Farming Matters: Milly Fyfe - 'Celebrate our naturally delicious home-grown beef'

Milly Fyfe is a blogger, podcaster and author of No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents recipe book.

As UK farmers, we produce and supply a world class product when it comes to British Beef.

Sustainable and naturally delicious, our beef cattle are raised in areas where little else would perform so well, converting grass into protein, nutrient dense in zinc, iron, vitamin B12, omega 3 and antioxidants.

We enjoy eating British Beef too. Some of us were probably YFC trained in carcase or stockjudging and can tell a good rump from the brisket.

Many of us probably took part in cookery competition or at least enjoyed eating a roast beef meal at a county or society dinner or two. And you can cause controversy around the table if you ask for your steak well done.

As a member of Ladies in Beef and a supporter of the Great British Beef Week (GBBW) campaign for more than 10 years, I enjoy the opportunity to promote our industry to the wider world, especially to the consumer.

Providing mealtime inspiration with the ability to cook from scratch is something that I get a kick out of.

Im a home cook, mum of two young boys and farm beef suckler cattle, sheep and some arable crop with my husband in rural Northamptonshire.

During the height of the pandemic, I starting sharing pictures of life on the farm, what we were growing, producing, rearing and what I was cooking in the kitchen. The focus was on food provenance, low food miles and seasonal produce.

That is how the food blog No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents was launched. The ultimate premise behind the blog is to provide consumers with a connection between food produced in the UK and how to make a tasty meal using locally sourced ingredients.

Most of my time is spent creating content for social media, crafting narratives and using jargon-free language to enable more people to understand how UK food is produced.

Sometimes we get bogged down with the day to day grind, but for many, they find our farming world fascinating and have little idea of the processes.

I find it a rewarding way of shining a light or opening the window on interesting people, operating intriguing businesses. I like to think that I provide an engaging insight coupled with some easy to follow recipes. It gives real value.

But would it surprise you that many people I meet tell me that they havent ever cooked a roast dinner before? That even their basic knowledge of cooking wouldnt stretch beyond toasting some bread; poaching an egg requires an in-depth search on google.

I do believe that a whole generation has missed out on food science or home economics education. Many have become reliant on processed food, quick fixes, food on the go, to cater for our busy lives, but this has brought about such a huge disconnect.

Having had health problems of late, I know first hand that you are what you eat, and eating whole food, cooked from scratch really does help your mind, body and soul.

During GBBW, youll see point of sale marketing in major retailers. Pubs, restaurants and butchers have received recipe cards to promote, as well as serving British Beef on the menu, and there are a wealth of resources to download on the Simply Beef and Lamb website orwww.ladiesinbeef.org.uk

So, I hope youll join me during Great British Beef Week (23-30 April) and celebrate our naturally delicious homegrown beef industry by posting on social media with photos on the farm, or of some tasty beef meals eaten at home or when you eat out.

You can follow the No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents food blog by visitingwww.nofussmealsforbusyparents.com or follow on Facebook/ Instagram @NoFussMealsforBusyParents