hopefully.
28:40So if we can fix it in securely and safely,
28:42then once it's on, it's on.
28:44So give me a shout if you need a hand, Rhys.
28:46I need a hand.
28:47You need a hand?
28:48Yeah.
28:49All right.
28:56Harvest time.
28:57At last.
28:59We've never used a shake-and-catch harvester before,
29:02so it's all new to us.
29:04I'm obviously apprehensive
29:06because we don't know till later whether this is going to work.
29:11If the shake is too rough,
29:13it could destroy the tree roots, which would be a disaster.
29:16So what we're going to do is drive alongside the trees.
29:19We then extend the sail underneath the tree,
29:22which creates like an umbrella almost underneath it.
29:26Then we shake the tree with a jaw,
29:29and that means the fruit lands on the sail.
29:33That's then retracted onto a conveyor,
29:35and then it gets placed into a big plastic bin.
29:39First tree done,
29:40and the high-tech harvester is looking promising.
29:43We've got cherries,
29:44and we've got a tree still in the ground.
29:46So, so far so good.
29:49But then they notice another problem.
29:52What we've found is these cable ties here
29:54are starting to break off,
29:56and I'm communicating with the factory
29:59and make sure we don't do any irreparable damage.
30:03You can sometimes have regrets
30:05that you're trying something new,
30:07and it's a frustration.
30:08If only I had just stayed conventional,
30:11it would have been an awful lot easier.
30:13But actually, that's what I thrive on.
30:15Luckily, the Polish manufacturers explain the mystery.
30:19Panic over.
30:20It looks like we didn't have the machine calibrated correctly.
30:24It's the downside of being an innovator, isn't it?
30:27It must be mighty frustrating,
30:28because I'm always trying new things,
30:29and he's having to clear up the mess behind it.
30:36With the harvester now calibrated correctly,
30:39the cherries are rolling in.
30:41What would take a person half an hour to pick from a tree,
30:45the machine gathers in just a minute,
30:48saving weeks of labour.
30:51I'm really pleased.
30:52And it was a lot, lot easier than hand-picking.
30:57So, a great sample of cherries.
31:01And no stains on my hand.
31:03Much easier, much easier, much better.
31:12Now it's that time of year again,
31:14when we invite you to show us the countryside through your lens.
31:17Our Countryfile Photographic Competition is now open.
31:22Here's John with how to enter.
31:32Our country is blessed with an incredible array of beautiful settings.
31:36and opportunities to capture on camera its wonderful wildlife.
31:45The theme this year is Wild Encounters.
31:53We'll be looking for photographs that reveal the untamed side of our countryside in all its glory.
31:58It could be a captivating landscape or a magical encounter with wildlife.
32:05Whatever you choose, we want to see your interpretation of what a wild encounter really is.
32:11From all the entries received, 12 photographs will be selected to feature in the Countryfile calendar for 2026.
32:23This much-loved calendar is sold in support of BBC Children in Need,
32:28a tradition that dates back to 1998.
32:32Thanks to your continued support over the years,
32:36more than £33 million has been raised to help change young lives across the UK.
32:42The photographs that you've submitted over the years have made it all possible.
32:49So now's your chance to once again head out into our green spaces
32:54to capture in vivid detail all that the countryside offers.
32:59Once all the entries are in,
33:00a panel including yours truly and a celebrity judge will choose the winning photographs
33:06that will star in the Countryfile calendar for 2026,
33:10sold in aid to BBC Children in Need.
33:13And there will be an overall winning photo chosen by you, our Countryfile viewers.
33:21Not only will that picture feature on the cover of the calendar,
33:24but the winner will also get a £1,000 gift card
33:29to spend on photographic equipment of their choice.
33:33And the person who takes the judge's favourite photo
33:36will receive a gift card of £500
33:39to be spent on their choice of photographic equipment.
33:44You can enter up to three photographs in total
33:47that fit with the theme Wild Encountered.
