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this year's magazine items below, the previous years are now archived . go to the link above
Good evening
One day we will get our new computer sorted. We hope everything is included!
Saturday 4th October – Sherborne Abbey at 7.30 p.m. An amazing evening of music with world class soloists and 100 strong choir performing the 10th Anniversary of Matt’s Requiem and the second performance of his new cantata – The Breath of Life. See details attached – there are still evening tickets left, but do please book
Thursday 9TH October - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting.
Sunday 12th October - St John the Baptist Symondsbury at 9.30 a.m. - Celtic Worship.
Monday 13th October - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. - Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppet on 01308 425332 Read more information in October’s parish magazine.
Sunday 19th October - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. – Harvest Festival. Always a special occasion in a rural village church and there will be time to chat afterwards over refreshments
Monday 20th October – Broadoak Hall at 6.00 p.m. Annual General Meeting – always a lively occasion … possibly! But we do come up with ideas for the future and a programme for the year and all are welcome. There are light refreshments.
Sunday 26th October - St John the Baptist Symondsbury at 11.00 a.m. Benefice Eucharist
Friday 31st October – Coppet Hill Barn at 2.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. Pumpkin Party. See details attached!
Best wishes, Amanda
If you want more details or contact me.
Sunday 21st September. Evening Prayer in Broadoak church
Sunday 28th September. United Benefice Eucharist in Symondsbury church
Wednesday 11th June - St. Mary's Church, Edwards Road, Dorchester - Concert in aid of Weldmar Hospice - West Dorset Singers and Broadoak Choir performing parts of Chris's Linden Lost
and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana
Do try to come to this as it is in aid of such a good cause. (Warning - A35 will be closed on the way back, but lots of nice scenic routes to choose from for the detour!)
Happy May Day!
Thursday 13th March - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting
Thursday 13th February - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting
- New House Farm Christmas Open Studios - new this year, pottery and eatables from the Pilsdon Community
- Wallace and Sewell Dorset Christmas Sale www.wallacesewell.com
- Symondsbury Estate Christmas Fair www.symondsburyestate.co.uk/events/christmas-market-2024
but after a successful Annual General meeting of the Hall Committee last week, we have lots of plans for the coming year - keep a look out!
followed by a short service in the church.
on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th December £20pp 10am - 12.30 .
Festive and always fun, let's have xmas jumpers and carols to get the party started!
Monday 9th September - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppet on 01308 425332
Thursday 12th September - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting
Sunday 15th September - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Evening Prayer
Sunday 15th September - Broadoak Hall and field - the Broadoak Pony show.
Do come along and be part of a traditional village gymkhana where every size and shape of pony (and rider) will have the chance to win a prized rosette. Refreshments will be available during the day provided by the Village Hall Committee.
Sunday 22nd September - St John the Baptist at 11.00 a.m. Symondsbury Harvest Festival.
Sunday 29th September - St Paul's Broadoak at 11.00 a.m. Harvest Eucharist with Broadoak Choir
A United Benefice Service in one of the three daughter chapels. These services happen when there is a fifth Sunday in the month and Broadoak's turn will be on 29th September.
We will be having a special Harvest Eucharist and will be joined by the Broadoak Choir to make it a special occasion.
This will be followed by a ploughman's lunch in the village hall which we would love as many as possible to join with us.
More details to follow.
Best wishes
Amanda
Friday 2nd August - Shave Cross Car Treasure Hunt from 6.00 p.m.
Saturday 3rd August - Shave Cross Mini Marathon and Lamb Roast from 6.00 p.m.
Sunday 4th August - Shave Cross Tractor Trundle from 9.30 a.m. More details on Facebook
Friday 9th August - St John the Baptist Symondsbury at 6.00 p.m. - a Choral Evensong from Laudemus www.laudemus.org.uk. A chance to hear wonderful singing in a beautiful old church.
Monday 12th August - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppet on 01308 425332
Sunday 18th August - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Holy Communion
Thursday 22nd August - West Bay from 8.30 a.m. Melplash Show
August - Purcombe Farm DT6 6RL 9.30 a,m, to 4.30 p.m. Sunflower Saunter - sorry to plug my own event! www.coppethill.co.uk
Sunday 15th September - Broadoak Hall and field - the Broadoak Pony show - more details to follow
Farmer George's Diary is attached as usual.
Best wishes
Amanda
Saturday 6th July - Broadoak Village Hall at 2.00 p.m. The Broadoak Hall Village Flower Show. This has been resurrected after many years' absence and promises to be an afternoon of competition and fun. We hope to see everyone in the village entering something and coming to enjoy the cakes, music and stalls as well as the competition entries. This is a great opportunity for those who don't usually enter horticultural shows and we are most grateful to Lesley Tuthill who will be masterminding the show. ENTRIES IN BY WEDNESDAY 3RD JULY AT 5.00 P.M. PLEASE. Contact pippa@coppethill.co.uk or me at amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk with any queries.
Monday 8th July - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppet on 01308 425332
Thursday 11th July - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council. . www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Friday 12th July - Whitchurch Canonicorum Village Hall - 7.00 p.m. Talk by Eric Smiley 'Behind the Scenes at the Olympics' - recollections of Eric's time as a three-day event rider and coach at Barcelona, Atlanta and London Olympics
Sunday 21st July - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Evening Prayer
Sunday 28th July - St. John the Baptist at 11.00 a.m. The Benefice Eucharist for all the benefice to join together.
Entry form and Farmer George's June round-up attached.
Best wishes
Amanda
Sunday 9th June - St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury at 9.30 a.m. Celtic Worship - a quiet service in our historic church, though last month we sat in the glorious sunshine for our half hour service.
Sunday 9th June - Open Farm Sunday at Beaminster 10.00 a.m. -4.00 p.m.. Details in Farmer George's Diary.
Sunday 9th June - Weldmar fundraising Afternoon High Tea at Symondsbury Tithe Barn from 3.30 p.m. Contact Pauline Bale for more details https://gofund.me/4b583234
Sunday 9th June - Motor Neurone Disease fundraising tea at Higher Moorbath, the home of Jane and Jerry Hollands. From 3.00 p.m. Either walk from Symondsbury, or park at Higher Moorbath. Details from jane.hollands@hotmail.com
Monday 10th June - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. Tea and Chat. Contact Sue on 01308 425332
Thursday 13th June - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council. . www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Sunday 16th June - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Communion service
Sunday 23rd June - St. John the Baptist at 11.00 a.m. The Benefice Eucharist for all the benefice to join together.
Saturday 6th July - Broadoak Village Hall at 2.00 p.m. The Broadoak Hall Village Flower Show.
