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We’re not just here to bring you the best web dramas — we’re also part of a powerful wellness network for men that cares about your performance both on screen… and in the bedroom.
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Short filmTranscript
00:01Go on then, show me how to pick a strawberry.
00:03Try to do both try. Both hands.
00:05Oh, both hands!
00:07You didn't give me tummy of that! Both hands!
00:09Why don't you tell me both hands?
00:12Adam, you're costing us money here. You're costing us money.
00:14That's fast!
00:30Every landscape tells a story of farming families who've worked it for centuries.
00:47Growing our food, caring for nature and ensuring that rural traditions thrive.
00:55For many of them, farming isn't just a job.
00:58It's a way of life, handed down through the years.
01:01It's the only thing I can see myself doing, really.
01:03Over four Countryfile specials.
01:05My word, I'm a bit nervous.
01:07I'll be travelling to Somerset, Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire
01:12to meet some of those families that have farmed these agricultural heartlands for generations.
01:17Don't work with animals and children. Did somebody say that?
01:20From grandparents to grandchildren, everyone plays their part.
01:23I'll be getting a glimpse into the way they work together day to day,
01:26the challenges they face and the inventive ways that they're keeping their farms thriving for the future.
01:31Today, I'm in Worcestershire, visiting the Padda family's fruit farm in the Vale of Evesham.
01:44It's a very busy operation.
01:47It's gone from zero to hero.
01:49With the recent hot weather pushing things into overdrive.
01:52This year will be our biggest year ever.
01:55As generations of the family...
01:57We argue, we fight, put in make-up.
02:00Hello, you all right?
02:02..all work together.
02:03Hello. Lovely to meet you.
02:04More family members.
02:05More family members, family members everywhere, isn't it, Adam? We've got a big family.
02:08..to grow delicious strawberries.
02:10There's one in there. That's a really nice one.
02:12Making a fortune.
02:13I'm making a fortune.
02:15Adam, we've got to pick it all, yeah?
02:17Tell him if you want to pick it all, yeah?
02:19This is a finely tuned operation.
02:22This is smooth.
02:23Tell him to get lost.
02:24Go on, Adam.
02:25We'll also take a look back through the Countryfile archives.
02:28Oh, my word.
02:30I mean, that's massive. I've not seen a blueberry that size.
02:33It is huge.
02:34Celebrating the best of British produce.
02:37Bright amount of runniness.
02:39Yeah.
02:40Perfect for a summer's feast.
02:42Look at the size of that! Cheese wheel!
02:45At Vicarage Nurseries, they don't do things by halves.
02:56There'll be up to 150 workers here through the season,
03:00picking and packing more than 4.5 million panets' worth of strawberries.
03:09The farm was started by Makan Singh Pada,
03:12together with his wife, Pal Binda, almost 30 years ago.
03:18Now this family affair is being run by their son, Bao,
03:22his brother, Harjit, and cousin, Jaswinda.
03:26With wives, husbands, cousins and kids
03:29all playing their part in the business.
03:31Fruit growing plays a big role here in Worcestershire,
03:40and the Pada family are big characters playing their role
03:43in this rural community.
03:47I'll be meeting lots of members of the extended family today
03:50on this 57 hectare farm.
03:52But I'm starting the day with Bal, the current boss.
03:58Hey, Bal!
03:59Hello! How are you?
04:00Good to see you!
04:01Long time.
04:02Quite a time of year?
04:03No, no, no.
04:04Very busy time of year.
04:05We're just checking the quality.
04:06It's gone from zero to hero.
04:08Really?
04:09Yeah, really crazy.
04:10Just because of all this heat?
04:11Yeah, because of the heat.
04:12It's been good weather, so cooler nights, warmer days,
04:15and also what we've planted as well.
04:17The varieties we've planted this year
04:18has allowed us just to get a better crop
04:20and earlier cropping.
04:21We've planted a lot earlier as well.
04:23So, for us, it's just gone...
04:25Has it?
04:26Yeah.
04:27Perfect. You're making a fortune.
04:28I'm making a fortune, yeah.
04:30We've got to pick it all yet, don't we?
04:32All the bills, yeah?
04:34I think Bal's hinting that I should do some work.
04:38Go on then, show me how to pick a strawberry.
04:40I'm not going to.
04:41One here is going to show you how to pick, yeah?
04:42How do you do it?
04:43She's the expert, not me.
04:44OK, so in with your fingers so you don't bruise the fruit.
04:47Like this?
04:48Yes.
04:49Very good. In there?
04:50Look at the size of these strawberries.
04:51I know, they're beautiful, aren't they?
04:52Do I need the little stalk on it, like that, then?
04:54You do, you do.
04:55OK, that's all right.
04:56On some varieties, some varieties you don't.
04:59Now, your management, Bal, you wouldn't be doing this, would you?
05:02You don't know how...
05:03You've actually probably...
05:04You've probably forgotten.
05:05I actually never did this job.
05:06I'm not going to lie, I didn't do this job.
05:07Did you?
05:08I've done the planting, the bagging, and everything else,
05:11but I've never picked.
05:12Really?
05:13I've done four and already are my fingers hurting.
05:16Yeah.
05:18What sort of volumes are we talking?
05:20This year will be our biggest year ever, God wishing.
05:23Yeah, so we'll have about 2,000 tonnes.
05:25So we've gone all in this year.
05:28With so much fruit, and all of it hand-picked, Bal needs a large, dedicated team.
05:35We rely on seasonal workers, but they can only come over after six months.
05:39So they leave six months, they come back.
05:41So last year at our peak, we started in June, so they're not going to arrive back until June.
05:45Sure.
05:46So now, we have to bring in extras, and our regular staff are still waiting to come, and where the crop is earlier.
05:51So it's like, you can never get it right.
05:53Just because of the weather, your seasonal experience staff haven't arrived.
05:57That's why I'm like going crazy, my hair's falling out, you know.
06:00So many different things to do.
06:01My supervisor there, Jess Winder, she's learning the job as well.
06:04So we're teaching her what to do.
06:05Go.
06:06Here we go.
06:07Try to do both sides.
06:08Like both hands.
06:09Oh, both hands.
06:10You didn't give me tummy that.
06:12Both hands.
06:13Why not?
06:14Tell him both hands, innit?
06:16Adam, you're costing us money here.
06:17You're costing us money.
06:18Twice as fast.
06:26I love this job.
06:27It's brilliant.
06:28Every year, there's new people coming in.
06:29So you're kind of like a holiday camp.
06:31But I think, you know, I'm doing what I'm born about to do.
06:33I'm growing.
06:34It's in your bones.
06:35It's my bones in my blood.
06:37Our culture is very rich in farming.
06:39We come from bread basket, India, which is Punjab.
06:42So my dad's come from there.
06:44Everything is connected to farming.
06:46Yeah.
06:47And back in the old days, the kings of the world used to be the farmer, the grower.
06:52Now we become like, oh, well, you know, not so important.
06:55It's got to be the guys from the IT and this and the YouTubers and all that.
06:58It was always the farmer.
07:00The farmer was one we'd respect.
07:01The farmer was the one that everybody wanted to be looked up to.
07:04That's a skill set and the skill set that these people, ladies and gentlemen, have got here
07:08and the people that are growing the fruit for us.
