Sustainable farmer, Andy Coecup joined pupils and staff online from rural France. He talked about his food production journey (an experimental and at times expensive process) from having a successful career as a musician playing concerts all over the world.

It was whilst travelling between gigs that he read an article on industrial food production and coming across the story of the ‘Magic Machine’ that changed his perception on how to farm.

Andy has become a passionate food producer with a particular interest in how to work with the land responsibly. He has developed an understanding of the symbiosis between animals and plants and looks to produce organic food in a sustainable way for the future.

Andy has seen at first hand that nature has remarkable powers to recover and feels that society needs to re-engage with its food supply chain. He discussed how the land that is required to produce crops is being damaged by modern farming techniques, and that using traditional farming techniques instead with more understanding of the cycle of growing combined with modern technology, our land can be more productive. The nutritional quality of our food entirely depends on vigorous growing in healthy soil. He is passionate about how we need to farm responsibly, protecting and nurturing the foundations of our ecosystems.

This led to several technical questions and discussion from both pupils and staff about Andy’s farming methods involving wheat and pasture.