A COUPLE who exchanged their London careers to become organic farmers in Oxfordshire, say consumers care more about animal welfare since the coronavirus pandemic.

Charlotte Caldwell, 30, and her husband Will, 30, have enjoyed life as organic pig farmers on Hampton Gay farm, near Kidlington since April, and are keen to share their passion for environmentally-friendly farming techniques.

Mr and Mrs Caldwell and their one-year-old daughter are so-called 'share farmers'. The farm and cattle are owned by another couple, Tim and Juliette Thompson, but the Caldwells own the sheep and the pigs – and split the revenue.

However, the Caldwells have not always been farmers. Three years ago, they were living in the capital.

Mrs Caldwell said: “Before we were both working in London.

"Will was an environmental lobbyist and I worked with adults who had been out of work because of drug or alcohol problems. But we decided London was not really working for us. It was more of a lifestyle choice; we really liked the jobs we were doing but we were not thriving in the London world of Tubes.”

She added: “Will had always been interested in farming. He has a family background with farming, but they sold the farm. I think for him it was something he had always wanted to do but we did not really know how.”

Before moving to Hampton Gay Farm in April, the family learnt how to run a farm in Taunton, Somerset.

It was while organic pig farming that Mrs Caldwell says her eyes were opened to the impact of intensive farming.

She said she had noticed more people paying attention to where their meat comes from because of lockdown.

Mrs Caldwell said: “I knew that organic was a good thing, but I also thought it was quite expensive and did not necessarily think much about the impact it would have on me. What has been really good about lockdown is I think people have become more aware of where their food comes from – particularly with all the problems around supermarkets and having enough stuff available. Also, people were not being able to leave the house so it was often the small local producers that were the ones that would deliver to your door.”

The family says organically produced meat is better for the welfare of animals.

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Mrs Caldwell said: “There seems to be an increase in interest for well farmed meat and it is actually very beneficial for the planet. It can put carbon back into the ground and can help all the climate problems that we are facing.

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“Animals are designed to do certain things and those things are really beneficial for the environment and by putting them inside, we are stopping them doing what they were designed to do which is to help the ecosystem function.”

Mrs Caldwell encourages people to buy less meat and believes it is the quality and not the quantity. She said: “We don’t need to have meat three times a day because that is how we got into this problem of intensive farming methods which are so destructive.”