07:10There's one in there.
07:11That's a really nice one.
07:12Look at that.
07:13Am I allowed to eat?
07:16Try it.
07:17Yeah, you are, Adam.
07:18Try it.
07:19Try it.
07:20And how that tastes.
07:21Did you hear the crunch as well?
07:22Mm.
07:23Isn't that beautiful to hear the crunch, to hear the noise?
07:25And really sweet.
07:26Yeah.
07:27Extra sweet because of the weather?
07:28Yeah, because of the weather.
07:29And the variety as well.
07:30I'm going to show you some more variety.
07:31Come on.
07:32Let's have a look.
07:33At this time of year, strawberries and Wimbledon go hand in hand.
07:45And of course, so do strawberries and cream.
07:48A few years ago, Matt visited a family farm in Cheshire that keep a rare breed of cow to help make their clotted cream.
07:56This is cattle country.
07:59Well-drained flatland ideal for high-quality grass.
08:03And that means high-quality milk.
08:09Generations of the same family have worked this farm in the village of Clotten, near Chester.
08:21I'm meeting one of the new breed, Henry Cook.
08:26And his older brother, Rob, who runs the farm.
08:33So how many generations are you then, Henry?
08:35So I'm the sixth generation here.
08:37So we have been here quite a long time.
08:39Yeah.
08:40The pressure then that comes with being the next generation of farmers on the very same farm.
08:45How did you cope with that initially, you and your brother?
08:48Yeah, there was a lot of pressure, to be honest.
08:50We had to make a big decision on what the future of the farm was.
08:52It's not quite big enough for me and my brother to both work on together.
08:56So this is why I've sort of had to look at a different way of bringing in extra income for myself.
09:03And Henry's done that in an unexpected way.
09:06Right here, in the heart of Cheshire, he's making something that you'd usually associate with Devon and Cornwall.
09:12Clotted cream.
09:13It was quite a risk, wasn't it?
09:15It's not really done around here.
09:17It's not at all.
09:18For some reason.
09:19No, but there's no reason why not though.
09:21Yeah.
09:22As we've found out since we started, there's a big demand for it.
09:26And the brothers have brought in a rather unusual breed of cow to provide the perfect milk for the job.
09:31You've got quite a mix of breeds in here, haven't you?
09:34So why did you decide to run the stock that you've got?
09:37Rather than the standard Holstein cow, we needed a more high fatty cow.
09:40Right.
09:41And that really gives you the flavour and the milk.
09:43So we've gone for the Danish red, as you can see here in front of us.
09:46Yeah.
09:47We've got a few jerseys, jersey crosses.
09:49Right, so with the Danish red then, I mean, did you have to go far and wide to go shopping?
09:53Yeah, Denmark.
09:54Denmark, right.
09:55So yeah, my brother went over to Denmark and come back with 40 cows.
10:03Time to get these beauties in for their afternoon milking.
10:06With older brother Rob.
10:11As with the years of family history on this farm, teamwork is vital.
10:16You're looking after the farm side of things and he's doing the kind of the dairy, so how is it working out?
10:22It works really well.
10:23Everyone has their own area of the business, so you can focus on it.
10:26You know, we help each other out as and when it's needed.
10:29Henry still does the morning milking for me, which keeps him in touch with the farm side of things.
10:34No, I'm really pleased about how it's working really.
10:37And how are you actually tweaking your farming system in order to kind of work with his green business?
10:42Yeah, so we're trying to tailor the milk supply to match that.
10:45We've shifted the carving pattern slightly to ensure that we have an all year round supply.
10:51Right.
10:52And then we're just trying to maintain the quality of the milk really.
10:54Yeah.
10:55And it's the ultimate goal then that all of the milk from here will go in to making cream?
10:58Every litre.
10:59Every litre.
11:00Every litre wants to go through that creamery, yeah.
11:02Yeah, fantastic.
11:03That's the plan.
11:04It'll happen.
11:05I'm sure it will.
11:06So the milk is coming from these milking machines up through these pipes into this vat
11:14and then it's stored and cooled in here in the dairy before being transported into the creamery.
11:23Let's go and get changed.
11:30So there's the cream coming out now.
11:32It's a beautiful colour, isn't it?
11:34So we're just going to check the consistency.
11:36Mm-hm.
11:37Check it's a nice thick golden cream.
11:39Yeah.
11:40Looks beautiful to me.
11:42There's a fine art to getting it right.
11:44Different fat content gives different results.
11:47Oh, that is luxury in a bucket, that.
11:51Henry adds back a tiny amount of the separated part of the milk called skim.
11:56There we go.
11:57Mm-hm.
11:58It's only the smallest little bit of skim we need to put back in.
12:01Just to get that kind of...
12:03It's not looking too bad to me.
12:04...bright amount of runniness.
12:06Yeah.
12:07Only when the fat content is right can the clotted cream making really begin.
12:12We can't go over there because this is the top secret there.
12:15Yeah, you just stay over there now.
12:17So that's pretty good cream, that is.
12:19Is it?
12:20Good.
12:21Yeah.
12:22That's as generic as we can go.
12:24Now for the big moment, when the cream becomes clotted cream.
12:28And for that to happen, you have to bake it.
12:31Yep, bake it.
12:32This would normally be the bit where we say at what temperature and for how long,
12:37but guess what?
12:38That's a secret as well.
12:40Roughly ballpark figure.
12:41Under two hours, over an hour.
12:43Okay.
12:44That'll do.
12:45So after under two hours, but over an hour, the baked cream goes into a fridge overnight
12:52to really thicken up.
12:54And that's how they've ended up making clotted cream in a village of Clotten.
12:59I still don't know why Henry hasn't called it Clotten cream.
13:09I'm spending the day in Worcestershire on the Padder family farm.
13:12Right, Adam, we especially set something up for you.
13:15A little taster.
13:16Let me introduce you to young Giovanni, my cousin's daughter.
13:19Hello.
13:20Hello.
13:21Lovely to meet you.
13:22Still in the family.
13:23Jazz.
13:24Yeah, good to see you.
13:25Good to see you.
13:26This is lovely.
13:27Wonderful.
13:28So what have you got here then?
13:29We've got seven varieties of stories here.
13:32Seven varieties?
13:33Why have you got so many?
13:34What happens is because all varieties come different times.
13:37So they have their phase, first phase, second phase, third phase, because the customers demand.
13:41So we get a continuity from April to middle of November.
13:44From April to November?
13:46Yeah.
13:47November, yeah.
13:48Wow, that's a lot.
13:49So the different varieties ripen at different stages, but do they taste different too?
13:52Yes, you tell me.
13:53Is it a different taste or not?
13:54Right.
13:58Well, it's delicious.
13:59Very sweet.
14:00Yeah, then try another one.
14:03What do you think?
14:04What's your favourite in like these two?
14:06Wow.
14:07Actually, I really like that one.
14:10Slightly crunchier.
14:11Yeah.
14:12Maybe a little bit sweeter.
14:13Really lovely.
14:14Yeah, that variety is quite sweeter than that one.
14:16Is it?
14:17Testing for sweetness isn't just done by taste.
14:20This clever bit of kit is called a refractometer, and it measures sugar levels in the juice of the fruit.
14:27What should that be, Jazz, to be perfect?
