SUPPORTING
SHARING
LEARNING.

The Farm Retail Association (FRA) began its life as The Farm Shop and PYO Association (FSPA) on October 11, 1979 at the Farmpick Conference in Birmingham.

To this day, we adhere to the same principles, supporting, sharing and learning with one another. A great many people and businesses have benefited from membership of the Association over the years, many being farmers who have had to learn retailing from scratch.

We have shared a drink; shared our bright ideas and our problems; emulated each other’s successes and tried to avoid each other’s failures.

Protecting
local food.

our values

Authentic.
Ethical.
Sustainable.

WE are stronger
Together.

We have become a strong and vibrant sector, rallied around our love for real local food.

Farm retailers contribute £1.4 billion to the national economy, employing approximately 25,000 people.  Much of what we make goes back into our local communities through employment and local suppliers.  Due to the cost pressures facing farming, diversifying into farm retail is an attractive opportunity for many farmers across the country, and we are here to support them.

Whatever area of farm retail you are from, or if you are just starting out, we are here to help you grow your business and increase footfall to your outlets. Join us in the revolution of farm retail!

Non
Profit.

let's connect

MEET OUR
Chair.

chair@farmretail.co.uk

EMMa
MOSeY.

Emma runs Minskip Farm Shop and Yolk Farm in Boroughbridge with her husband Ben.

They left careers as a novelist and an exploration geologist to purchase their farm shop 6 years ago, and have grown turnover 6 fold and opened the world’s first egg restaurant on a free range egg farm in that time. 

Emma enjoys being on the council to learn from more established farm shop owners.

Preserving,
and protecting
British food culture...

“I believe the Farm Retail Association has a crucial role to play in preserving and protecting British food culture.  As the world changes, becoming more streamlined, ultra-processed and efficient, our Farmers markets and farm shops are a way to preserve slower, more sustainable methods of farming and to educate and empower the general public about these.

I am excited for the next few years of the organisation’s growth, and urge any farm retailers and suppliers who care about real local food to join us.  The more larger and more coherent our sector is, the more we will be able to achieve.”

Peter McTurk.

Calcott Hall

Jeremy Jagger.

Albrighton Estate

Kathryn Mitchell.

The Lambing Shed Farm Shop & Kitchen

Radley Russell.

Director - Moseley Farmers Market

Will Simkin.

Essington Farm

Andrew Burton.

Associate Director with Pleydell Smithyman

Matt Whelan.

Managing director of fieldfare

Sandra Woodfall.

M Farmers Market

Matt Homfray.

Managing Partner - Penllyn Estate

Ben Loughrey.

Over Farm

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Peter McTurk

Calcott Hall

Calcott Hall is a family run business and our aim is to provide a pleasant and friendly shopping experience, very different from large supermarkets. We grow a range of vegetables and fruit throughout the year and source locally whenever possible.

McTurks have been farming at Calcott Hall for over 40 years. Our farm is 120 acres (equivalent to about 70 football pitches) and was formerly a dairy farm. From humble beginnings selling potatoes and sweetcorn from boxes in 1974, much has happened at Calcott Hall and we have grown considerably. We renovated an old Essex barn in 1983, and have gradually used more and more of it as our shop needs have grown.

Jeremy Jagger

Albrighton Estate

Jeremy is the 7th generation of his family to be farming at the Albrighton Estate near Shrewsbury. Battlefield 1403 was opened in 2008 and is located in the buildings of a former dairy farm. The name comes from its location on the site of the Battle of Shrewsbury fought between Henry IV and Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur).

Battlefield 1403 consists of a farm shop, butchery, deli, café and exhibition. The shop sells beef, lamb, woodland pork and firewood all from the farm as well as a wide range of locally produced foods and its own Battlefield range of home cooked produce.

Having benefitted hugely from the support and friendship of the FRA over the years Jeremy is delighted to be involved with the FRA council and the FRA West Midlands Regional Group.

Kathryn Mitchell

The Lambing Shed Farm Shop & Kitchen

The Lambing Shed Farm Shop & Kitchen was opened in September 2015 by Kathryn and her father Michael, it is housed in the very building where Kathryn’s grandfather lambed his sheep many years ago.

The farm remains a working farm today with Michael and his son Robert rearing both cattle and sheep, supplying the farm shop butchery with home reared meat. The Lambing Shed also has an 80 seater cafe and production kitchen, with a team of chefs that supply the farm shop and deli with a wide range of home made produce.

Radley Russell

Director - Moseley Farmers Market

Radley is one of the Directors of award-winning Moseley Farmers’ Market. He joined MFM in 2019 as a passionate supporter. On weekdays, Radley is a TV Producer with the BBC and at weekends he helps to run MFM.