33:49To submit your photographs, go to bbc.co.uk forward slash countryfile
33:53where you'll find a link to the entry form.
33:59Photographs that have won national or international competitions
34:04or have been taken by professionals can't be submitted.
34:08Pictures must have been taken within the UK,
34:11the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
34:14And I'm sorry, but we can only accept online entries.
34:17All the details on how to enter the competition can be found on our website,
34:24plus the terms and conditions and privacy notice.
34:28The competition submission period closes at 10am on Monday, the 28th of July, 2025.
34:38And now, it's over to you.
34:40Get out there with your cameras, your smartphones, your tablets
34:43and capture your images of wild encounters.
34:47We can't wait to see you.
34:48Back in Worcestershire, I'm spending the day with the Padder family on their soft fruit farm.
35:05So far, I've picked, packed and tasted.
35:14But now, I want to hear from the man who started the whole venture.
35:18Makan and his wife, pal Binda.
35:21It's wonderful what you have here, but it came from small beginnings.
35:28When we started, we got a few acres.
35:32Yes.
35:34Greenhouse and I think 3,500 bags.
35:38Okay.
35:40Wonderful.
35:42And have you always worked together?
35:43We're very close to each other.
35:45Yeah.
35:46We've never been separate since we married.
35:50And how long have you been in England?
35:52When did you arrive here?
35:54Oh, when I got nothing here.
35:56When you were a boy.
35:59I came in here in 1966.
36:01And how difficult was it, though, in those early years?
36:05We were both working in the field.
36:08Really? Yes.
36:09We're picking sprout together, and we're picking grusemary,
36:14rhubarb cutting.
36:16We both go together.
36:18Apple, apple.
36:20From starting out as pickers on farms here in the UK,
36:23they've now built a thriving business of their own.
36:26And look at all these people that you employ.
36:29Hello, Mr Padder.
36:31Hello, you all right?
36:33Hello.
36:34You're providing an income for all of these people.
36:36Yes.
36:37There's a real sense of community here,
36:39of a wider family,
36:40grounded in farming and in faith.
36:47Tell me, what are you doing here?
36:54Makans bought this traditional Sikh offering
36:56to share with a team of workers
36:58that hail from nine different countries.
37:01There's nothing more important than farming.
37:05Nothing more important than farming?
37:06Yes.
37:08Because we've got good people, good family.
37:11Truthfully, I'm very, very happy with what I'm doing.
37:19The Padder family's story is one of heritage finding a new home.
37:22Back in 2019, Anita met a family in Cornwall,
37:31who had also brought their farming traditions to British soil.
37:35In the late 1990s, Anne-Marie Spearing and her husband, Joost,
37:41brought their young family from Holland
37:44to follow their dream of running a small dairy farm in Cornwall.
37:48Their youngest son, Giel, is now an integral part of the family business.
37:54But just nine years ago, this farm was on the brink of collapse.
38:01How does a Dutch family have a farm in Cornwall?
38:04Well, we had a farm in Holland.
38:06My husband always wanted to milk cows.
38:09In Holland, it was £1.35 per litre to buy the milk quotum
38:12and in the UK we paid 35 pence per litre.
38:15So here we could afford the farm and the cows and the milk quotum.
38:19But it was tougher than any of them imagined.
38:21Milk prices have been always, like, going up and down,
38:25but, you know, over the years they were more down than up.
38:29At the end of the year, if we broke even, we were like,
38:31oh, yeah, we broke even, which is not good, is it?
38:34And we thought we were just going to sell the farm
38:36and we'll see what we do, you know.
38:38We just couldn't do it anymore.
38:40It must have been absolutely devastating.
38:42Yeah, I sort of just came home from school
38:45to the decision that we were going to sell the farm.
38:48We all wanted to carry on farming, you know, there was no doubt about that.
38:50So we thought, let's try and make the milk pay look into a dairy product.
38:54I went to Holland where my cousin makes a bit of cheese,
38:57a bit more larger scale, but he taught me the basis of cheese making.