14:29Normally we have ten, twelve.
14:31No, not below seven.
14:32So at the moment this is fourteen point three, it's like a record.
14:35So fourteen point three, that's really high?
14:37That's really, really high, yeah.
14:38And why is it so good?
14:40Because the weather has been really, really nice.
14:42The spring was really warm and the nights were cold.
14:46Yeah.
14:47The plants make the sugar in the daytime and convert into the fruit later.
14:51And there's love in it as well, isn't it?
14:52So everybody here has got a bit of love in it as well, so it's got that little bit of uniqueness as well.
14:56Selling all of these strawberries, I mean that must be a logistical nightmare, is it?
15:00How do you move them all to different places?
15:02Well, that's a bad job.
15:03That's a bad job.
15:05That's where you come in.
15:06You push it onto me.
15:07We're trying to get it within 24 hours.
15:08Pick it today, pack it today and out.
15:10So it's within 24 hours each story.
15:1224 hours, yeah.
15:13It will be on the shelves, yeah.
15:14The record we've had is 12 hours.
15:1512 hours, yeah.
15:1612 hours, yeah.
15:1712 hours, yeah.
15:19The latest trial on the farm uses any surplus or wonky fruit for a new potential product.
15:26It was initially developed as a treat for Makan, who's diabetic.
15:31We produce germs that have more fruit and less sugar.
15:36So this is for your dad?
15:37For my dad.
15:38Yeah.
15:39Do you want to taste it?
15:40Yeah, yeah, why not?
15:41It's, like, delicious.
15:46Mmm.
15:47I'm not just saying it, but that is really, really good.
15:49Yeah.
15:50Because you don't actually...
15:51There's so much sugar in the fruit.
15:53You don't need to add sugar, do you?
15:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:55I'm going to put some more on.
15:56Yeah.
15:57So you're family too?
15:58Yeah, so I am the third generation.
16:01I am his cousin's daughter.
16:02Okay.
16:03And my background is more kind of accountancy, but, like, here working in the farm, it's,
16:08like, very different experience and a very wonderful experience.
16:13It's, like, seeing people putting their hard work, it's, like, motivates you to do more
16:18hard work.
16:19He speaks very highly of you, Baal.
16:20I know.
16:21They do.
16:22I played him with strawberries and jam.
16:23Yeah.
16:24Good currency if you're having it, you know what I mean?
16:26It's wonderful.
16:27And from these conversations, you know, as a family, I can sort of feel the passion.
16:30It is a passion.
16:31Most of the time we spend here, we just go home, let's sleep, and come back here.
16:35So that's our passion, you know.
16:36We love it.
16:37Yeah.
16:38Living, eating and breathing.
16:39Yeah.
16:40That's it, yeah.
16:41Let's celebrate that by eating some more.
16:42Yeah!
16:43Yeah!
16:44Yeah!
16:45These British strawberries are a true taste of summer.
16:50A couple of years ago, Sean was in Cambridgeshire for another sweet seasonal harvest.
16:58This is buckwheat, and it's got a rather particular smell.
17:04It's actually an edible seed, and when milled, creates a gluten-free flower.
17:09But we're not going to be harvesting it or doing anything else with it today, because
17:13it wasn't planted for us.
17:15It was planted for them.
17:21Despite the unusual smell, artisan honey producers Simon Crossan and wife Caroline
17:27love the stuff.
17:30So what's the buzz all about?
17:33Simon, Caroline.
17:34Hi, Sean.
17:35How are you doing?
17:36It looks like I'm going to need one of those.
17:37You're definitely going to need one of these.
17:38Do you need one of these?
17:39Great.
17:40And some gloves.
17:41So how easy is it to get one of these?
17:42Oh, I see.
17:43So I just...
17:44What is it that sort of got you into bees?
17:45Well, this man used to have honey in his tea, and I saw somebody advertise a beekeeping
17:51course.
17:52So that was literally it?
17:53Yeah, yeah.
17:54He just had a lot of honey and you just...
17:55And he could produce his own honey rather than me buying it all the time.
17:58Yeah.
17:59So where does your knowledge come from?
18:00So I was lucky enough to work for a charity called Bees Abroad, who allowed me to take
18:05what we called a bee safari.
18:06And I brought lots of useful information from that.
18:09And there's a couple of nasty parasites, diseases that come from all parts of the world.
18:15Maybe in a decade or so, we might start to suffer.
18:18So it was nice having that first-hand knowledge.
18:21You are...
18:22Head over the top.
18:24Since starting in 2021, Simon and Caroline currently have around 680,000 bees.
18:32But we're not the only ones after the honey.
18:36And just getting up to this one, you can see that there's...
18:39I mean, there's quite a few bees, but there's quite a few wasps.
18:41It's been a problem.
18:43And what do the wasps do?
18:45Well, they attack the bees.
18:47They'll get inside the hive, and they're after the honey more than anything, but they
18:51could strip out everything in there.
18:53So what do you do?
18:54How do you get the wasps out?
18:55Well, we have to let nature take its course to a degree.
18:59And you can see on the top, there's a few dead wasps there.
19:04So that's the bees have killed the wasps?
19:06Yeah, I think the wasps have gone to this, what we call a travelling screen, and the bees
19:10have got hold of it.
19:13The bees have successfully defended their honey against the wasps, and thankfully,
19:17don't seem too bothered by our intrusion.
19:20One bee in there looks a little bit different.
19:23Oh, my word.
19:25That's the queen bee, is it?
19:26That's the queen.
19:27I've never seen a queen bee before.
19:30Let's see if we can find some honey.
19:32Ah, show me the honey.
19:38Well, I'm getting that smell of buckwheat now.
19:40You can't miss it, can you, that buckwheat smell?
19:43This is all the honey.
19:45Oh, it's heavy, isn't it?
19:47About two and a half kilos.
19:49That's like two and a half bags of sugar.
19:52Yeah.
19:53This is just laden with honey.
19:55How much honey does a bee create?
19:57Around about one teaspoon per bee.
20:00One teaspoon?
20:01God, it puts into perspective, you know, actually, when you have that teaspoon of honey in your tea,
20:06how much work has gone in to create that?
20:09How long does it take them to produce this amount?
20:11Dependent on the weather, they might fill them all up in a few weeks, or if it's wet and cold, they can't go out and forage, so they stay at home and consume themselves.
20:20But like we do, just sit on the sofa and eat.
20:22Yeah.
20:25Leaving the scent of buckwheat behind, we've harvested a frame of honey to take back to the farmhouse.
20:30The moment of truth.
20:37Take a bit of that.
20:38The honeycomb's coming off with it, is that?
20:40Yeah, all of it.
20:41Get it all.
20:42Get it all in.
20:43I don't think I went big enough there.
20:45Go big or go home.
20:46Yeah.
20:47Oh, it's wonderful.
20:51Wow.
20:52The bees have transformed this buckwheat, which has got a sort of strange sort of smell into a richness that's in the honey.
20:58It's one of the strongest tasting honeys.
21:00It's really beautiful, isn't it?
21:02Yeah, it is.
21:03But it needs to be had with a slice of bread.
21:06I'll show you one of those.
21:07There you go.
21:08I'm just going to use the knife.
21:09Yeah, scoop in there.
21:10It's gone in.
21:11Gone in.