This has been resurrected after many years' absence and promises to be an afternoon of competition and fun.
We hope to see everyone in the village entering something and coming to enjoy the cakes,
music and stalls as well as the competition entries....
We aim to get an entry form to every home in the village,
but do contact me if you would like to enter and don't have a form.
This is a great opportunity for those who don't usually enter horticultural shows -
not that I am implying that the standard will be low, as that will definitely NOT be the case!
Good morning everyone
Sadly our big event in the village this month has had to be cancelled. We were hoping to hold an evening displaying local talent, which we are sure is there somewhere, but not very forthcoming!
Thursday 11th April - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting - the last meeting of the Parish Council within its original boundaries. From May, the Council will bid farewell to Pine Close and Magdalen Lane, and West Cliff, West Bay - and welcome parts of West Mead, North Allington, Dottery and Edwards Close. This will be quite an historic occasion. You still have a couple of days to stand for the new parish council, if you are interested. Please go on to our website for any information. www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Sunday 14th April - St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury at 9.30 a.m. Celtic Worship - a quiet service in our historic church. We will be launching our plans for renovating the church and creating space for the community soon.
Sunday 21st April - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Holy Communion.
Sunday 28th April - Coppet Hill Walk with ace storyteller, Martin Maudsley. We will be walking around the woods above Denhay Farm, hopefully full of bluebells at that time. Final details will be out shortly, but hope you can join us for enthusiastic entertainment, exercise and eating opportunities!
A quick word to congratulate Matt Kingston aka Matthew Coleridge, for leaping 39 places in 2023 in the ClassicFM 300 Hall of Fame to No. 47 yesterday. This programme involved over 200,000 people so many thanks to those who took the time to vote for his Requiem. He has lots of other music too!
Farmer George's soggy diary attached.
All the best
Amanda
Thursday 14th March - Symondsbury School 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council. Do come along if you have any interest in being a councillor in the new council from May. The council will be looking for new councillors from all over the parish, which includes Broadoak. We have had representation from the village for around 50 years, so it would be a shame not to have one for 2024 and onwards.
Sunday 17th March - Broadoak Hall 9.30 a.m. - 12.00 p.m. Broadoak Village Breakfast, with Irish potato cakes for St. Patrick's Day. £7.50 and £5.00 for children. Please let me or pippa@coppethill.co.uk know if you'd like to come.
Sunday 24th March - St Michael the Archangel, Lyme Regis 4.00 p.m. Broadoak Choir joining with Lyme Bay Chorale to perform a concert of Easter themed music.
Saturday 30th March - St. Paul's Broadoak 6.30 p.m. Easter Vigil service and first Communion of Easter, with the Broadoak Choir and refreshments afterwards.
Friday 19th April - Broadoak Village Hall - IT'S SHOWTIME - hope you have applied to Chris Reynolds with your act!
Best wishes
Amanda
February is another quiet month for village events, but we are certainly waking up in March. Some Broadoak Diary events for March are included this month, with more details towards the middle of the month.
Thursday 8th February - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting - a reminder that there is a chance to raise any issues at the start of the meeting, and you don't have to stay for all of it! This is election year, so do come along to a bit of a meeting if you are at all interested in learning more about council work and how it happens. Information for anyone interested in standing for election can be found on the dorsetforyou website.
Sunday 11th February - St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury at 9.30 a.m. Celtic Worship - a quiet service..
Monday 12th February - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Tea and Chat - details from Sue Poppitt 01308 425332
Sunday 18th February - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Holy Communion.
Friday 1st March - Broadoak Hall at 5.30 p.m. for 6.00 p.m. The Great Easter (well a little early) Bingo. See below for details. Wonderful entertainment for the kids and excellent fundraising for the village hall.
Sunday 17th March - Broadoak Hall 9.30 a.m. - 12.00 p.m. Broadoak Village Breakfast, possibly with an Irish theme to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Menu still to be determined. £7.50 and £5.00 for children. Please put in your diary.
Sunday 24th March - St Michael the Archangel 4.00 p.m. Broadoak Choir joining with Lyme Bay Chorale to perform a concert of Easter themed music.
Saturday 30th March - St. Paul's Broadoak 6.30 p.m. Easter Vigil service and first Communion of Easter, with the Broadoak Choir.
Friday 19th April - Broadoak Village Hall - IT'S SHOWTIME - see below!
Best wishes
Amanda
Wishing everyone a happy new year for 2024 and hoping that the weather will be kind to us.
Monday 8th January - Broadoak Hall at 3.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Tea and Chat - details from Sue Poppitt 01308 425332
Thursday 11th January - Symondsbury School at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council meeting - a reminder that there is a chance to raise any issues at the start of the meeting, and you don't have to stay for all of it! This is election year, so do come along to a bit of a meeting if you are at all interested in learning more about council work and how it happens. We are very friendly, have the odd joke, and are always pleased to see parishioners.
Sunday 14th January - St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury at 9.30 a.m. Celtic Worship - a quiet service, perhaps. Interestingly, the first or second Sundays of January are often celebrated as Plough Sunday. It was the start of the farming year, dating back to Victorian times and beyond. In the days of mintil (minimum cultivation) it will be interesting to see how long this name remains. Sorry - adding editorial content, but it is a quiet month!
Friday 19th January - Broadoak Hall - Village Bingo - high spot of the month.
Please pencil into your diaries and more details will follow - hopefully.
Sunday 21st January - St. Paul's Broadoak at 6.30 p.m. Traditional Holy Communion.
All the best
Amanda
Good morning
It is always a joy to list out the events in December in Broadoak and around as there are such great things happening. I do hope we will meet at some of them for those who are local,
Friday 1st December - Sunday 3rd December - Symondsbury Christmas Fair https://symondsburyestate.co.uk/events/christmas-market-2023-2
Wednesday 6th December - Bridport Town Centre 4.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. Christmas Cheer - a chance to do your Christmas shopping locally and enjoy that mulled cider and the bowls of chocolates and mince pies in the shops along the street.
Friday 8th December - New House Farm Broadoak evening - Festive Open Studios Preloved Clothes Sale in aid of MSF. Do take any good quality clothes to the Farm beforehand or contact Ines on 07967 106047 for collection and time.
Saturday 9th December / Sunday 10th December - New House Farm - 10 a.m. - 4. 00 p.m. wonderful local crafts on sale and refreshments
Saturday 9th December / Sunday 10th December - Lower Monkwood Farm (just round the corner from New House Farm) DT6 5PF WallaceSewell Dorset Christmas Sale. Great opportunity for brilliant scarves, throws and cushions from internationally renowned weavers
Sunday 10th December - St John the Baptist, Symonsbury 6.30 p.m. Traditional Carol Service with readings.
