In the blazing morning sun of yesterday’s 40 degree heat, John Wright set about harvesting his bumper millet crop by hand – the same method five generations of Wrights had used before him.
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“You can’t improve on the method; it’s been done this way for 100 years,” the Morpeth farmer said. “And this year we’ve got a beautiful crop, I’ve kept it watered everyday.”
Similar to wheat, the crop will be dried out but it won’t be eaten – instead it’ll be used to make Mr Wright’s famous millet brooms that he also makes by hand.
“I really can’t keep up with the demand, they’re very popular for weddings and birthdays.”
Mr Wright, 71, said his father stopped growing millet when he was a child, after the introduction of plastic brooms in supermarkets.
About 40 years ago, when Morpeth was developing a name for itself as a tourist attraction Mr Wright planted a crop.
With a good crop that year, Mr Wright was offered lessons in broom making and has been reaping the harvest every year since.
“I made some funny looking brooms to start with; I suppose you’d call it a labour of love,” Mr Wright said.
These days Mr Wright’s brooms are in such high demand they’re ordered long before they’re made.