21:12There we are.
21:13Oh, look at that.
21:15It's going to get a bit messy.
21:18Perfect.
21:19Beautiful.
21:20Beautiful.
21:21Beautiful.
21:22Love it.
21:29From the bees of Cambridgeshire.
21:33To the buzz of the Padder family farm in Worcestershire.
21:38This is a proper family operation.
21:39Everyone has their roles to keep the wheels turning.
21:42I'm going to catch up with Bao and he's going to take me down to the packing room where I'm going to meet his cousins,
21:47love for it and happy.
21:48And then we're going to go up into the office and see his son, TJ.
21:59Come on in, Adam.
22:00Here we go.
22:01Oh, look at this.
22:02This looks very smart.
22:03Very smart.
22:04Yes, it is.
22:05First year of packing.
22:06All latest equipment brought this year, ready for the season.
22:08And this fruit is coming straight from the field?
22:10Straight from the field.
22:11What we've seen earlier on this morning, it's picked and it's brought here, ready to get packed.
22:14And you can see it getting packed and getting going.
22:16Amazing.
22:17And once it's in the punnets, where does it go?
22:19Into shops or supermarkets?
22:20Everywhere.
22:21Retailers, supermarkets, wholesalers, everywhere.
22:23Let me introduce you to one of my cousins.
22:25This is lovely.
22:26Hello.
22:27Adam.
22:28Hello.
22:29Lovely to meet you.
22:30More family members.
22:31Family members everywhere, Adam.
22:32We've got a big family.
22:33She runs the operation side of it.
22:35How heavy do they have to be?
22:37400.
22:38400.
22:39And so 430, is that too much?
22:41That's OK.
22:42Now punnet weight, 15 grams punnet weight.
22:44OK, so a little bit extra for the punnet.
22:46Yeah.
22:47Do you want to give it a go, Adam?
22:48Yeah, look.
22:49I'm on it.
22:50OK.
22:51Take one out.
22:52Take a little one out.
22:53Yeah, a little one out.
22:54You don't want to give too many away, Val, do you?
22:57There you go, there's loads in there.
22:58That's too many, isn't it?
22:59Yeah.
23:01Right.
23:02There you go.
23:03Busy, love, husband.
23:04Happy, happy, happy.
23:05Oh, OK.
23:06Good to meet you.
23:07And what were you doing in India before?
23:08Before I was a bank manager.
23:10You were a bank manager?
23:11Yeah.
23:12Banking the same as it is.
23:13You get accounting, everything.
23:14Every strawberry's accounting.
23:15So there you go.
23:16Yeah, sure.
23:17It's all about money.
23:18And is it good to be working with family?
23:19Yeah, yeah, it's very good.
23:20It's OK.
23:21It's my boss, boss.
23:22Family member afterwards.
23:23Boss at work, but family when you're out of work.
23:25Yeah, yeah.
23:26And there's quite a lot of them there that I did
23:28and now the correct weight.
23:29Oh, you have to, you have to do it.
23:32OK, show me again.
23:33OK, so I'm checking quality.
23:35Yeah.
23:36No.
23:37Too heavy.
23:38This is too.
23:39Too heavy.
23:40Yeah, yeah.
23:41Still too heavy.
23:42Yeah, yeah.
23:43You have to take out more.
23:44One more.
23:45Good.
23:46Good to go.
23:47Now you can put in the line.
23:48Is it OK?
23:51Happy's not very happy with my work.
23:53OK, thank you.
23:54This is smooth.
23:57He's telling me to get lost.
23:58Go on, Adam.
23:59Get on some sales as well.
24:00Thank you, everybody.
24:04The business side of things is run from a small office on the farm.
24:08Bal's eldest brother, Harjit, and his team look after the finances.
24:14And Bal's son, TJ, is following in his dad's footsteps, getting stuck into sales and marketing.
24:20OK, send it over.
24:21Let's have a look at it.
24:22I'll speak to the old man, and we'll come back to you, won't it?
24:25With pad of strawberries going out to major supermarkets and wholesalers.
24:29Hello, mate.
24:30Hi, TJ.
24:31How are you?
24:32Nice to meet you.
24:33Sorry to interrupt.
24:34It's a vital part of the operation.
24:37TJ, you've got a really important job here, haven't you?
24:39Dealing with large players in the marketplace.
24:42Yes.
24:43And your family business seems to be very integrated.
24:45Everyone's got their own little jobs.
24:46Does it work?
24:47You've got your own sector.
24:48Yeah.
24:49So Grandad obviously started it.
24:50The old man and Mia are doing sales.
24:52He's obviously leading it.
24:53I'm behind him.
24:54Then I've got my uncle.
24:55My dad's older brother doing the finance with his lad.
24:57Your cousin's in finance, so he's dealing with all the money?
24:59Yep, dealing with all the money.
25:01And the youngest one, because there's three grandsons,
25:03he's doing all the field work, checking on the people,
25:05making sure stuff's going on, making sure people are good.
25:08He's only just turned 18 as well.
25:10Right, wow.
25:11So he's come straight into the family business he has.
25:12Cousins, brothers, dads and sons, you know,
25:15often there's got to be a bit of angst.
25:17Yes, we've all got egos, I'll give you that.
25:19We've all got massive egos and that comes in the family,
25:21but I think we all grew up very close.
25:23We all grew up in Grandad's house.
25:25Come over the summer, after school,
25:27my nan would always cook everyone a meal seven days a week,
25:30even to the point she'd cook meals to send with my Grandad
25:32over to the farm, not just for the people,
25:34my old man or my uncle,
25:36it was for people that worked here,
25:37people that have come from different countries.
25:39There's always food on the table,
25:41so it's that family-orientated vibe we've always had.
25:44And is that part of your faith as well?
25:46Yeah, yeah, to be there, be equal.
25:48Everyone's the same level, everyone's human.
25:50There's no difference in anyone,
25:52culture, religion, background, nothing like that.
25:55It sounds wonderful, really.
25:57I mean, it's this kind of perfect situation,
25:59although I know farming isn't easy.
26:00No, it's not easy. No, but nothing's easy.
26:03Nothing's as easy as it.
26:04So working hard, doing it, you get the enjoyment,
26:06but you sometimes get the hard days.
26:08We argue, we fight, but we make up, you know.
26:11It shows in the strawberry and the berries that we provide,
26:14and that people buy and eat.
26:16TJ, great to meet you. It's a pleasure.
26:18This area is famed for its fruit production,
26:21and while the Padda family still handpick
26:23all their fruit here in Worcestershire,
26:26a few years ago we crossed the border into Herefordshire
26:29to meet Stephen Hare,
26:31who was trying out a high-tech cherry harvester on his farm.
26:36I'm a third-generation farmer.
26:38My grandfather moved here in 1943.
26:41Now we've moved on to what we call an agroforestry system,
26:45and that's a diverse mix of trees alongside arable.
26:53So this is what I mean by agroforestry.
26:55Instead of having a huge monoculture right the way across the field,
26:59we started off by planting a wildlife corridor.
27:02On either side of this we've grown two rows of cherry trees.
27:06So as well as giving us more light and air around the trees,
27:11we link a hedgerow at one end of the field
27:15to a hedgerow at the far end of the field,
27:17which gives us plenty of natural predators
27:19to predate on any pests attacking our fruit trees.