Monday 11th December - Broadoak Hall - from 12.30 Tea and Chat Christmas Lunch. Do contact Georgina on 01308 424922 or Sue Poppitt 01308 425332 if you or relations would like to come. Transport can be arranged to pick up those in the parish who don't drive.
Wednesday 13th December - St Swithin's Church, Allington - 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Choir Christmas Concert. Premier of Chris Reynolds 'The Word' plus seasonal carols and readings (see below)
Thursday 14th December - Coppet Hill The bumper Saddleback Pork sale, fresh from the butchers. Sorry, a personal plug in here! Do let us know if you'd like some pork (see below but ignore the order day of Friday 1st!) and we can drop it round to you in the following couple of days if you can't get here. Those who came to Open Day in June might recognise the joints!
Thursday 21st December - St Paul's Broadoak 6.30 p.m. Our Annual Carol Service with the Broadoak Choir. Please do join us - not only a good chance to sing your hearts out, but also to meet up with the locals and welcome new people to the village.
Sunday 24th December - St John the Baptist, Symondsbury 11.00 p.m. Midnight Mass with the Rev Carol Peters King (usually festively dressed in flashing lights and sparkly boots)
Monday 25th December - St John the Baptist, Symondsbury 9.30 a.m. Family Crib Service. A short service for all the family before the real mayhem of Christmas Day starts. Please bring your favourite Father Christmas gift to share (not to give away, just show off).
Thursday 28th December - Broadoak Hall 5.00 p.m. The Great Broadoak Beetle Drive. Hotdogs and ice cream to relieve the monotonous menu of turkey and mince pies.
Farmer George's Diary is below as usual.
With best wishes for a happy December, Amanda
Good morning all
My apologies over the confusion about ink cartridges last month . I was just hoping that someone might have a printer that takes EPSON 18XL ink cartridges as I have about £80 worth that need a good home.
Saturday 4th November any time between 10.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. Barn Owl Buildings, Denhay Farm : Hemps Fibre Workshop. Free event to learn about hemp and its uses with lots of opportunities to break, hackle, and card the retted hemp from Denhay Farm and others. Tea and coffee provided. Wear warm clothes.
Thursday 9th November 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School : Symondsbury Parish Council - open to all
Sunday 12th November 10.50 a.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury : Remembrance Day Service
Monday 13th November 3.00 - 5.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall : Tea and Chat
Monday 13th November 6.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall : Broadoak Hall AGM, a great chance to get involved with village events and help plan them. All welcome and refreshments being served
Thursday 16th November 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School : Symene Community Land Trust AGM. All welcome to come and learn about the project so far, ideas for the future and opportunities to help with homelessness in the area.
Sunday 19th November 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak : Evening Prayer
Wednesday 22nd November 6.30 p.m. Bridport Town Hall : Bridport Local Food Group AGM. come and join in the fun that is the planning and running of the Bridport Food and Beer Festival and other food related projects.
December in brief
Tuesday 5th December at Venn Farm, North Chideock - the ever popular wreath making event in aid of charity. contact Pauline Bale pandjthehayes@gmail.com
Thursday 7th December at Purcombe Barn, Denhay - another wreath making opportunity - contact pippa@coppethill.co.uk
Wednesday 13th December at St. Swithin's ChurchBroadoak Choir Christmas Concert
Thursday 21st December Broadoak Carol Service
Farmer George's Diary attached.
Good morning all
Thursday 7th September 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council Planning Meeting - Agenda on Website and noticeboards.
Saturday 9th September - Ride and Stride. Sadly no-one has come forward to help with this fundraising event for our churches in Broadoak, Eype and Symondsbury. George and I will be walking between the three churches during the day and would welcome any contributions to the fundraising for the vital repairs to the church at Symondsbury. Bank details are: PCC SYMONDSBURY 30-91-21 00168742 Please write Ride and Stride beside your contribution. We would really appreciate any support and let us know if you'd like to join the walk with us - we'd love some company!
Monday 11th September 3.00 - 5.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Thursday 14th 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council in Symondsbury Primary School - - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. The agenda is on all noticeboards and can be found on www.Symondsbury-pc.org.uk Please do come along to any of our meetings to see what we do as we will be looking for councillors from April next year. We probably enjoy ourselves at these meetings more than we should!
Sunday 17th September 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Harvest Festival. More news about Harvest Supper to follow.
Congratulations to Graham Sutton and his Dorset Doddle walk - raising over £1000 for MND.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/mark-graham-1687806766400. The page is still open.
Best wishes
Amanda
Good morning all
An action packed Farmer George's Diary attached, but please have a quick read of the diary below first if you are local to us:
Monday 10th July Broadoak Hall 3.00 - 5.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Thursday 13th July 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. The agenda is on all noticeboards and can be found on www.Symondsbury-pc.org.uk The Planning meeting is at 6.30 p.m. We will be announcing our first Community Champions at the meeting - look out for news of this.
Saturday 15th July 2.00 - 5.00 p.m. Symondsbury Church Fete - a good old-fashioned village fete with all the relevant attractions - hopefully you have had a poster in your ECV. This will be the start of some serious fundraising for works on St, John's. We would love the following, as well as your attendance:
Contributions to the Water and Wine stall (screwtop wine bottles filled with water, but also some screwtop intact wine bottles; this is the 'church' version of the old fashioned tombola - miracles can occur!)
Contributions to the following stalls - plants, produce, cakes, books, bric-a-brac. Please take to the church on Friday evening/Saturday morning, or I can collect from you.
Sunday 16th July 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Evening Prayer
Wednesday 19th July St. Michael's Askersewell 7.30 p.m. "Songs for a Summer Evening" a concert with the Broadoak choir. a relaxed evening of words, songs, refreshments. Donations for the church and a special choir concert in December. All welcome, but let me or Liz Guard (01308 485463) know if you would like to come.
Let me know if you would like to come off the circulation list, and if you know of others who would like to come on.
All the best
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary - July 2023
I was asked last week, what is the one thing I would put to our local MP and both Amanda and I said “consistency”. I think the same wish might apply to the weather. Less than an inch in June makes it the second driest June in the last 10 years (2018 had nothing). As the dry period started in mid May, this is starting to have an impact on crops.
The one thing that has put Coppet Hill on the map, is the sunflower crop. Go shopping in Bridport and invariably we will get asked about them. I am relieved to say that after a shaky start, they are now doing well. The 19mm of rain we had two weeks ago probably saved them.
