From Shropshire to Westminster: Our Big Day Out in the Smoke

We don’t usually swap the tractor for the train, but earlier this month, we decided it was time to take the Proper Good Dairy story on the road. We weren’t alone, either! We were part of a group of 28 farmers from right here in South Shropshire, all currently on the Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme (RAAP).

The programme is all about helping us farmers move toward a more nature-friendly way of working, so it felt only right to take that message straight to the heart of the capital.

The Scenic Route

The day started at Craven Arms station, catching the train down to Paddington via Newport. Of course, London greeted us with plenty of rain, so we spent the morning dodging puddles and ticking off landmarks as we walked across the city on our way to lunch.

Regen in the Real World: Honest Burger

Our first big stop was Honest Burger, which was a deliberate choice for a group of regen-focused farmers. These guys are huge supporters of the movement; they’ve partnered with Grassroots Farming to build a supply chain that actually rewards farmers for looking after their soil.

By working with Grassroots, they source beef from farms that use "mob grazing" (moving cattle frequently to mimic natural herds), which helps pull carbon into the ground and boosts biodiversity. It was great to see a major brand actually "walking the walk" and proving that there’s a real market for food produced this way.

Inside the Palace of Westminster

After lunch, we split up to see the sights. One group headed past Pall Mall and Horse Guards, while the rest of us braved the madness of Piccadilly Circus and Whitehall.

Meeting back up at the Houses of Parliament, we went through the usual "airport-style" security—always a bit of a shock after the peace of the farm! We were whisked through the incredible Westminster Hall and St Stephen’s Hall before reaching the Central Lobby.

We were there to meet our MP, Stuart Anderson, and the Shadow Defra Secretary, Robbie Moore. Both were very supportive and genuinely keen to listen to what a group of 28 Shropshire farmers had to say about the future of our industry. They eventually had to dash off for a vote, but we managed to squeeze in a few minutes in the public gallery of the House of Commons to watch the action. It's a mad place, but the history of those buildings is something else!

Andy Cato & The Wildfarmed Vision

Before heading home, we hopped on the Tube for a meeting with the teams at Wildfarmed and Bramble Farming.

If you haven’t heard of Wildfarmed, it was co-founded by Andy Cato (who some might know as one half of the band Groove Armada). Andy swapped the DJ decks for the soil nearly twenty years ago and has become a real pioneer in regen. Their mission is simple but massive: to fix the broken food system by helping farmers grow crops without the need for "cides" (pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides).

Chatting with them about where they see the industry moving in the next few years was eye-opening. There’s a real shift happening toward food that is better for the planet and better for us, and it’s exciting to think our unhomogenised organic milk is part of that same story.

Reflections on the Rails

After some good food and plenty of banter with the rest of the RAAP group, it was back on the train to reflect on a long but inspiring day. It’s good to be back home where the air is fresher, but it’s given us a massive boost to keep doing what we’re doing here in South Shropshire.

It turns out, the "Proper Good" way of doing things is exactly what the future needs!

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