27:24And with the cherries ripe for harvesting,
27:27true to nature, Stephen's about to try something different.
27:31Meet the beast from the east.
27:35Stephen's hoping this clever Polish machine
27:38will shake the cherries off his trees
27:41and save him from hiring pickers to harvest them by hand.
27:45Yeah, so this machine will shake and catch the fruit
27:50so it doesn't touch the floor and get any bacteria.
27:53It is obviously a gamble, but business is about risk.
27:56Looking forward to the harvest is Stephen's colleague Richard from Latvia.
28:01It is a fantastic feeling when you can go in the field
28:03and see how well you have done.
28:06But already there's a problem with the 50,000-pound machine
28:11they're having to assemble themselves.
28:13A glitch which could scupper the day.
28:16Seems they have delivered the machine without the nut
28:20which has a very specific thread.
28:22I'll see if I can fit a different bolt in there.
28:24It is a very specific one. It has a spacer on it as well.
28:27At the moment I'm struggling to find something that's long enough.
28:31Luckily, with a bit of improvisation, the machine's ready to roll.
28:37Hopefully.
28:39So if we can fix it in securely and safely then once it's on, it's on.
28:43So give me a shout if you need a hand, Rhys.
28:46I need a hand.
28:47You need a hand?
28:48Yeah.
28:49All right.
28:56Harvest time, at last.
28:59We've never used a shake-and-catch harvester before,
29:02so it's all new to us.
29:04I'm obviously apprehensive because we don't know till later
29:07whether this is going to work.
29:11If the shake is too rough, it could destroy the tree roots,
29:14which would be a disaster.
29:16So what we're going to do is drive alongside the trees.
29:19We then extend the sail underneath the tree,
29:22which creates like an umbrella almost underneath it.
29:26Then we shake the tree with a jaw,
29:29and that means the fruit lands on the sail.
29:32That's then retracted onto a conveyor,
29:35and then it gets placed into a big plastic bin.
29:39First tree done, and the high-tech harvester is looking promising.
29:43We've got cherries, and we've got a tree still in the ground.
29:46So, so far, so good.
29:48But then they notice another problem.
29:51What we've found is these cable ties here are starting to break off,
29:56and I'm communicating with the factory
29:59and make sure we don't do any irreparable damage.
30:02You can sometimes have regrets that you're trying something new,
30:07and it's a frustration.
30:08If only I had just stayed conventional,
30:11it would have been an awful lot easier.
30:13But actually, that's what I thrive on.
30:15Luckily, the Polish manufacturers explain the mystery.
30:19Panic over.
30:20It looks like we didn't have the machine calibrated correctly.
30:23It's the downside of being an innovator, isn't it?
30:26It must be mighty frustrating because I'm always trying new things
30:29and he's having to clear up the mess behind it.
30:36With the harvester now calibrated correctly, the cherries are rolling in.
30:41What would take a person half an hour to pick from a tree,
30:45the machine gathers in just a minute, saving weeks of labour.
30:50I'm really pleased.
30:52And it was a lot, lot easier than hand-picking.
30:55So, great sample of cherries.
31:00And no stains on my hand.
31:03Much easier, much easier, much better.
31:12Now it's that time of year again,
31:14when we invite you to show us the countryside through your lens.
31:18Our Countryfile Photographic Competition is now open.
31:22Here's John with how to enter.
31:25Our country is blessed with an incredible array of beautiful settings.
31:37And opportunities to capture on camera its wonderful wildlife.
31:42The theme this year is wild encounters.
31:48We'll be looking for photographs that reveal the untamed side of our countryside in all its glory.
31:59It could be a captivating landscape or a magical encounter with wildlife.
32:04Whatever you choose, we want to see your interpretation of what a wild encounter really is.
32:11From all the entries received, 12 photographs will be selected to feature in the Countryfile calendar for 2026.
32:23This much-loved calendar is sold in support of BBC Children in Need, a tradition that dates back to 1998.
32:32Thanks to your continued support over the years, more than £33 million has been raised to help change young lives across the UK.
32:42The photographs that you've submitted over the years have made it all possible.
32:49So now's your chance to once again head out into our green spaces to capture in vivid detail all that the countryside offers.
32:58Once all the entries are in, a panel including yours truly and a celebrity judge will choose the winning photographs that will star in the Countryfile calendar for 2026, sold in aid to BBC Children in Need.
33:13And there will be an overall winning photo chosen by you, our Countryfile viewers.
33:19Not only will that picture feature on the cover of the calendar, but the winner will also get a £1000 gift card to spend on photographic equipment of their choice.
33:32And the person who takes the judge's favourite photo will receive a gift card of £500 to be a £1000 gift card to spend on photographic equipment of their choice.
33:44You can enter up to three photographs in total that fit with the theme Wild Encountered.
34:03To submit your photographs, go to bbc.co.uk forward slash Countryfile where you'll find a link to the entry form.
34:12Photographs that have won national or international competitions or have been taken by professionals can't be submitted.
34:20Pictures must have been taken within the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
34:25And I'm sorry, but we can only accept online entries.
34:29All the details on how to enter the competition can be found on our website, plus the terms and conditions and privacy notice.
34:39The competition submission period closes at 10am on Monday 28th July 2025.
34:49And now, it's over to you. Get out there with your cameras, your smartphones, your tablets and capture your images of Wild Encounters.
34:59We can't wait to see you.
35:13Back in Worcestershire, I'm spending the day with the Padder family on their soft fruit farm.
35:18So far, I've picked, packed and tasted.
35:26But now, I want to hear from the man who started the whole venture.
35:30Makan and his wife, pal Binda.
35:33It's wonderful what you have here, but it came from small beginnings.
35:40When we started, we got a few acres.
35:44Yes.
35:45Greenhouse and I think 3,500 bags.
35:49OK.
35:50Keep growing every year.
35:52Wonderful.
35:53And have you always worked together?
35:55We were very close to each other.
35:57Yeah.
35:58We've never been separate since we married.
36:02And how long have you been in England?
36:04When did you arrive here?
36:05Oh, when I got nothing here.
36:08When you were a boy.
36:10I came in here in 1966.
36:12And how difficult was it, though, in those early years?
36:16We're both working in the field.
36:19Really?
36:20Yes.
36:21We're picking sprout together.
36:23And we're picking gooseberry, rhubarb cutting.
36:27We both go together.
36:28Apple, apple, apple.
36:31From starting out as pickers on farms here in the UK,
36:34they've now built a thriving business of their own.
36:38And look at all these people that you employ.
36:41Hello, Mr. Padder.
36:42Hello, you all right?
36:44Hello.
36:45You're providing an income for all of these people?
36:48Yes.
36:49There's a real sense of community here,
36:51of a wider family, grounded in farming and in faith.
36:59Tell me, what are you doing here?
37:06Makans bought this traditional Sikh offering
37:08to share with a team of workers
37:10that hail from nine different countries.
37:15Nothing more important than farming.
37:16Nothing more important than farming?
37:18Yes.
37:19Because we've got good people and good family.
37:23Truthfully, I'm very, very happy with what I'm doing.
37:28The Padder family's story is one of heritage finding a new home.
37:39Back in 2019, Anita met a family in Cornwall,
37:43who had also brought their farming traditions to British soil.