Matt has designed the ‘dragon fly’ outline and Philippa has done the first mowing with help from the Kingston family.
Early June seems a long time ago as so much has happened since then. The winter sown crops are all looking good – wheat, grass or wildflowers. Even the trees in Monarch’s Wood are faring well; checking down the tubes there are a few failures which is to be expected but many are growing well.
The spring sown crops are still a different matter as discussed before. But we have some successes to offset the disasters. Last summer we direct drilled a herbal ley in Front Field, by our house; this failed spectacularly. We replanted this spring and we have an amazing crop of clovers and herbs.
We can see the wet March and April. It looks as if May was wet as well – but that was only in the first two weeks. Since then, hardly a drop.
Front Field: the deer love the herbal ley and we see three grazing every morning.
The chart shows inches of rain per month.
During June we had to keep mowing various parts of our Countryside Stewardship areas – the legume fallows and wildflower borders. We also had to mow half of our beautiful nectar flower mixes. When questioned I couldn’t explain why as it seemed such as shame to cut off so many wonderful flowering plants – cornflowers, clovers, poppies etc.
The big ‘event’ of the month was Open Farm Sunday; a nationally organised day when over 250 farms open their doors free to visitors. We combined with The Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster and Discover Farming (Melplash Agricultural Society) to demonstrate farming in the Vale – how we farm, why we do what we do and what are our challenges, joys and ambitions. It was a hugely successful day with 800 visitors hosted by over 50 volunteers from farms across the vale.
We had lots of excitement with the animals over the month – both Gin and Tonic farrowed. Poor Gin had 15 piglets of which, to date, all are doing well if some quite small. Tonic has 11 all of which are growing fast. We plan to regulate our sales so that those that wish a regular supply of fresh pork are able to have it. Some frozen chops and joints are still available.
Our camping and glamping has been steady over June with a number of guests every weekend. A highlight for them (and us) has been ‘moth club’. Matt puts out a trap in the evening and then we all gather around the next day to see what is there; we regularly have over 30 different species from many locations around the farm. It is a real eye opener to all of us to see how much life is out there of which we are not aware.
Continuing our search for knowledge about how to be better regenerative farmers*, Amanda and I went to the Groundswell event this week. Around 10,000 farmers over two days attended; there were over 60 talks as well as many stands to visit promoting anything from soil testing to carbon credits (still a closed book to us) and what crops to grow and how to grow them. This is most timely as the Government has just produced its latest SFI document (Sustainable Farming Incentive). There are 23 different option headings for activities we can undertake on the farm to attract public funding. There is no doubt that ‘public money for public good’ is money as hard earnt as growing a commercial crop. We have set up a team meeting next Friday to go through it all and make a plan for the next year -more from me in August about that!
The bird life is still flourishing; we had the five kestrel chicks ringed last week and ringed two Barn Owls this morning.
The one negative this year has been hunting dogs. We have had three different sets of dogs hunting deer across the farm. It is a real concern both from a wildlife point of view but also our sheep farmers; there is a big worry that uncontrolled dogs will start to worry (chase) sheep. If you know of anyone who’s dogs have a tendency to go off on their own, please ask them to be very careful and keep them onleads – thank you.
Meanwhile Adrian’s cattle are enjoying our herbal leys and the wheat is starting to turn and ripen.
*Regenerative Agriculture is any form of farming, ie the production of food or fibre, which at the same time improves the environment. This primarily means regenerating the soil. It’s a direction of travel, not an absolute.
George
Good afternoon on the first day of summer (meteorologically speaking)
Thursday 8th June 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. The agenda is on all noticeboards and can be found on www.Symondsbury-pc.org.uk The Planning meeting is at 6.30 p.m. The Parish Council has commissioned three benches from Fat Leaf for Symondsbury, Eype and Broadoak to commemorate the Coronation. Look out for them soon.
Sunday 11th June 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.Denhay Farm, Broadoak DT6 5NW - Open Farm Sunday - please see information in Farmer George's Diary. All welcome.
Monday 12th June Broadoak Hall 3.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat. Contact Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Saturday 17th June 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Askers Meadow - Bridport Food Festival
Sunday 18th June 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Holy Communion
Sunday 25th June 3.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. Higher Moorbath, Broadoak - Jane and Jerry Hollands annual walk and tea in aid of MND. Please call 01308 425717 for more information.
Still wondering if anyone else would like to join the Village WhatsApp group. Will set it up shortly with those who have let me know they'd like to be part of it for police alerts, local events and general help and support.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary - June 2023
One of the fascinating things about the vale is that when we go from extreme wet to extreme dry, the top 3 inches bake hard. Dig down and there is plenty of moisture. May started as April left off – we had 88mm ((3.5 inches) rain at the start of the month but since then not a drop. It is still 50% higher than May’s 10 year average.
The lesson for me this year is to be patient – not something for which I am renowned! We drilled the sunflowers in a wet but not too bad seedbed at the start of the month. However, the subsequent rain just rotted them. Now the ground has warmed and dried considerably, we have redrilled them and they are just coming through now much to our relief.
The bottom of the sunflower field after the mid May storms.
There was one field that was too wet to work earlier at the bottom of the farm. It had turnips over winter and we had sprayed off the greenery and waited. We drilled grass/clover mix into it on 17th May. The soil was still quite damp then so we left it a couple of days before rolling with the ring roller; this rolls in ridges which help prevent ‘capping’ of the soil in heavy rain – capping makes a crust which seeds cannot break through. The grass emerged within 10 days which is really good.
May was the time to catch up on our Countryside Stewardship areas. We direct drilled three areas of ‘winter bird food’ with a mix of brassicas and grains. We also had to mow some fields and leave the mowings on the ground. Because of the huge amount of vigorous Italian Ryegrass still in the soil, this is quite a challenge and I have had to go over some fields twice to do a proper job. We have also been able to enjoy some of the flowers planted last year
Nick Gray, DWT field officer, looking at one of our clover, poppy, cornflower, Oxeye daisy mixes.
The camping and glamping side of our business/lives is now in full swing. We are full this half term and then a good steady continuation after that. It does take a long time to get everything set up to the way we all want it to be with everything mown and tidy. We had to make even more picnic benches this year, perhaps exacerbated by our Open Farm Sunday on 11th June.
Meanwhile, the wildlife is flourishing – the kestrel has hatched out 4 chicks and the owls are sitting on eggs –
which is something they spend a long time doing.
We are also very excited because a pair of hares has taken up residence in the field above the lagoon. We can watch them morning and evening
“A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay,; a swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon;
a swarm of bees in July is worth a fly.”
