ANNA GUYER – WHY I BECAME AN INVESTOR IN STOCKWOOD CBS
“I love how Rush Farm is being farmed. When you visit the farm you have a real sense of holistic farming – where the land and the soil is supported and protected, it is so rich in biodiversity, and the animals and the people farming the land are happy and content. I became an investor in Stockwood Community Benefit Society as I firmly believe that we need to protect land in the UK and I want to ensure that this farm continues to be farmed biodynamically for generations to come.”LESLEY WHITE – WHY I CHOSE TO INVEST IN STOCKWOOD CBS
“I first came to Rush Farm as a tenant in the business park. I live locally in Droitwich and I am a Director of LSD Accountants which has office space in the business park on the Farm. When the opportunity came to become a Member of Stockwood Community Benefit Society I jumped at the chance. I became an investor and I now feel that I am part of the farm and that I own a small piece of it. I became an investor because I love Rush Farm – and for me it is all to do with the land and the sheep. They let me feed the orphans. After feeding the orphans in the first year, they let me keep two sheep! And last year they let me keep a further three sheep which they let me keep here. The Parsons family are very good at making me feel that Rush Farm is mine! I love being on the farm, I come at weekends, I adore being here, it gives me an enormous sense of wellbeing and it is the perfect antidote to quite a stressful job. I would never move my business anywhere else. When the opportunity came to be member – and to buy a share of the land – I jumped at the opportunity.”PETER PETTIFOR – WHAT MADE ME INVEST IN STOCKWOOD CBS
“I am a Member of Stockwood Community Benefit Society and I invested in shares last year with about £100 and I have just chosen to invest in buying more shares up to £1000. I have often felt I wanted to have a farm but could not afford one. So being a Member and a co-owner of Stockwood Community Benefit Society gives me a sense of ownership and belonging on the farm. I am currently doing a HND and BSc in Horticulture. So I have genuine interesting in horticulture, plants and biodiversity. I like to come to the farm and feel part of what is happening there. All my other investments are in energy and I feel that it is important to invest in land, protecting the land and the 5% is attractive as a return. You can pass on the shares to your children without them paying inheritance tax. I am a member of the Green Party and I have become aware that more than 50% of species in the UK are in decline due to pesticide use and changes in land use. I want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. The way this biodynamic farm works is that you try to protect nature and do more for nature than conventional farming. So investing in Stockwood Community Benefit Society was a great opportunity for me to do something positive about the environment. I feel it is no good just talking about it – it is better to put money where your mouth is.”ALISON KING – WHY I CHOSE TO INVEST IN STOCKWOOD CBS
“I was the Business Manager of English Symphony Orchestra, I met Sebastian through that and we set up the office in Stockwood Business Park. Over the years I have became more involved in the set up and I wanted to become involved in Stockwood CBS. I love the farm and it is such a fabulous place to work. It provides such a lovely setting, and a really nice atmosphere, run on ethical principles. You are really aware of the seasons every day and being in the countryside you feel very alive – from the worst floods, to frosts to days like today in the sunshine. I respect the ethos of the family and the organic farming principles. I wanted to become a member and investor to protect the land and it demonstrated my commitment and belief in the principles and ways of farming. I really feel part of the farm. There was a great sense of achievement when we generated enough money to buy the business park and the farm and we have an opportunity to buy a further block of land and it will be really exciting to welcome new investors. I love the involvement with investors and you get to know them as individuals and what their interests are and their motivations for supporting it. They are really diverse and interesting and we are doing something that makes a significance difference through protecting the land for further generations.”TRACEY WATHEN-JONES – INVESTING IN STOCKWOOD CBS
“I sit on the board of the CSA board for the UK so this is a really good example of farming and community come together and that is why I wanted to invest in this farm. I live in Oxfordshire and am studying organic agriculture MsC at SIUC in Aberdeen. Long term I think organic agricutlrue is more sustainbel for people, the land and livestock and environment. I think the land should be protected for future generations. Access to land is such a big issue for people who want to get into farming who don’t inherit through family, so community schemes allow some of those people to access and farm the land. Stockwood Community Benefit Society was set up to protect the land and will provide land and the opportunity to support farmers for the future. There are also plans to support CSA schemes moving forwards with fruit and veg. It is a really important resource for communities up and down the UK and I would like to see more of them.”