37:46In the late 1990s, Anne-Marie Spearing and her husband, Joost,
37:54brought their young family from Holland
37:56to follow their dream of running a small dairy farm in Cornwall.
37:59Their youngest son, Giel, is now an integral part of the family business.
38:06But just nine years ago, this farm was on the brink of collapse.
38:11How does a Dutch family have a farm in Cornwall?
38:15Well, we had a farm in Holland, but my husband always wanted to milk cows.
38:20In Holland, it was £1.35 per litre to buy the milk quotum,
38:23and in the UK, we paid 35 pence per litre.
38:26So here we could afford the farm and the cows and the milk quotum.
38:31But it was tougher than any of them imagined.
38:34Milk prices have been always, like, going up and down,
38:36but, you know, over the years they were more down than up.
38:40At the end of the year, if we broke even, we were like,
38:42oh, yeah, we broke even, which is not good, is it?
38:45And we thought we were just going to sell the farm
38:47and we'll see what we do, you know?
38:49We just couldn't do it any more.
38:51It must have been absolutely devastating.
38:54Yeah, I sort of just came home from school
38:56to the decision that we were going to sell the farm.
38:59We all wanted to carry on farming, you know, there was no doubt about that.
39:02So we thought, let's try and make the milk pay look into a dairy product.
39:06I went to Holland, where my cousin makes a bit of cheese,
39:08a bit more larger scale, but he taught me the basis of cheese making.
39:12And then I bought a book all about, you know, how to make gouda
39:16and just started making cheese in our...in the shed.
39:20Has anyone made any cheese before?
39:22Yeah, so my mum made a...
39:24She actually went on a gouda-making course in Holland
39:27when she was pregnant with me.
39:29It's like it's a sign!
39:31It all makes sense now.
39:33He may only have been 17 at the time,
39:37but Giel's idea turned this farm's fortunes around.
39:43But it's not just the cheese and Giel's family that hail from the Netherlands.
39:46The extended family do too.
39:50Their 200-strong herd of pedigree Frisians are a Dutch breed,
39:54and it's Anne-Marie and her husband's job to look after them.
39:58How important is the quality of your milk for the cheese?
40:00Very, because if the quality of the food isn't good,
40:04then you can taste that in the milk.
40:07So what are they fed on?
40:08We get like a silage.
40:10It's grass silage and maize silage and whole crop barley.
40:14So we make a first cut silage over the whole clan
40:17and then we do a spring barley on top of it
40:19and then a third on top of that for the weights.
40:22And then we feed the same the whole year,
40:24because it's like a lasagna over the whole length,
40:26so they get the whole year the same food.
40:28Anne-Marie, when you think about your life now
40:31compared to where you were in 2012?
40:33Yes, yeah, it's a lot less.
40:36It's probably even more work,
40:38but it's just wonderful, you know, it's wonderful,
40:40because if Giel wasn't doing this, we would not be here, would we?
40:43I have no idea where we would be,
40:45but we would not be here farming,
40:46and we love this place, you know, it's magical.
40:53Giel was 19 years old when he started the company.
40:56Seven years on,
40:57and he's now making 22 wheels of cheese every day.
41:02And the best bit,
41:04he buys the milk from his parents' herd to make it.
41:09What is it that makes this Gouda Cornish?
41:13Literally, the milk itself.
41:15That is the entire aspect of it,
41:18so we believe that Cornwall provides us with the best grass,
41:23and it's all about the grass,
41:25because that's where all the flavour comes from
41:27in terms of the cheesemaking.
41:29The curds go into the moulds.
41:32One for here.
41:34I can't do it.
41:35I don't know you.
41:36Thanks.
41:37Thanks, Giel.
41:38Which is a little trickier and heavier than I'd imagined.
41:41Oh, Giel, I'm...
41:43They are heavy.
41:44Sorry.
41:45That's all right.
41:46We can do some more Anita-sized ones if you like.
41:48Now he brings out the little ones.
41:50And just go straight in?
41:51Straight in.
41:52That's it.
41:53Look at that, see?
41:54I can do that.
41:55Yeah.
41:56Now that I've clearly mastered the cheese moulding,
41:58it's into the brining room
42:00where the cheese begins to form its rind.
42:03We never change the brine,
42:05so this is the same brine as seven years ago.
42:08A lot of the flavour sits in the brine itself.
42:11This is our recipe, this is what makes us so unique.
42:14So now we need to basically turn them all around.
42:16The more you splosh around with the brine,
42:19the higher the pH goes,
42:21and we need to be keeping the pH below five.
42:23So you have to be really gentle with it.
42:29Gosh, they need a lot of love and care and attention, don't they?
42:32Do you have to speak to them in Dutch?
42:34Oh, I normally put the radio on and listen to some music.
42:39The final part of the process
42:41is the one I've been looking forward to the most.
42:43It's where the gouda is matured.
42:46Look, it's a cheese cane!
42:48Yeah.
42:49Currently there's 35 tonnes in here.
42:52Look at the size of that cheese wheel!
42:55Oh, yeah, that'd get your biceps going, wouldn't it?
42:59Every single wheel in here needs five coatings of wax.
43:03It helps protect the cheese from drying out too much
43:06during the maturing process,
43:08which is four months for a mild flavour
43:10and up to three years for the most mature.
43:14One down, 75,000 to go!
43:18Now, I couldn't come all this way without having a taste, could I?
43:23This is what I've been waiting for.
43:25How old is this one?
43:26So, this one's ten months old.
43:27This is our award winner.
43:29Oh, it smells fantastic.
43:33Mmm.
43:35Mmm.
43:36Creamy, salty.
43:38Yeah, you've got that nice butteriness to it
43:40while still having a really rich depth flavour.
43:42It's amazing.
43:43Thank you very much.
43:44It's delicious.
43:45Super good.
43:46I'll just take this one.
43:48Yeah.
43:49That's me done.
43:50Look at the smile on my face.
43:51It's been warming up all day,
44:02but I wonder whether the weather will be ripening in the week ahead.
44:05Here's the Countryfile forecast.
44:12Hello.
44:13Temperatures today have pushed over the 30 Celsius mark
44:16in the hottest areas as heatwave number three draws to a close,
44:19but it was even hotter yesterday.
44:21Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded their hottest day of the year so far yesterday,
44:26but not for England and the UK.
44:27No, the highest temperature so far this year
44:30was recorded on the 1st of July in Faversham in Kent, 35.8 degrees Celsius.
44:35How hot is that?
44:37Well, if we look at the hottest days for the last 75 years,
44:41you can see it's really rare to get temperatures above the 35 degrees Celsius mark,
44:47although it is becoming a little bit more common over recent years because of climate change.
44:52Meanwhile, if we look at our cooler summers when they come along,
44:55back in decades gone by,
44:57some of our summers we didn't even see temperatures reach the 30 Celsius mark.
45:01But in our warmer world, nowadays,
45:04we always see summertime temperatures above the 30 degree mark.
45:07And again, that is another sign of climate change.
45:10Now, as our heatwave draws to a close,
45:13we are looking at Atlantic weather draws to a close.
45:16We are looking at Atlantic weather system bringing rain and showers in overnight to western areas.