We had a lovely swarm in the garden at Lower Denhay which Helen, our local bee keeper was able to catch and rehouse.
Last year we spread ‘hay’ from traditional meadows. It is early days to see just how much is coming up, but we do have a lot of yellow rattle in one field and rattle is a plant parasite which kills off the grasses we don’t want around.
It is good when things work out better than expected! We planted a 7 acre wood this winter. The field had been in spring beans last year, so rather than leave it bare to become thistles and nettles, we planted a ‘bumblebird’ mix – various brassicas and grains.
It is perhaps the most successful thing we have done.
The side benefit is that it totally hides the plastic tree tubes without competing with the young trees.
We are now preparing for Open Farm Sunday on 11th June.
We have about 50 helpers to make sure you will have an interesting and enjoyable day.
Please share this leaflet with your friends and encourage them to come along.
See you then
George
Good morning all
Happy May Day.
Wednesday 3rd May at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School - Symondsbury Parish Council Planning committee
Sunday 7th May at 12.30 p.m. Broadoak Village Green or Village Hall - Coronation Village Lunch. Do let me know if you would like to come and what you might like to contribute (see leaflet attached). We do need to know numbers please.
Thursday 11th May at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School - Symondsbury Parish Council Annual Meeting An opportunity to learn more about what your Council does and to ask questions and suggest ways in which we might improve the local community. This will be the last Annual Meeting of the current parish as the boundary changes come into effect next May.
Sunday 14th May at 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak Rogation Service. An ancient traditional service when we walk around the village, starting from the church, blessing the crops and livestock and asking for some good weather for the growing season! Transport will be available for those who don't want to walk. We are ending at Higher Moorbath for refreshments.
A couple of bits of news:
Congratulations to Joe Murless who did the Marathon in 3hrs 51mins. His fundraising is just a little short of his target if anyone would like to contribute. Look up his JustGiving page.
Congratulations to Matt Kingston who made the Top Three Hundred in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.
Best new entry at number 86.
Farmer George’s Diary – May 2023
Hey ho, what a challenging start to the farming year. Dry February (not drink!) seems a long way off, followed by that awful March and April which, although not with record rainfall, was one of the wetter Aprils, lifting up our rolling average rainfall. We are not back to 2019 levels, but we can see the ten year trend is slightly up.
What does that mean for us? We drilled our spring barley at the end of February into lovely seedbeds – full of hope and confidence. That has been shattered – two fields have failed as the seed rotted in the wet ground. Rather than redrill and chase good money after bad, we have sown crops of ‘Westerwolds’ rye grass. This is a very vigorous one-year grass crop which we can sell as silage to neighbouring dairy farmers. It will be harvested in July giving plenty of time to sow our planned two-year grass/clover mix. It is making us rethink our strategy of wheat (followed by winter turnips/radish) – barley – two year grass/clover back to wheat.
We like the wheat and turnip plan for soil health and structure but after that perhaps we should go straight back into a spring sown grass/clover when the soil is warm and drier without the pressure of trying to drill early. Driving on soils when they are wet and cold only does damage. Meanwhile the wheat crops are looking very good; they are having growth regulator applied to reduce their height. Without that, in a wet summer and with a tall crop, there is a danger of it ‘lodging’ or falling over which makes harvesting impossible. The good news is that with so much fertility on the ground we are not using a great deal of fertilizer.
ROLLING ANNUAL AVERAGE RAINFALL (inches)
1st April started with a great news story: we discovered that the acidity of pig dung mixed with minerals in our thick clay means that this variety of sunflowers turns a wonderful hue of pink. This has always worked well for the small pig farmers in Morocco where they have similar soils. We planted a variety of dwarf sunflowers given the time of year so they’re quite short, but our pigs, Gin and Tonic just love them and it makes their home much prettier.
With the number of visitors planned to visit us this year, Amanda, Gary, Elaine and I spent a ay in Broadoak Hall on a First Aid course. (Ellen and Philippa having done one recently.) It was extremely worthwhile and included training on the use of a defibrillator. The Parish Council have just installed one with kind permission of John and Audrey Creed
by the phone box in the centre of Broadoak.
April had us busily preparing for the start of the camping and glamping season: Easter was the target to open up. We were ready and had several guests staying; luckily the weather was just about okay but setting up was not without incident – thanks to some very high winds! Having our barn which is dry and has games including pool and table football makes a huge difference. We have enlarged one of our Landpods to make it slightly more comfortable when the weather is less ‘clement’.
This includes a small wood burner.
Despite the weather frustrations, I love this time of year – full of hope and new life. We are so lucky to have the abundant wildflowers. Right now the bluebells are coming into their glory but hidden amongst them one can find some real gems,
like this early Purple Orchid.
Protecting them is essential: one of the things that really frustrates farmers is the quality of fence posts. Historically, a wooden post would last 15 years. Nowadays, if you get 5 you’ve done well. We planted a 170 meter hedge this winter and wanted to fence it off on both sides. To last longer we have used the New Zealand Clippex system of metal posts. I was worried it would look awful, but it has already toned down into the field. Over time the hedge will outgrow it and it can be replaced in 50 years’ time – not my problem!
Keeping in touch with your industry is really important; last week Amanda and I went on a visit organised by CARAS (Council for the Awards of Agricultural Societies) of which we are both Fellows. Of particular interest were visits to Alvis Bros, cheesemakers, and Thatcher’s Cider. Martin Thatcher described how his business had evolved in the last 20 years. His forensic focus on both the requirements of his customers and the attention to detail within the business was quite inspirational.
Our next event (after the Coronation) will be our ‘LEAF Open Farm Sunday’ all day on 11th June which I have trailed before. I do hope you will be able to join us; there will be lots to see and do including trailer rides around the farm, discussions on soil health and cropping, farm machinery display and a range of farm animals. Discover Farming will be there with a number of activities for younger people to do including milking a ‘cow’, grinding corn and making smoothies. If anyone would like to help, we would appreciate it.
I am sorry to say we have lost one of our barn owl pairs; the female disappeared, and the male hung around for a while but he has now left in search of pastures new. The other two pairs are settled into their nests. On the other hand, and with great excitement, we have a pair of kestrels nesting in the box Matt put up last year in the old Purcombe Dairy.
Don’t forget 11th June – do share this leaflet with your friends and encourage them to come along.
George
Good morning all
Saturday 8th April at 6.30 p.m. St John the Baptist, Symondsbury - Lighting the Easter Fire. If you are not able to get to church on Easter Sunday, come to this service which is the first celebration of Easter and has in the past involved interesting pyrotechnics. It is the first communion of Easter, and the Broadoak Choir will be there to support the service. There will be an opportunity to break your Lenten alcohol fast (for those who have managed that!) with refreshments after the service.
