Usually at Business for Christ we meet early for breakfast, however this month it was Tim Biddlecombe, who runs FAST at Brogdale Farm, who hosted an evening meeting and provided a delicious BBQ for us.
A tour around the National Fruit Collection during our Summer BBQ meeting hosted by Fast Ltd
Around 20 of us enjoyed a time of fellowship followed by a talk by Tim about what goes on in his business and Brogdale farm. I’m certain that I’m not alone in saying it was incredibly interesting and educational. Did you know that Fast Ltd are responsible for the maintenance of the National Fruit Collections at Brogdale, Faversham, in partnership with The University of Reading on behalf of Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The collections are of national and international importance and consist of over 2000 different varieties of apples which is almost half of the world’s 5000 varieties. Tim, who has been in the industry for over 30 years is a walking encyclopedia and is clearly highly respected in the industry.
We gathered around him to pray for the continued vision of FAST and for the industry as a whole.
After a delicious BBQ and loads of sumptuous cherries and strawberries fresh from the farm, we ventured out in the rain for a short tour of the orchards.
What struck me most was the length of time it takes to trial, develop and grow apples that we just walk into any shop and buy. It’s ironic that the business is abbreviated as Fast Ltd which stands for Farm Advisory Services Team, when the meaning of the word fast couldn’t be further from the reality.
Perhaps a lesson in one of the fruits of the spirit – patience! This is something that farmers understand and it would be good for us who live in this instant society to bear in mind.
From a business point of view, what we are sowing today could take many years to bear fruit – we should not grow weary whist doing good for in due season we will reap our harvest, if we don’t lose heart.
Many thanks to Tim and his fellow workers for a great evening.
Written by Phillipa Gill, who runs Curves Maidstone South
