Ellen Kingston
I have a passion for the land and now more than ever I feel we have a responsibility to value, protect and share it with people. For 15 years I was managing the sales and marketing of our family bacon business, but in 2021 our 600 acre 3rd generation farm in West Dorset moved away from dairy and the opportunity arose for me to take over the running of the farm along with my parents and sister.
We have taken a more regenerative approach to managing the land, still growing crops and grazing animals, but we are more aware of the importance of looking after the soil and the land around us.
Living within the Dorset National Landscapes, it has been incredibly important to me to open up the farm to tourists and locals and show them how we farm and manage the land. For the last 5 summers I have loved welcoming campers and glampers onto the farm, not just for a holiday, but for them to experience the farm and appreciate the nature around them.
I feel very strongly that opening up farms and engaging with the public is a powerful tool for UK agriculture – the more that people understand the land and where food comes from, the more respect they have for farmers and the work we do.
I am so excited to use this opportunity to learn from the many successful countries that achieve this. I am incredibly grateful to the John Oldacre Foundation for their support in doing this.
Agritourism: Linking agriculture, food, environment and tourism for a sustainable future.
John Oldacre Foundation
Study Overview
The UK agricultural industry is going through a phase of significant restructure. Climate change, government uncertainty, inflation, competition from imports with lower standards of production and food sold in supermarkets at or below cost of production – all have contributed to increasing levels of pressure and uncertainty within agriculture, with many farmers needing to look for alternative income streams to survive.
Agritourism is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for farm sustainability. I believe that Agritourism in the UK can help farmers by linking farming, food, the environment, tourism and education, contributing towards financially sustainable farms.
I am incredibly grateful for this Nuffield Farming Scholarship to give me the opportunity to see how successful Agritourism is managed in other parts of the world.