39:01And then I bought a book all about, you know, how to make gouda.
39:05And just started making cheese in our, in the shed.
39:07Has anyone made any cheese before?
39:11Yeah, so my mum made a...
39:13She actually went on a gouda-making course in Holland
39:15when she was pregnant with me.
39:17It's like it's a sign.
39:20It all makes sense now.
39:21He may only have been 17 at the time, but Giel's idea turned this farm's fortunes around.
39:31But it's not just the cheese and Giel's family that hail from the Netherlands.
39:35The extended family do too.
39:37Their 200-strong herd of Pedigree Frisians are a Dutch breed.
39:42And it's Anne-Marie and her husband's job to look after them.
39:46How important is the quality of your milk for the cheese?
39:49Very, because if the quality of the food isn't good, then you can taste that in the milk.
39:55So what are they fed on?
39:56We get like a silage.
39:58It's a grass silage and maize silage and whole crop barley.
40:02So we make a first cut silage over the whole clan.
40:05And then we do a spring barley on top of it.
40:08And then a third on top of that for the weights.
40:10And then we feed the same the whole year.
40:12Because it's like a lasagna over the whole length.
40:15So they get the whole year the same food.
40:17Anne-Marie, when you think about your life now compared to where you were in 2012.
40:22Yes, yeah, it's a lot less.
40:24It's probably lost even more work.
40:26But it's just wonderful, you know, it's wonderful.
40:28Because if Giel wasn't doing this, we would not be here, would we?
40:31I have no idea where we would be, but we would not be here farming.
40:34And we love this place, you know, it's magical.
40:41Giel was 19 years old when he started the company.
40:45Seven years on, and he's now making 22 wheels of cheese every day.
40:50And the best bit, he buys the milk from his parents' herd to make it.
40:57What is it that makes this Gouda Cornish?
41:01Literally, the milk itself.
41:04That is the entire aspect of it.
41:06So we believe that Cornwall provides us with the best grass.
41:12And it's all about the grass, because that's where all the flavour comes from in terms of the cheesemaking.
41:18The curds go into the moulds.
41:20One for here.
41:22I can't do it.
41:23I'm so late.
41:24Thanks.
41:25Thanks, Giel.
41:26Which is a little trickier and heavier than I'd imagined.
41:30Oh, Giel.
41:31They are heavy.
41:32Sorry.
41:33That's all right.
41:34We can do some more Anita-sized ones if you like.
41:36Now he brings out the little ones.
41:38And just go straight in?
41:39Straight in.
41:40See?
41:41Look at that.
41:42See?
41:44Now that I've clearly mastered the cheese moulding, it's into the brining room where the cheese begins to form its rind.
41:52We never change the brine.
41:53So this is the same brine as seven years ago.
41:56A lot of the flavour sits in the brine itself.
41:59This is our recipe.
42:00This is what makes us so unique.
42:02So now we need to basically turn them all around.
42:04The more you splosh around with the brine, the higher the pH goes.
42:09And we need to be keeping the pH below 5.
42:11So you have to be really gentle with it.
42:17Gosh.
42:18They need a lot of love and care and attention, don't they?
42:20Do you have to speak to them in Dutch?
42:22Oh, I normally put the radio on and listen to some music.
42:28The final part of the process is the one I've been looking forward to the most.
42:32It's where the gouda is matured.
42:35Look, it's a cheese cane!
42:36Yeah.
42:38Currently there's 35 tonnes in here.
42:40Look at the size of that cheese wheel!
42:43Oh, yeah, that'd get your biceps there, wouldn't it?
42:47Every single wheel in here needs five coatings of wax.
42:51It helps protect the cheese from drying out too much during the maturing process,
42:55which is four months for a mild flavour and up to three years for the most mature.
43:01One down, 75,000 to go!
43:04Now, I couldn't come all this way without having a taste, could I?
43:12This is what I've been waiting for.
