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our sister farms - Riverford and River Nene
River Swale is modelled on Riverford Organic Vegetables in Devon, run by Guy Watson, a veg box pioneer who now runs one of the most successful schemes in the country. It is in the belief that vegetables should be grown and eaten locally that Riverford is helping farmers in other areas to set up schemes like River Swale.
 Guy Watson began farming at Riverford in 1985 on three acres of land on the Watson family farm based in the Dart valley in South Devon. With the land fully converted to organic status in 1987, Guy began delivering his vegetables to local shops, including his brother’s farm shop. With a locally successful box scheme, home delivery was the next logical step, with local distributors setting up to operate the home delivery box scheme in individual locations, with all the vegetables being packed at Riverford Farm.
To cope with demand, Riverford set up a co-operative of 13 family-run farms in South Devon which share machinery, labour and knowledge of growing organic vegetables. By planning the cropping together they are able to grow 85 different varieties of vegetables to keep the boxes interesting all year. The land under vegetables stretches from the edges of Dartmoor down to the coast where the warm sea air protects the fields from frost and allows them to grow winter crops.
You can find out more about Riverford at www.riverford.co.uk and are very welcome to visit and eat in the Field Kitchen if you are ever in Devon
 River Nene Organic Vegetables has been going two years, and has recently moved to Sacrewell Farm, near Peterborough. It serves a smaller area than Riverford, with most boxes being delivered within a 60 mile radius of the farm. The land here is very different to Devon, and there is a much stronger tradition of vegetable-growing – but mostly on a much larger scale, with organic growing being relatively new here. Stan Cliffe, the farm manager, has managed his farm organically since April 2000. His 45 years of growing experience and tremendous enthusiasm gave him the perfect springboard to take on the organic challenge. Find out more by visiting www.rivernene.co.uk
The three ‘sister’ farms: Riverford, River Nene and River Swale, all work to the same principles of giving a fair deal to customers, staff, farmers and the environment.
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