March is always a time of mixed emotions on the farm and this year feels very much the same. The farm shop has been busy with our click and collect and local deliveries over the winter lockdown and the support for buying local food has been amazing! Our Takeaway Afternoon Teas have also been really well supported for which we are very grateful. I’m finally back at my desk (after homeschooling..) looking forward to future plans – reopening the café on 17th May, Summer events and other plans contrasted with the sad loss of one of our Shire foals which was born backwards causing all kinds of difficulties. Several of the team also attended a virtual Farm Retail Association conference, giving us lots of ideas for the future. Later in the year we hope to have our Shire Horse Open Day organised by the Derbyshire Shire Horse Association on Sunday 1st August.
Lambing time is also at the forefront of our minds at the moment, and we have added extra cameras in the tunnels and shed where lambing takes place so we can keep our eyes on the flock 24 hours a day. It is always a tense & tiring time but at the same time exciting! With huge changes to the farming landscape in the UK over the next six years, we are also taking the opportunity to review what we do on the farm so that we can farm more sustainably in the future. We have recently been successful at obtaining a Countryside Stewardship grant so that we can invest in repairing many of the hedges and fences across the farm, which will facilitate better grazing systems for the sheep, so we are making plans to implement this later in the year. Looking forward from Monday 29th March we will be able to meet with up to 6 friends and family in our gardens, so why not take your Easter roasts outside this year and barbecue your meat instead. Lamb is always a traditional roast of choice for Easter and we will have our home reared lamb prepared for you by our expert Butchers however you choose to enjoy it.