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Farm shops cater for two of our favourite pastimes: a nice day out in the country, and building a collection of gingham-topped, homemade jams. Their subliminal message to the urban couch potato is that farm shopping, by definition, must be fresh, cheap and wholesome. The turnips may have been dug last month, they probably cost twice the price of imported ones and the fields may be sprayed with pesticides, but we want to believe the dream. Yet, the truth is the quality of farm shops can vary enormously, from mini-multiples where scented candles outnumber the mass-produced pickles to genuine and honest farm outlets which delight us with corn cobs that have been freshly picked that morning, the rare breed meat is home-produced and matured, and the carrots still sport their jaunty, emerald tops.

Many farm shops are a natural extension of farming life, more ad hoc farm gate sale than slick retail operation. A place where the farmer can sell off surplus produce at low cost with little overheads to those prepared to make the trek down a muddy lane. A hand-written sign, propped against a rickety, roadside chair, advertising duck eggs or fresh rhubarb is all the advertising they need. An old shed with the smell of the fields behind, a dusty, old kitchen counter and a few brown paper bags, are as far as it goes in terms of interior design.

Contrast with those burgeoning, professionally run farm 'supershops' where the items for sale have grown faster than Topsy, and where whole smartly converted rustic barns, outhouses and purpose-built units are packed with a range of local, regional and, not infrequently, foreign produce and ingredients that make them more local store than stall. Nonetheless, such diversification has been a lifesaver for many in the agricultural sector. Many shops now boast tearooms, ice cream parlours, craft workshops, farm trails and more. They have brought more people into the countryside, and opened up the land to townies, even if it is only to satisfy the desire of the Great British public to spend a sunny, summer's afternoon laboriously picking their own berries and fruit.

Farm shop and farm gate shopping, in theory, connects the producer and the consumer by cutting out the middleman. It's a definition that can sometimes be stretched - caveat emptor, as ever - but at its best the farm shop can offer good, fresh food at competitive prices. And no-one can complain about that.

by Clarissa Hyman