43:14How old is this one?
43:15So this one's ten months old.
43:16This is our award winner.
43:17Oh, it smells fantastic.
43:22Mmm.
43:23Mmm.
43:24Creamy, salty.
43:26Yeah, you've got that nice butteriness to it, while still having a really rich depth flavour.
43:30Yeah, it's amazing.
43:31Thank you very much.
43:32It's super good.
43:34I'll just take this one.
43:36Yeah.
43:37That's me dumb.
43:38Look at the smile on my face.
43:39It's been warming up all day, but I wonder whether the weather will be ripening in the week ahead.
43:53Here's the Countryfile forecast.
43:55Hello.
44:00Temperatures today have pushed over the 30 Celsius mark in the hottest areas as heatwave number three draws to a close.
44:07But it was even hotter yesterday.
44:09Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded their hottest day of the year so far yesterday, but not for England and the UK.
44:15No, the highest temperature so far this year was recorded on the 1st of July in Faversham in Kent, 35.8 degrees Celsius.
44:23How hot is that?
44:25Well, if we look at the hottest days for the last 75 years, you can see it's really rare to get temperatures above the 35 degrees Celsius mark.
44:35Although it is becoming a little bit more common over recent years because of climate change.
44:40Meanwhile, if we look at our cooler summers when they come along, back in decades gone by, some of our summers we didn't even see temperatures reach the 30 Celsius mark.
44:49But in our warmer world nowadays, we always see summertime temperatures above the 30 degree mark.
44:55And again, that is another sign of climate change.
44:58Now, as our heatwave draws to a close, we are looking at Atlantic weather system bringing rain and showers in overnight to Western areas.
45:06It will be another warm night for sleeping though, with temperatures at 11 o'clock still well up into the 20s, cooler and fresher air will arrive later in the night.
45:15Now, for Monday and Tuesday, this area of low pressure is going to be bringing cooler and fresher air moving in off the Atlantic.
45:23With that, there will come rain and showers and some of the rain can be quite heavy at times too, even with a rumble of thunder.
45:29So for Monday, a real transition day, a day for those of you that hate the heat to celebrate because for most it will be fresher.
45:36Could be some thunderstorms mixed in with these downpours, mind you.
45:40Temperatures for most areas of the UK falling back into the low 20s, but it will still be quite hot across eastern areas of England.
45:4627, 28 degrees Celsius on the cards.
45:50Heading into Tuesday, some very wet weather for the hills of Wales and northern England.
45:5520 to 40 millimetres of rain.
45:57The cooler air arrives along with the rain across eastern areas of England.
46:01Although there will be heavy rain around, it won't be enough to reverse the hosepipe bands that are in force in parts of the country.
46:07It won't really make much in the way of a difference, but certainly a cooler and fresher feeling day.
46:12Now later this week, we'll see weather systems try to move into western areas of the UK, but high pressure never far away from the south and east,
46:21where it will probably get a bit warmer as the week goes by.
46:24Weather-wise on Wednesday, really a day of sunshine and showers.
46:28Some of the showers could end up being quite heavy, maybe even with an odd rumble of thunder across parts of eastern England.
46:33Another clutch of showers potentially working into the west.
46:36Temperatures quite widely into the 20s, feeling warm in the July sunshine.
46:41Into Thursday, it looks like the heaviest rain will be working into the north-west of the UK, particularly north-west Scotland.
46:47Again, there could be an odd rumble of thunder here.
46:49Quite a lot of cloud out west, the best of the sunshine across eastern areas.
46:53And that is where we'll see some of the highest temperatures.
46:56In London, we're back up to 28 Celsius.
46:59Well, that's on the threshold for a heatwave in London.
47:03We need three consecutive days for that.
47:05So could we be looking at heatwave four? Well, maybe.
47:07Friday, again, a lot of dry weather and sunshine across central and eastern areas of England.
47:12Some showers, maybe some thunderstorms working into the south-west later in the day.
