A babble of chattering youngsters greeted visitors as they entered the field at the Tiptree’s Open Farm Sunday (LEAF - Linking the Environment And Farming) event last weekend. The children were eagerly completing a colouring task, for the reward of a mini jar of Tiptree Strawberry Conserve. The event attracted over 2,000 visitors keen to see the fruit on the farm, then taste some fresh strawberries and explore the future by watching the robotic equipment picking a strawberry.
“One of the main attractions at our Open Farm Sunday is the tour to the strawberry fields on the tractor drawn trailer or in one of Lodge’s historic coaches,” said Chris Newenham, joint managing director of Wilkin & Sons. “1100 people queued for a ride and many were curious about new developments on the farm and news of the investment in solar panels that have been installed to help power the jam factory”.
The star of the show as always was the strawberries – seeing them in the fields, tasting different varieties with Megan and enjoying them in a cream tea. Many adults were fascinated by the robotic developments displayed by the research team from University of Essex. Visitors could see the upgraded strawberry picker and the self-propelled UV robot that works in the strawberry fields at night to help minimize disease.
Fresh from the bus visitors could roam around the OFS field where the local astrological group, Essex Wildlife Trust and the WWI Aviation Heritage Trust were keen to talk about their organisations, their history and the opportunities to be involved with the sky, animals and historic aviation.
There was good food to suit everyone: with delicious burgers from Millins, home-made ice cream by Molly Moo’s Ices, fresh strawberries from the farm, Tiptree cream teas and opportunities to sample new delights with gin, jam and puddings.