45:21It will be another warm night for sleeping though,
45:23with temperatures at 11 o'clock still well up into the 20s.
45:26Cooler and fresher air will arrive later in the night.
45:29Now for Monday and Tuesday,
45:32this area of low pressure is going to be bringing cooler and fresher air moving in off the Atlantic.
45:38With that, there will come rain and showers,
45:40and some of the rain can be quite heavy at times too,
45:42even with a rumble of thunder.
45:44So for Monday, a real transition day.
45:46A day for those of you that hate the heat to celebrate,
45:49because for most it will be fresher.
45:51Could be some thunderstorms mixed in with these downpours mind you.
45:54Temperatures for most areas of the UK falling back into the low 20s,
45:58but it will still be quite hot across eastern areas of England.
46:0127, 28 degrees Celsius on the cards.
46:04Heading into Tuesday,
46:06some very wet weather for the hills of Wales and northern England.
46:0920 to 40 millimeters of rain.
46:11The cooler air arrives along with the rain across eastern areas of England.
46:15Although there will be heavy rain around,
46:17it won't be enough to reverse the hosepipe bands that are in force in parts of the country.
46:21It won't really make much in the way of a difference,
46:24but certainly a cooler and fresher feeling day.
46:26Now later this week,
46:28we'll see weather systems try to move into western areas of the UK,
46:32but high pressure never far away from the south and east,
46:36where it will probably get a bit warmer as the week goes by.
46:39Weather-wise on Wednesday, really a day of sunshine and showers.
46:42Some of the showers could end up being quite heavy,
46:44maybe even with an odd rumble of thunder across parts of eastern England.
46:48Another clutch of showers potentially working into the west.
46:51Temperatures quite widely into the 20s,
46:54feeling warm in the July sunshine.
46:56Into Thursday,
46:58it looks like the heaviest rain will be working into the northwest of the UK,
47:01particularly northwest Scotland.
47:02Again, there could be an odd rumble of thunder here.
47:04Quite a lot of cloud out west,
47:06the best of the sunshine across eastern areas,
47:08and that is where we'll see some of the highest temperatures.
47:11In London, we're back up to 28 Celsius.
47:14Well, that's on the threshold for a heat wave in London.
47:18We need three consecutive days for that.
47:20So could we be looking at heat wave four?
47:22Well, maybe.
47:23Friday, again, a lot of dry weather and sunshine across central and eastern areas of England.
47:27Some showers, maybe some thunderstorms working into the southwest later in the day.
47:32Our temperatures, well, around 24 in Glasgow, up to 29 in London,
47:36and above the heat wave threshold in Cardiff.
47:38So, a brief dip in temperatures this week over the next few days,
47:42but warmer by the end of the week.
47:51I'm here with the Padder family on their strawberry farm in the Vale of Evesham.
47:55Strawberries have long been a staple of the British summer.
47:59But there's another berry, still relatively new to UK soils,
48:04that's becoming a regular in our fruit bowls.
48:06A couple of years ago, Sean visited the Mee family on their farm in Northamptonshire,
48:11just in time for the blueberry harvest.
48:13Today, these little berries are so familiar that it's hard to believe that in the not-too-distant past,
48:20they were considered an exotic luxury, mainly grown in North and South America.
48:26They were introduced to the UK in the 50s,
48:29and for a few decades, just one farm was responsible for growing every British blueberry.
48:35Now their popularity is on the rise,
48:37and the Mee's are one of around 20 farms busy harvesting them at this time of year.
48:44I'm meeting Zoe Mee, who has embraced farming these super fruits.
48:49So, the farm here was predominantly arable,
48:54and arable farming is quite a volatile industry,
48:58so we're always looking at ways of making the business more sustainable and spreading our risk.
49:06We had an advisor, and he could see how the demand was growing around the world,
49:11and here we are today with 35 acres of blueberries.
49:15Wow.
49:16Did you know anything about blueberries before?
49:19We knew absolutely nothing about blueberries.
49:21Really?
49:22They like acidic, very loose soil, so we have planted them in a compost,
49:27which is made up of recycled garden waste.
49:30They like the warmth, but then because they're under polytunnels, they then need water.
49:35A couple of seconds ago, you told me before you knew nothing about blueberries.
49:38Blueberries, now you know everything about blueberries.
49:40You just sort of learnt this as you were going along.
49:41Yes, yes.
49:42It takes a good sort of five, six years to actually get a good yield from a blueberry plant.
49:46So, at any time during those five years, do you think,
49:49maybe we've done the wrong thing, I'm not quite sure?
49:51Because it's a long time, isn't it, to wait for a harvest?
49:53Yeah, yeah.
49:54I've had lots of sleepless nights.
49:56You wake up in a cold sweat worrying about it.
49:58They've got a really interesting appearance, haven't they?
50:03Because they've got this, it's almost like a sort of cover on the skin, it feels like, a whitey...
50:07That's what we call the bloom, and that's very natural,
50:10and it shows that they haven't been handled very much.
50:13How much bigger will they get?
50:14Well, this variety can grow to about the size of a 50 pence piece.
50:18I mean, that's massive, I've not seen a blueberry that size.
50:20It is huge.
50:23In the prime harvesting months of June to September,
50:26the Mee family employ 44 blueberry pickers to harvest their 58,000 blueberry plants.
50:33Right back at the beginning, when you first decided to do blueberries,
50:37almost, it felt like when talking to you, you were forced to diversify to survive.
50:41Yes, yes.
50:42And now you're forced to modernise because you're successful in producing blueberries.
50:45Yes.
50:46We've managed to automate the pack house.
50:48One of those bits of equipment is an optigrader.
50:51Optigrader, wow.
50:52Yes, yes.
50:53Sounds like a baddie in a film or something.
50:55It's like a monster.
50:56Overseeing this beast is manager Charlotte Foster, who I'm meeting in the pack house.
51:02It's noisy, isn't it?
51:03Yes, yes.
51:04This is where the magic happens then?
51:05Indeed.
51:06This looks really high tech.
51:07What's happening here?
51:08It takes about nine photos of every berry coming through the line.
51:09What it's doing is it's telling us if it's got defects or if any are undersized for the run
51:15that we're doing, if it's got pest damage or if it's got pest damage or it's underripe.
51:16And then it will come out on this.
51:17And it can tell just from a photo.
51:18Yes, just by that photo.
51:19Or nine photos.
51:20So, here it will show you the firmness.
51:21So, this one's showing 34.
51:22That's an individual.
51:23It's an individual.
51:24It's a high tech.
51:25What's happening here?
51:26Yes.
51:27It takes about nine photos of every berry coming through the line.
51:28What it's doing is it's telling us if it's got defects or if any are undersized for the
51:32run that we're doing.
51:33If it's got pest damage or it's underripe.
51:36And then it will come out on this.
51:37And it can tell just from a photo.
51:40Yes.
51:41Just by that photo.
51:42Or nine photos.
51:43So, here it will show you the firmness.
51:46So, this one's showing 34.
51:49That's an individual blueberry.
51:50Individual blueberry.
51:51And that's another one.
51:52Yes.
51:53And I'm just looking at the thousands you've got going through the system.
51:56Yes.
51:57So, there's a lot of blueberries.
51:58So, these are the five channels here.
52:01We have one channel for packing.