47:17Our temperatures, well, around 24 in Glasgow, up to 29 in London and above the heatwave threshold in Cardiff.
47:23So, a brief dip in temperatures this week over the next few days, but warmer by the end of the week.
47:28I'm here with the Padder family on their strawberry farm in the Vale of Evesham.
47:41Strawberries have long been a staple of the British summer.
47:45But there's another berry, still relatively new to UK soils, that's becoming a regular in our fruit bowls.
47:51A couple of years ago, Sean visited the Mee family on their farm in Northamptonshire, just in time for the blueberry harvest.
47:58Today, these little berries are so familiar that it's hard to believe that in the not-too-distant past,
48:04they were considered an exotic luxury, mainly grown in North and South America.
48:11They were introduced to the UK in the 50s, and for a few decades, just one farm was responsible for growing every British blueberry.
48:19Now, their popularity is on the rise, and the Mee's are one of around 20 farms busy harvesting them at this time of year.
48:27I'm meeting Zoe Mee, who has embraced farming these super fruits.
48:34So, the farm here was predominantly arable, and arable farming is quite a volatile industry,
48:43so we're always looking at ways of making the business more sustainable and spreading our risk.
48:50We had an advisor, and he could see how the demand was growing around the world,
48:56and here we are today with 35 acres of blueberries.
49:00Wow.
49:01Did you know anything about blueberries before?
49:03We knew absolutely nothing about blueberries.
49:06Really?
49:07They like acidic, very loose soil, so we have planted them in a compost,
49:12which is made up of recycled garden waste.
49:15They like the warmth, but then, because they're under polytunnels, they then need water.
49:19A couple of seconds ago, you told me before you knew nothing about blueberries.
49:23Now you know everything about blueberries.
49:24And you just sort of learned this as you were going along.
49:26Yes, yes.
49:27It takes a good sort of five, six years to actually get a good yield from a blueberry farm.
49:31So, at any time during those five years, do you think,
49:34maybe we've done the wrong thing, I'm not quite sure?
49:36Because it's a long time, isn't it, to wait for a harvest?
49:38Yeah, yeah.
49:39I've had lots of sleepless nights.
49:41You wake up in a cold sweat worrying about it.
49:43They've got a really interesting appearance, haven't they?
49:48Because they've got this, it's almost like a sort of cover on the skin, it feels like, a whitey...
49:52That's what we call the bloom, and that's very natural.
49:55And it shows that they haven't been handled very much.
49:58How much bigger will they get?
49:59Well, this variety can grow to about the size of a 50 pence piece.
50:02I mean, that's massive, I've not seen a blueberry that size.
50:05It is huge, it is huge.
50:08In the prime harvesting months of June to September, the Mee family employ 44 blueberry pickers
50:14to harvest their 58,000 blueberry plants.
50:19Right back at the beginning, when you first decided to do blueberries,
50:22almost, it felt like when talking to you, you were forced to diversify to survive.
50:26Yes, yes.
50:27And now you're forced to modernise because you're successful in producing blueberries.
50:30Yes, we've managed to automate the pack house.
50:33One of those bits of equipment is an optigrader.
50:36Optigrader, wow.
50:37Yes, yes.
50:38Sounds like a fatty in a film or something.
50:40It's like some monster.
50:41Overseeing this beast is manager Charlotte Foster, who I'm meeting in the pack house.
50:47Gosh, it's noisy isn't it?
51:00Yes, yes.
51:01This is where the magic happens then?
51:03Indeed.
51:04This looks really high tech.
51:05What's happening here?
51:06It takes about nine photos of every berry coming through the line.
51:11What it's doing is it's telling us if it's got defects or if any are undersized for the run that we're doing.
51:18If it's got pest damage or it's underripe.
51:21And then it will come out on...
51:23And it can tell?
51:24Yes.
51:25Just from a photo?
51:26Yes, just by that photo.
51:27Or nine photos.
51:28So here it will show you the firmness.