Thursday 13th April at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School - Parish Council Meeting. Our regular meeting and the opportunity to discuss any matters of interest at the beginning of the meeting. We are launching a Community Champion Award to commemorate the ending of the old parish council area in 2024 and launch of the new. Details will follow soon.
Sunday 16th April at 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Evening Prayer
Monday 17th April at 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat. Contact Sue on 01308 425332 for details
Tuesday 18th April 5.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall A drop in event run by West Dorset Wilding. Presentation at 6.45 p.m. details from: westdorsetwilding@gmail.com
In 2020, a small group landowners / farmers and a conservationist decided to take a stand and see whether, collectively, and working in collaboration with other organisations, they can start to make a difference for nature in West Dorset. They want to see improvements in the biodiversity, water, air and soil quality, carbon capture, and flood and drought alleviation. In short they wanted to make space for nature, and give it a chance, and do it on a locally meaningful scale.
Thursday 20th April - 12.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall Defibrillator training I have a date for a training session on the defibrillator. Could you let me know by Thursday 6th April (amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk) if this date or time might be suitable for you. If not enough can attend then, I will try and fix another date.
Sunday 7th May - Broadoak Hall : Celebration Lunch for the Coronation. Details to follow
Defibrillator - For those in Broadoak, I have a date for a training session on the defibrillator. Could you let me know by Thursday 6th April (amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk) if this date or time might be suitable for you.
The training takes about an hour.
PILSDON COMMUNITY www.pilsdon.org.uk
The Community, of which I am a trustee, is looking for volunteers to help with a few things. If any locals would like to know more, please call or email me.
Volunteer drivers - local trips including Barton House Surgery, Bridport, sometimes to railway stations. A list of people who could be called upon regularly or on an ad hoc basis would be so useful. they would love to have someone to be a relief minibus driver - usually Wednesday afternoons.
Cake makers - a few homemade cakes for their freezer would be much appreciated from time to time. I would be happy to take up to Pilsdon.
Gardening - someone to work on the front garden of the amazing manor house would be excellent. It could be in your own hours.
Many thanks
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary – April 2023
Wow, that was wet after such as dry February – 135mm of rain, which is the wettest March in over 10 years and has raised our rolling average to 34 inches.
…and I got March’s prediction very wrong. I am still saying the start of April looks as if it will be drier – that’s not saying very much!
March started well – the ground conditions were perfect, so we drilled most of our spring barley. In fact we pulled out of 3 acres of one field because it was too dry, hard and nobly! Most is coming on but struggling in places as we have some very wet patches which are more like rice paddies. Here the seed is rotting; we will just have to wait and see how it comes through it all. One lesson is that it really pays to ensure no rain run-off from roads and tracks gets onto the fields.
Despite the wet stopping our field work, we have had plenty to do both getting ready for our tourist guests and finishing upgrading the old dairy office to a meeting room. If anyone wants to have a meeting in the peace and quiet of the Marshwood Vale, it is now open for bookings. It holds up to about 16 people and has a kitchen facility as well as excellent wifi.
3 weeks ago we sent off another 3 pigs to Snells. They have grown quite large, so we had lots of sausages chops and joints back to the freezer. The pork tastes amazing – tender, juicy, succulent with really crunchy crackling: let us know if you would like any.
I never did spend any time studying the new SFI (sustainable farming incentive) options: I am told they are very easy to administer and straight forward. We shall when I get the time. Meanwhile we have been preparing for our ‘Open Farm Sunday’ on 11th June. Please put the date in your diary and come along – there will be lots to see and do and a number of farmers you can meet face to face. In preparation, we were able to buy a proper transport trailer to take visitors around the farm in some comfort and safety.
On a lighter note, it was a real privilege to help Ellen and son-in-law Matt with their Symondsbury School production of Noah’s Flood in St Swithun’s church. It was a really moving experience to see the entire school perform to such a high standard. The end featured an amazing rainbow:
We held our village breakfast last Sunday; during one conversation I was pulled up very short by a question on our crop rotation. I replied that we are following a conventional ‘Norfolk 4 course’ rotation of wheat followed winter turnips for sheep and then barley and two years grass clover ley (for neighbouring dairy farms). To which the question was – why no legumes? But clover is a legume I said. My questioner had no idea that it was. Why should he? He knew legumes ‘fixed’ nitrogen and therefore saved or reduced the need to use artificial nitrogen but he assumed they were ‘upright’ crops like peas and beans. With our new rotational cropping not only is the clover helping improve the soil structure and health but also, we are able to help our dairy farmer neighbours by supplying a high protein crop. This will enable them to reduce the amount of expensive bought-in protein food for their cows as well as reduce the amount of artificial fertilizer.
Enough of this rain, lets hope for a dry and warm April to get things growing.
George
Good morning and happy St. David's Day
A particular note for those living in Broadoak, or travelling through (we have some recipients of the blog overseas). Thanks to Symondsbury Parish Council, and John and Audrey Creed, we now have a defibrillator on the wall round the corner from the phone box. Not the most obvious place, but they need to be protected from full sun, so the north facing wall is best. We will be setting up a training session soon (though it is not essential to be trained, as clear instructions are given) and I will send out details in case anyone would like to have that practical knowledge. I know I would!
Thursday 9th March 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. The agenda is on all noticeboards and can be found on www.Symondsbury-pc.org.uk
URGENT MESSAGE : We are very keen to get new councillors signed up as we have three vacancies, technically covering Symondsbury and West Cliff, though with the Community Governance Review being approved, the West Cliff councillor will only have one year in position as that area will be subsumed into Bridport Town council. However if you are at all interested in learning about being a councillor, and serving your local community in a very positive way, please contact our Clerk, Natalie, or me, and we can talk about it.
Sunday 19th March 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Holy Communion
Wednesday 22nd March 6.30 p.m. St. Swithin's West Allington: Performance of Noye's Fludde by Benjamin Britten by virtually all the pupils of Symondsbury Primary School supported by internationally renowned soloists, professional orchestra players and some rather random adults!
Sunday 26th March 9.30 - 12.00 noon Broadoak Village Hall - the Broadoak Big Breakfast. Please let us know if you might like to come so that we can ensure there is enough breakfast for all, and no wastage.
Tickets: £6.50 and £3.50 for children.
Forthcoming events:
Broadoak Hall Coronation Lunch - Sunday 7th May .
