Oakchurch Farm Shop

Oakchurch Farm Shop in Staunton on Wye sells home-grown and local produce, drinks, meat, and plants. Last year it picked up seven awards for their food in the Great Taste Awards, the internationally recognised accreditation scheme.  The farm and shop were launched over 50 years ago by Hereford-born Edward and Ros Price. Oakchurch Farm Shop became part of the Greener Footprints 30 for 2030 in 2023, through which they received a business energy audit. We met their son Nick Price who now runs the business.

My dad Edward left school at 14 and worked hard on a local farm, saving enough eventually to start his own business, Oakchurch Farm, in 1970. My parents were innovative throughout their life and well ahead of the curve, launching the PYO Strawberries and a farm shop selling their home-grown produce from a little wooden shed on the side of the road soon after they bought the farm. The bigger farm shop launched in 1990. I watched and worked with them growing up, and joined the business properly 15 years ago. 

My parents taught me early on the benefits of networking - they were constantly learning from and sharing ideas with other businesses as they planned for the future. We have joined the Greener Footprints business network because it offers a way to do more of the same - and to learn more about what we can do on the road to net zero. We are very aware, for example, that we have loads of fridges and freezers in the shop so use a lot of energy. A recent energy audit was really useful, picking up things we could do straight away (like sensors on the fridges) to reduce consumption, but also advising us on our plans to adopt solar energy. We've been given permission to go ahead with Solar PV now and will be allowed to produce 30kw, less than the 50kw we'd like (due to restrictions from the National Grid), but it will supply around 40 per cent of our energy. We'd like to increase that in the future, introducing a solar-fuelled car charging port for customers.

We are really proud of what we do, here. We are sustainable in so many ways. We have 100 different local producers which boosts the local economy and reduces food and plant miles. If we don't grow the produce on our own farm we source from other local growers and farms we know and trust. So, when people buy from us, they are supporting so many locals. We're aware many local producers - too many - are giving up because they are being squeezed out by supermarkets who can offer cheaper fruit and veg, often imported. We grow strawberries for local restaurants and are constantly reminded of the price point difference. But of course, there is a cost to the environment from imported produce, even if it is cheaper. And if there came a time when there were no local producers to compete with, the cost of food in supermarkets may well rise.

We want to spread the good news about local produce and healthy eating, and know the PYO strawberries (and pumpkins for the first time later this year) go some way to do that. We also go into schools so they can sample and enjoy local fruit and veg and taste the difference. And we hope those that come through our farm shop - around 4,000 customers each year - learn as a result what they can buy on their doorstep, and adopt that way of living and shopping and eating.