51:32So this one's showing 34.
51:34That's an individual blueberry?
51:35Individual blueberry.
51:36And that's another one?
51:37Yes.
51:38And I'm just looking at the thousands you've got going through the system.
51:41There's a lot of blueberries.
51:43So these are the five channels here.
51:46We have one channel for packing.
51:48We've got one for soft, one for deep red fruit and one for undersized fruit.
51:53This machine, it seems so good.
51:55Almost too good to be true.
51:56Yes.
51:57Can we test it?
51:58Yeah.
51:59Go for it.
52:00So put something else in.
52:01Yeah.
52:02Put some blueberries that clearly aren't ready.
52:03Yeah.
52:06See how this goes.
52:10Let's see if it finds them.
52:23Oh my gosh.
52:24Yeah.
52:25They're already coming through.
52:26This is them.
52:27Yeah.
52:28This is them.
52:29And it's got every one of them.
52:30Yeah.
52:31The octograder has basically taken a load of photos.
52:34Yeah.
52:35Worked out that these aren't right.
52:36And chucked them out.
52:37Rejected them.
52:38Yeah.
52:39The rejected blueberries are put to good use in jam, ice lollies, sparkling wine and other
52:44treats made on the farm.
52:45So these are the blueberries that won't be going to the shops.
52:46What about the ones that will be going?
52:47The good ones.
52:48Yeah.
52:49So they are currently being packed the other side on the polypillar.
52:52Yeah.
52:53So they are currently being packed the other side on the polypillar.
52:56The high standards of the octograder allows the Mees to sell their blueberries as premium
53:01quality to supermarkets.
53:04The team are in full swing today and expect to process around three to four tonnes of blueberries.
53:10On a good day, they've been known to process one tonne per hour.
53:14So these are the good ones.
53:15Yeah.
53:16So this is everything that has gone through the machine and is the correct quality and
53:22size grade for the order that we're packing now.
53:24So it's weighing them out, is it?
53:25Yeah.
53:26So we've got the bulk belt here, which weighs the majority of the weight.
53:30And then we've got this small triple belt here, which then fills it with a few more
53:34barriers here.
53:35And that tops it up just to make sure it's 400 grams.
53:37Yeah.
53:38Yeah.
53:39So at the moment, we're probably packing about three, three and a half tonnes a day.
53:44I could sit here and watch this for days, hypnotised by the blueberry.
54:00Picking blueberries or strawberries on a sunny day might seem idyllic.
54:05But when your livelihood is at the mercy of the British weather, being a farmer is certainly
54:09no picnic.
54:13Well, it's such an impressive set up you've got here, but farming isn't all easy, is it?
54:17It's not all easy.
54:18It's really difficult.
54:19We went to storms beginning of the season.
54:22We were a little bit delayed there.
54:23We had a lot of damage.
54:24A lot of tunnels were down and a lot of plastic damaged.
54:27But also the weather is not predictable anymore.
54:29I remember this one day, I think it was last year, where you had everything you had, the
54:33snow, the wind, the sun and the rain, all in one go.
54:37So everything, you know, sometimes against you.
54:42It's beautiful weather now at the moment and we've got a great crop.
54:45We're literally two weeks ahead of where we want to be.
54:47Sure.
54:48So you've got your staffing issues, you've got to get your staffing exactly right.
54:51We've got half the staff that we need to be picking what we're doing.
54:53Because of how the system is and how we recruit staff and how the people are available,
54:57you've got to get your customer demand exactly right because we need to be consistent in it.
55:01So, yeah, it is difficult.
55:03It's a very difficult job.
55:04Your father's obviously created something very special here.
55:07But isn't it time for him to take a step back and tire?
55:10No, come on.
55:11No, never.
55:12The Queen never retired, did she?
55:13You know, the Queen never retired, you know what I mean?
55:15So why should my dad?
55:16We need somebody, you know, pushing us, giving us that edge to go, yeah?
55:20How involved is he now on a day-to-day basis?