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary – March 2023
I haven’t recorded any meaningful rain since the 17th January; 5mm is all we have had in February, which is insignificant. Last month, I said February was predicted to be dry and March wet. The same organisation now tells me we will get some wet from 4th to 8th and 16th/17th but apart from that, March will be mostly dry. For what its worth, the first half of April looks dry as well.
If this comes about, we are going into a very dry summer with the water table already quite low.
The upside of this dry weather is that we have been able to get on with field work: never before have we been able to cultivate fields in February. But two weeks ago, we ‘sumo-ed’ (tined implement with a roller behind it) to prepare the seedbed for the spring barley.
Grant Brooks came in for a week with his big ‘slew’. Initially he ‘laid’ the hedge by the Denhay Dairy (now called the Barn Owl Buildings or BOB) to let light into the new offices there as well as improve the field to the north of the hedge. (I will cover hedgerow management at a later date). Whilst around the buildings we tidied up the cider apple tree area and sowed grass to make it a picnic area for those working in BOB in the summer. He then moved down to the pond below my house. This was originally made as a water supply to wash the road after Denhay had been muck spreading in the winter. It worked well for that purpose as well as attracting wildlife. However, it had become totally silted up. Grant dug it out and used a couple of dumpers to take it up into the field and spread it out. This worked well but has left us with a very wet area of sludge; I am going through it every other day to dry it out with a spring tined cultivator which will break it up and get the air into it before we drill the barley. Thank goodness for the dry spell! Finally, before he left, we sank two sleepers into the Lies pond as the foundation for a jetty. Ellen wishes to ‘wild swim’ in it – we shall see.
Ricky and Adrian’s sheep have nearly finished the turnips – Ricky has one group left. He has struggled with a small group of lambs which have kept getting out. It came to a head when they crossed a deep ditch and over two further fields to join Adrian’s flock. They have gone now (for ever)!
With all the sheep around, we are temporarily slightly short of grass for the ponies so are supplementing them with some of our hay which they appreciate.
Coppet Hill tourism section have started the year with a ‘bird box making day’. We thank AONB for their support in funding the wood. We had a good number of families come to the Barn where we made 42 small boxes, 4 barn owl boxes and 1 kestrel box. Many were taken away but we were left with about 20 which we have put up around the farm including two of the owl boxes. Adrian kindly helped lift an old telegraph pole on top of which we have attached the kestrel box. We have to wait and see what happens to all of them. We took part on the GWCT 2023 Big Farmland Bird Count: Over 30 minutes, Amanda, Philippa and I recorded the species and numbers of birds that we saw around Higher Denhay. It was not an amazing count – lots of crows and pigeons. However we have had a Stone Chat and a pair of Reed Buntings live around us for a while which is quite unusual – and very pretty even if so far I’ve failed to get a picture of them.
The dry weather has made us all think about spring; several of our ponds have both frog and toad spawn in them. Also, the wild daffodils are just coming out down Stoke Mill Lane. If you have the time, it is well worth walking down there to have a look.
I would like to end on a plug for our new meeting room. We have almost finished sprucing up what was the office in the old dairy – painted, carpeted and equipped it. It will hold 16 to 20 people for meetings and has a separate kitchen area. There is now a wonderful view of the Vale. If anyone would like to hire it for either a whole day or by the hour, please let me know.
If the weather turns cold, as predicted, I plan to spend some time reading up the new SFI (Sustainable Farming Initiative) options about which there appear to be mixed reviews. At the very least, it seems to offer good news for hedgerow management.
George
Thursday 2nd February 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Village Hall - Dorset ArtsReach - James Rowland : Learning to Fly
Learning to Fly sees James tell the story of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street. It's about connections, no matter what the obstacles;
about music and its ability to heal. It's about her last wish, to get high before she dies.
"Captivating ... a generous deepening hymn to friendship" Sunday Times
Tickets: £10 from www.artsreach.co.uk or Georgina 01308 424922
Friday 3rd February 7.30 p.m. Eype Centre for the Arts - Douglas Dare Concert. Douglas lived in Broadoak and Bridport as a child. He is coming back to perform his Milkteeth Show for the last time following the success of his 44 date tour across the UK and Europe in 2022. The album is a conceptual album on the theme of memories of childhood and explores the experience of his early years growing up on the farm; surrounded by land, animals and extended family yet feeling a sense of otherness. One track.. 'Red Arrows' even mentions Denhay Hill!
Tickets are on sale https://douglasdare.com/live or from Bridport Tourist Information Centre.
Thursday 9th February 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish.
See Agenda on www.symondsbury-pc@gov.uk
Thursday 16th February 2.00 p.m. St Paul's Broadoak - Funeral of Jill Harding, longtime resident of Broadoak
Sunday 19th February 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. Coppet Hill Barn, DT6 6RL Still spaces for our nest box building session. Tickets are £10 to include refreshments with all the wood provided free.
Do you have a spot for a Barn Owl Box - we can help with that.
Contact pippa@coppethill.co.uk
Sunday 19th February 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Evening Prayer
Sunday 26th February 11.00 a.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury - Benefice Eucharist
Coming up: Broadoak Hall Big Breakfast - 26th March. 9.30 - 12.00
Broadoak Hall Coronation Lunch - 7th May
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary – February 2023
What a turnaround – it seems only yesterday that we were complaining about the rain, wet and mud. In fact, I haven’t recorded any rain since 17th January!
I never thought I would become a weather geek, but I find this chart really interesting. It’s the rolling average rainfall with the trend line to see how things are moving with climate change! Not a lot, but there are some huge annual variations and that presents challenges to farmers. A year ago, we were in a very wet period, then we went through the dry summer which brought the rainfall back in line and now it has risen to be smack on the trend line. What next? My forecast tells me February will be a dry month and March wet – we shall see.
If I’m correct, how will we make the most of the ground ‘pitching out’? Now that we can get around more easily, it is the time for maintenance catchup. We plan to hire a post driver and a digger to repair broken fences and gate posts where needed. With almost no livestock, our fence requirement is limited so we plan to remove redundant barbed wire where possible – this will be a long process over many years.
Ben, our agronomist, walked the winter wheat fields last week and is well pleased with their condition, stage of growth and lack of weeds, which is a good start. In fact, he is encouraging us to graze two of the fields with sheep to stimulate tillering (more stalks from one plant). Meanwhile, the sheep are doing a good job on the turnips – even if Ricky is having trouble with 4 lambs constantly getting out. They are leaving the ground ready for the spring sowing; we are still having some debate but will probably grow spring barley this year. Meanwhile, the arable grass fields are all looking good; growth has been delayed by the past two weeks of frost.