52:03We've got one for soft, one for deep red fruit and one for undersized fruit.
52:08This machine, it seems so good.
52:10Almost too good to be true.
52:11Yeah.
52:12Can we test it?
52:13Yeah.
52:14Go for it.
52:15So, put something else in.
52:16Yeah.
52:17Put some blueberries that clearly aren't ready.
52:18Yeah.
52:21See how this goes.
52:25Let's see if it finds them.
52:33Oh my gosh.
52:34Yeah.
52:35They're already coming through.
52:36This is them.
52:37Yeah.
52:38This is them.
52:39And it's got every one of them.
52:40Yeah.
52:41The octagrader has basically taken a load of photos.
52:42Yeah.
52:43Worked out that these aren't right.
52:44And chucked them out.
52:45Rejected them.
52:46Yeah.
52:47The rejected blueberries are put to good use in jam, ice lollies, sparkling wine and other
53:00treats made on the farm.
53:01So, these are the blueberries that won't be going to the shops.
53:04What about the ones that will be going?
53:06The good ones?
53:07Yeah.
53:08So, they are currently being packed the other side on the podic filler.
53:11The high standards of the octagrader allows the Meese to sell their blueberries as premium
53:16quality to supermarkets.
53:18The team are in full swing today and expect to process around three to four tonnes of blueberries.
53:25On a good day, they've been known to process one tonne per hour.
53:29So, these are the good ones?
53:30Yeah.
53:31So, this is everything that has gone through the machine and is the correct quality and
53:37size grade for the order that we're packing now.
53:39So, it's weighing them out, is it?
53:40Yeah.
53:41So, we've got the bulk belt here, which weighs the majority of the weight.
53:45And then we've got this small triple belt here, which then fills it with a few more barriers.
53:49And that tops it up just to make sure it's 400 grams.
53:52Yeah.
53:53Yeah.
53:54So, at the moment, we're probably packing about three, three and a half tonnes a day.
53:59I could sit here and watch this for days, hypnotised by the blueberry.
54:02Yeah.
54:03Yeah.
54:04Yeah.
54:05Yeah.
54:06Yeah.
54:07Yeah.
54:08Yeah.
54:09Yeah.
54:10Yeah.
54:11Yeah.
54:12Yeah.
54:13Yeah.
54:14Yeah.
54:15Yeah.
54:16Yeah.
54:17Yeah.
54:18Yeah.
54:19Yeah.
54:20But when your livelihood is at the mercy of the British weather, being a farmer is certainly
54:24no picnic.
54:26Well, it's such an impressive set-up you've got here, but farming isn't all easy, is it?
54:32It's not all easy.
54:33It's really difficult.
54:34We went to storms beginning of the season.
54:37We were a little bit delayed there.
54:38We had a lot of damage.
54:39A lot of tunnels were down and a lot of plastic damaged.
54:42But also, the weather is not predictable anymore.
54:44I remember this one day, I think it was last year, where you had everything, you had the
54:48snow, the wind, the sun and the rain, all in one go.
54:52So everything, you know, sometimes against you.
54:57It's beautiful weather now at the moment, and we've got a great crop.
55:00We're literally two weeks ahead of where we want to be.
55:02Sure.
55:03So you've got your staffing issues, you've got to get your staffing exactly right.
55:06We've got half the staff that we need to be picking what we're doing, because of
55:09how the system is and how we recruit staff and how the people are available, you've got
55:13to get your customer demand exactly right, because we need to be consistent in it.
55:16So, yeah, it is difficult.
55:18It's a very difficult job.
55:19Your father's obviously created something very special here.
55:22But isn't it time for him to take a step back and tire?
55:25Nah, come on.
55:26Nah, never.
55:27The Queen never retired, did she?
55:28You know, the Queen never retired, you know what I mean?
55:30So why should my dad?
55:31We need somebody, you know, pushing us, giving us that edge to go, yeah?
55:35How involved is he now on a day-to-day basis?
55:37Every day.
55:38My dad's here every day.
55:39Every single day.
55:40Probably the first person here, last person to leave.
55:42Involved in every conversation, from the sales to the growing side, to the management side,
55:47the hiring, the firing, everything.
55:48So he's still involved.
55:49Really?
55:50And it's good, because you know what?
55:51You need to be.
55:52So for him to leave, I can't see him ever doing it personally.
55:56Our culture is all about the beauty of farming, so once you're a farmer, you are that, that's
56:00what you are, because it's in your blood.
56:02Same for my family and my brother and our nephews as well, and my son.
56:07And with your dad carrying on, and you and your brother taking a very senior role in the
56:11business, you've got cousins coming through, but also your children.
56:14Yeah.
56:15How does that make you feel?
56:16I'm excited for them, I'm excited.
56:18Imagine coming back in like 50, 60 years and seeing where they've taken it.
56:22Can't wait to see what the future holds for them, plus us as well.
56:26At the end of every long picking day, the family gets together to eat.
56:32And today, I've been invited to join them.
56:35Can I squeeze in there somewhere?
56:38Is there room in the middle?
56:39Yep.
56:40That's astic.
56:41Wow.
56:42Traditional Indian Punjabi food.
56:44Is everyone related?
56:45Yep.
56:46Somewhere around there.
56:48Hell yeah.
56:49So Mr Singh, what is your proudest moment for the farm and the family?
56:54I'm very proud because my family here.
56:56It's quite a creation, isn't it?
56:58From starting just a few acres and a glass house to this.
57:02We only try to be a hobby.
57:04And for the two brothers working together now, I mean you're continuing to invest, aren't you?
57:08Lots of things happening.
57:09Yeah, we're investing not only in our children, in the structure, the infrastructure, the machinery, and looking at newer ways.
57:18Things are progressing all the time.
57:19All the time.
57:20So Mr Finance, where's the future?
57:23I think the future of the business lies in all of our hands.
57:26The three grandsons of Mr Singh, and I think at the moment the future looks very bright.
57:31As long as we communicate with each other, as long as we keep things structured, I think we'll be fine.
57:36But yeah, very bright.
57:37And although you've got an amazing business and a wonderful family, thank you for welcoming me here today.
57:42Who cooks this food?
57:44Grandma.
57:45The most important person here, I would say.
57:47Yes.
57:48I think we should drink to that.
57:49To the family.
57:50To the family.
57:51Next time, I'll be on a mixed farm in South Somerset, joining three generations of the Baker family.
58:03I've only watched YouTube videos and that's it, to be honest.
58:06You've got it nailed.
58:07I reckon that's good.
58:08I ended up just having nine orphan piglets.
58:11It was hard.
58:12We learnt the hard way.
58:14But you're usually quite so forceful.
58:16Well, I always put my oar in.
58:17Let's put it that way, isn't it?
58:19Yes.
58:20Well, it's all going rather well, Vincent, isn't it?
58:23Yeah, at the moment.
58:24Shush.
58:29See you then.
58:30Bye-bye.
58:31One more samosa for me.
58:32An unruly rivalry, the stormy relationship of Liam and Noel, the rise and fall of Oasis on BBC Sounds. Listen now.
58:49Treachery and betrayal.
58:50The Kiwi whale on BBC iPlayer. Press red for the Traitors NZ.
58:54Sonset.
58:55Tonset.
58:57Tonset.
58:58Donset G
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