55:22Every day.
55:23My dad's here every day.
55:24Every single day.
55:25Probably the first person here, last person to leave.
55:27Involved in every conversation from the sales to the growing side to the management side,
55:32the hiring, the firing, everything.
55:34So he's still involved.
55:35And it's good because you know what?
55:36You need to be.
55:37So for him to leave, I can't see him ever doing it personally.
55:41Our culture is all about the beauty of farming.
55:43So once you're a farmer, you are that.
55:45That's what you are.
55:46Because it's in your blood.
55:47Same for my family and my brother and our nephews as well.
55:50And my son.
55:52And with your dad carrying on and you and your brother taking a very senior role in the business,
55:56you've got cousins coming through, but also your children.
55:59Yeah.
56:00How does that make you feel?
56:01I'm excited for them.
56:02I'm excited.
56:03Imagine coming back in like 50, 60 years and seeing where they've taken it.
56:07Can't wait to see what the future holds for them, plus us as well.
56:13At the end of every long picking day, the family gets together to eat.
56:17And today, I've been invited to join them.
56:20Can I squeeze in there somewhere?
56:22Is there room in the middle?
56:24Yep.
56:25That's Astic.
56:26Wow.
56:27Traditional Indian Punjabi food.
56:29Is everyone related?
56:30Yep.
56:31Somewhere around the world.
56:32Hell yeah.
56:34So Mr Singh, what is your proudest moment for the farm and the family?
56:38I'm very proud because my family here.
56:41It's quite a creation, isn't it?
56:43From starting just a few acres and a glass house to this.
56:47We always try to be a hobby.
56:49And for the two brothers working together now, I mean, you're continuing to invest, aren't you?
56:53Lots of things happening.
56:54Yeah, we're investing not only in our children, in the structure, the infrastructure, the machinery,
57:01and looking at newer ways.
57:03Things are progressing all the time.
57:04All the time.
57:05So, Mr Finance.
57:06Yep.
57:07Where's the future?
57:08I think the future of the business lies in all of our hands.
57:11The three grandsons of Mr Singh.
57:13And I think, at the moment, the future looks very bright.
57:16As long as we communicate with each other, as long as we keep things structured,
57:20I think we'll be fine.
57:21But yeah, very bright.
57:22And although you've got an amazing business and a wonderful family,
57:25thank you for welcoming me here today.
57:27Who cooks this food?
57:29Grandma.
57:30The most important person here, I would say.
57:32Yeah.
57:33I think we should drink to that.
57:34To the family.
57:35To the family.
57:36To the family.
57:37Next time, I'll be on a mixed farm in South Somerset,
57:41joining three generations of the Baker family.
57:48I've only watched YouTube videos and that's it, to be honest.
57:51You've got it nailed.
57:52I reckon that's good.
57:53I ended up just having nine orphan piglets.
57:56It was hard.
57:57We learnt the hard way.
57:59Are you usually quite so forceful?
58:01Well, I always put my oar in.
58:02Let's put it that way, isn't it?
58:04Yeah.
58:06It's all going rather well, Vincent, isn't it?
58:08Yeah.
58:09Shush.
58:14See you then.
58:15Bye-bye.
58:16One more samosa for me.
58:17An unruly rivalry, the stormy relationship of Liam and Noel, the rise and fall of Oasis on BBC Sounds.
58:33Listen now.
58:34Treachery and betrayal.
58:35The Kiwi way on BBC iPlayer.
58:37Press red for the Traitors NZ.
58:39Show them.
58:40Change.
58:42There are tons of trees along the architecture.
58:44You change.
58:45Ask what comes inside your own house.
58:46Make a bulk in a century and the rise and fall.
58:48That's me.
58:49Love all the secrets.
58:50The ton is deeply interested but the task.
58:51That means the life and they shall excite me.
58:52It's stressful and the life, it's?
58:53amazing.
58:55Man l is not beginning to a nicknl.
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