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28 March 2016

Thomas Hubert on 28 Mar 2016

In pictures: Japanese grower takes the humble farm walk one step further

Shigeo Maeda, a tillage farmer on Hokkaido Island in northern Japan, offers a range of on-farm activities to millers, bakers, retailers and consumers. Browse his photo album.

Thomas Hubert

28 March 2016

In pictures: Japanese grower takes the humble farm walk one step further

Since 2009, Shigeo has been running bakery camps on his farm.

Bakers sow their own wheat to get a better understanding of their raw material.

Shigeo (left) is pictured with a visiting baker on his farm. "Surprise, bread comes from wheat!" he jokes.

Shigeo says he offers on-farm activities to create a "want for farm products".

Shigeo also organises activities for the general public.

Visitors drew this "mystery circle art" in one of his fields in 2012.

Whole families took part in the process.

The idea was to invite the public to "touch and feel a beautiful wheat field", Shigeo says.

In 2012, to celebrate the 111th anniversary of his town, Shigeo baked the longest pizza in Japan: 111m!

The pizza was made exclusively with local ingredients, by local people.

This 2013 meeting of the Gluten Research Club includes seed breeders, farmers, millers, retailers and bakers.

Shigeo also got local people involved in using his production to beat a Guinness world record: the largest toast mosaic ever made, using 16,500 slices.

Last year's wheat camp brought together members of the public and agri professionals (bakers, noodle makers, seed breeders, IT specialists).

Shigeo is looking forward to meeting you on his farm for the next event!

Shigeo knows what it means to connect with customers.

"I want to make sure people know about agriculture," he told the recent Nuffield contemporary scholars' conference in Cavan. His aim is to "create a relationship with loyal customers", he added.

While Japan has a large farming population with 2.2m farmers, most of them work part-time. Shigeo says it is ageing rapidly as 70% of farmers are between 60 and 70.

The many children taking part in activities on his farm might be the ones taking over when Japanese farmers retire. "Farm products make people smile," he notes with satisfaction. But the field days organised by Shigeo are not just about family fun: they also bring together other farmers, seed breeders, millers, retailers and bakers.

Browse the photo gallery above for examples from the incredible range of events Shigeo has made happen in the past few years.

Full coverage: Nuffield contemporary scholars’ conference

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