FarmED, the new Centre for Farming and Food Education based at Honeydale Farm in the Cotswolds, has appointed industry champion Jonty Brunyee to lead and develop the initiative.
Jonty has 25 years of experience in the sustainable farming and environmental sector as a consultant and award winning organic farmer, and as a senior academic at the Royal Agricultural University. He is a Nuffield Farming Scholar and, until recently, a Director of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association.
Ian Wilkinson, Director of Cotswold Seeds and founder of FarmED says: ‘It’s great to make our first formal appointment and we are thrilled to have Jonty on board. We will officially launch in May 2020 with a unique programme of events and an exciting field to fork food offer. Watch this space!’.
Jonty says that: ‘Our aim is to promote and accelerate the transition towards regenerative farming and sustainable food systems by providing inspirational education, innovative research, practitioner led knowledge exchange and personal development opportunities. FarmED will also provide an inspiring platform to stimulate debate and inspire a diverse range of audiences, from school children to farmers and rural entrepreneurs as well as any individual or organisation with an interest in agroecology and the countryside - I can’t wait to get stuck in’.
The FarmED team are already showing groups and individuals around the farm to see the crop rotations and trial plots, natural flood management scheme, woodland and wildlife habitats, grazing livestock, orchard, kitchen garden and apiary. The beautiful and functional FarmED buildings will open in spring 2020. The buildings comprise of an open plan conference space, offices, meeting rooms and a kitchen and demonstration barn.
Get in touch if you want to know more by contacting Fiona Mountain: fiona@farm-ed.co.uk 01608 652552.
Notes to Editors:
• The farming and food education centre at FarmED is located in the heart of the Cotswolds, and is accessible by road, rail and air. It’s located on the A361 between Chipping Norton and Burford, and is just forty minutes from Oxford by car, and only an hour and a half from London by train.
• The FarmED buildings were funded in part by Cotswold Leader Programme.
Jonty Brunyee is a National Trust farm tenant at Conygree Farm (www.conygreefarm.co.uk) in the Cotswolds producing organic and pasture fed beef and lamb, and species rich grassland. He won the NT Farming with Nature Award in 2017. He studied Rural Resource Management at Seale Hayne Agricultural College and Environmental Management at Sheffield Hallam before working as a farming and conservation adviser for organisations such as FWAG and the Peak District National Park. After 10 years in private consultancy he entered the world of higher education at the Royal Agricultural University as programme manager and senior lecturer in Farm Business Management. He is passionate about regenerative farming, sustainable food and knowledge exchange, and is an active member of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association. He completed a Nuffield Scholarship in 2016 studying sustainable farming, travelling around the globe.