Last year MFM celebrated 23 years of proudly running a successful market and also picked up its 4th FARMA ‘Best in UK’ award, the only Farmers’ Market to have won four times. This monthly market has up to 60 stalls and has put Moseley Village firmly on the map, so much so that it was judged ‘Sunday Times Best Place to Live’ in 2015. Due to its FRA accreditation, MFM is guaranteeing quality and locality of fresh produce.

With thousands of visitors throughout the year, our little ‘village in a city’ is now a destination of high reputation.

Will Simkin

Essington Farm

Will is a second generation farm retailer at Essington Farm, his parents opened the first farm shop in 1990.

The business is now run by Will, his wife Penny and Will’s parents Richard and Mary. Essington Farm now consists of a farm shop, butchery and deli, restaurant and PYO. All aspects of the business are run in house with all the produce from the farm being sold on site.

The farm produces free range pork and pedigree Hereford beef for the butchery and strawberries, pumpkins and other fruit and veg for the shop and PYO. A wide variety of products are made on site with the farm specialising in quality own and local food.

Andrew Burton

Associate Director with Pleydell Smithyman

Andrew Burton is an award-winning retail and catering advisor, with over 30 years management and leadership experience. He has a true passion for championing and supporting independent businesses throughout the farm retail industry.

Andrew has spent over 20 years of his career working with independent rural retailers, and in his role as Associate Director with Pleydell Smithyman he focusses on farm shop site and rural business development.

Andrew specialises in business strategic development and operational advice, and through his role at Pleydell Smithyman has access to expert support regarding external and internal design, town planning and land development.

Andrew previously sat on the Garden Centre Association Board, and with his commercial background and understanding of independent businesses, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the FRA council.

Matt Whelan

Managing director of fieldfare

Matt Whelan is the Managing Director of Fieldfare, a family business offering delicious, loose frozen food.

Fieldfare began in a Farm Shop, over 45 years ago and today work with farm shops, food halls, garden centres and other independent retailers across the UK.

Matt has 23 years’ experience working in food, with a focus on driving long-term growth together with family-owned food businesses. Matt is always happy to chat with any other suppliers who’d like to learn more about the benefits of joining the Farm Retail Association.

Sandra Woodfall

M Farmers Market

Sandra Woodfall is passionate about local produce and is part of a small business that runs farmers’ markets in Mid and North Kent. The business M Farmers Market has been supporting farmers’ markets since 2000.
Sandra initially got involved with farmers’ markets as part of her sustainability work which included reducing food miles, reducing packaging and buying local. At the time farmers’ markets were in the very early stages of development in Kent and she decided to run a farmers’ market as part of a much bigger launch to the Local Agenda 21 Strategy that she’d been involved in developing. The farmers’ market was so popular that the Council asked for the farmers’ market to be a regular event. Since August 2000 Sandra has been actively involved in organising farmers’ markets and supporting small local producers.
Sandra with her husband Brian also produce jams, marmalade and chutneys using local fruit and vegetables whenever possible which they sell at the farmers’ markets too
At present My Farmers Market operate the following farmers’ markets;
Hall Place Bexley Farmers Market – 1st Sunday of the month and 3rd Saturday of the month
Lenham Country Market – 2nd Sunday of the month
Chislehurst Farmers Market – 3rd Sunday of the month
West Malling Farmers Market – 4th Sunday of the month
Lenham Country Market and West Malling Farmers Market both opened in 2000 and both markets have recently won Gold Award in the Food and Drink Market category of the Taste of Kent Awards.
contact Details:
Sandra Woodfall
www.myfarmersmarket.co.uk
email contact@myfarmersmarket.co.uk

Matt Homfray

Managing Partner - Penllyn Estate

Matt, a vet, and his brother Tom are the managing partners of Penllyn Estate, an arable and livestock farm in South Wales that has been farmed by the Homfray family since 1846.

Today the Estate is home to a diverse range of businesses and 3 years ago moved into hospitality with the opening of Forage Farm Shop & Kitchen. The farm provides beef, lamb, pork and eggs to the farm shop, butchery, restaurant and takeaway, and they also run PYO and seasonal events.

Ben Loughrey

Over Farm

Ben joined Over Farm approximately 10 years ago, starting out on the deli counter cutting cheese all alongside following his dream of playing professional golf.

Ben then followed in his parents footsteps and joined the family business full-time. Over Farm has since diversified further and grown all areas of the business, with Ben overseeing the retail operation as well at the farm park, events and wedding barn. Family is at the core of Over Farm, Ben works closely with his cousin, brother and a great team, offering a fantastic experience to their customers.