February is a good time to get tree planting: we completed our new wood last month, but have some trees left over. The plan is to plant small clumps between each of our camping pitches to improve the screening. Then we will move on to planting a new 175-metre hedge. This is supported by Countryside Stewardship which will pay for half the cost of the fencing (good, strong anti-sheep) We are incorporating some large existing oak trees to try and protect them from compaction by animals or machinery. We will also include a few young ones as well. The GWCT 2023 Big Farmland Bird Count takes place from 3-19 February. On one day in that period, we will spend about 30 minutes recording the species and number of birds seen on one particular area of the farm. We will then submit our findings along with 3000 other farmers. This offers a simple means of recording the effect of any conservation schemes currently being initiated by farmers and gamekeepers on their land such as supplementary feeding or growing wild bird seed and game cover crops. It is also a useful way of gaining personal insight on how well our birds are faring. If you would like to take part either on your own land or help a landowner do theirs, go to https://www.bfbc.org.uk/take-part/why-are-we-counting/. Our cluster is keen to become involved, so we are having a training session on identifying birds on Wednesday from Prof. Tom Brereton
Looking ahead and a date of your diary: we will be holding an “Open Farm Sunday” at Denhay on 11th June. We would like to welcome as many people as possible to take a trailer ride around the farm. The objective is to create connections and build awareness and understanding for people about how their food is produced, from where it comes and the huge range of goods and services farming delivers. In summary, demonstrate how we are delivering more sustainable farming. There will be demonstrations, exhibits and activities. It is being organised by the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster, Discover Farming (Melplash Agricultural Society) and Coppet Hill. If you would like to help, please let me know as we will need all the help we can get! Alternatively, please come as a visitor; we hope to attract a large crowd so trailer rides will be managed on a booking system. Put the date in your diary. On a final note, last Thursday we attended the Dorset Tourism Awards ceremony in the Tank Museum. We were delighted to win a Gold for Best New Tourism Business. The judges really appreciated the efforts we take to increase the enjoyment of our guests with information about the farm and it’s wildlife as well as the atmosphere we are creating on the farm.
May I repeat the time honoured phrase for this time of year - A HAPPY NEW YEAR from us both. Back to quieter times now but thanks to all who attended the various village and parish functions in December - we had lovely numbers at the church services, in particular the Christmas Crib Service on Christmas Day which had a massive attendance of 65 including 23 children. Congratulations to Ellen for leading the service.
Sunday 8th January 9.30 a.m. St John the Baptist, Symondsbury - Celtic Worship
Thursday 12th January 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. See Agenda on www.symondsbury-pc@gov.uk
Sunday 15th January 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Holy Communion
Saturday 21st January 6.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Family Beetle Drive. For all ages - booby prizes for those who cry when they don't win! Tickets: £5.00 (£3.00 children) to include refreshments. Do come and support the village hall if you can - we are in need of funds.
Sunday 22nd January 11.00 a.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury - Benefice Eucharist
Thursday 2nd February 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Village Hall - Dorset ArtsReach - James Rowland : Learning to Fly
Learning to Fly sees James tell the story of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street. It's about connections, no matter what the obstacles; about music and its ability to heal. It's about her last wish, to get high before she dies. "Captivating ... a generous deepening hymn to friendship" Sunday Times
Tickets: £10 from www.artsreach.co.uk or Georgina 01308 424922
This may not sound appealing, but come and give it a try. Live performance is a very special offer for small village halls, and may surprise you.
Please let me know if you would rather not be bothered with emails and I will take you off the list.
Farmer George’s Diary – January 2023
I know this should have been written yesterday, but what a glorious day to be out and about – amply made up for by today!
This month I am showing the monthly rain in inches over the last 3 years. Both 2020 and 2021 had some really wet months with which to contend. Just see how wet it has been these last two months. I know well the issues of livestock farmers at this time of year; almost all their effort goes on ensuring rainwater is kept away from muck. The one positive last December was that we had no rain at all from 26th November to 18th December, so those 6 inches fell in 12 days.
2022 proved a good year for Coppet Hill. Although not sown in the best of conditions, most of our crops yielded quite well: spring beans were the most challenging due to the difficulty of keeping them free from weeds. Our holiday enterprise was well supported. It was not as manically full as 2021, but kept the team fully occupied. The kind autumn allowed us to get next year’s wheat drilled early and well and then grass reseeding after beans and oats and some herbal leys. Most look excellent but my ‘direct drilled’ herbal leys may well not be good enough; we will see in the spring.
This time last year I listed all the ‘external’ factors that would have a negative effect on our lives. Apart from not predicting the war in Ukraine, the others all exceeding my expectations! They were inflation, political uncertainty both at home and abroad and ever evolving technology not to mention the changes in our society – intolerance, loss of respect of other views and the inverse which is unable to say what you really think for fear of causing offence. They have had a far greater impact than I could ever have imagined.
How will 2023 be for Coppet Hill? There are so many factors out of our control that budgeting and planning are almost impossible. For example, the price of wheat is dominated by the ability to bring grains out of the Black Sea. Right now, there is movement and wheat prices are dropping. It would only take one drone bomb to destroy this fragile confidence. World oil prices are similarly affected but in addition there are rumours that China is expanding again and that it is increasing its demand for oil. Nearer to home what will be the impact of inflation and cost of living on holiday decisions? Early signs are that people are planning a UK holiday.
We are much more ‘bullish’ about our environment and wildlife. All three pairs of barn owls have taken up residence again around their nest boxes of last year, the finches and others have yet again enjoyed the sunflowers and we are seeing lots of voles in our grass margins. The new pond looks rather bare right now, but everyone tells me to be patient and let nature take its course; we might provide a helping hand with things like yellow flags and a few shrubs. Next week we should start to plant our new wood; a 7-acre field below the pond. It will be all hard woods such as oak, hornbeam, birch, alder, field maple, rowan, sycamore, hazel, crab apple and holly. It is quite hidden so we should not see the tree guards too obviously, but it will take a few years to get a positive effect on the landscape.
We reduced our pig population in early December by sending 6 porkers to Snells. They were well fattened with a daily diet of apples from our huge crop this autumn. The result 350kg of boned and rolled pork legs, pork chops in bags of 4 and sausages in 600gram trays in our freezer. Please contact Ellen if you would be interested to buy any (ellen@coppethill.co.uk).
Happy New Year - George
Good morning everyone
An action packed December, so I do hope you have the chance to come to some of the events. I don't usually do reviews, but we had a stunning ArtsReach event last Saturday - a solo performance delivered faultlessly for nearly an hour, both very funny, deeply moving and thought provoking. A reminder of how lucky we are to have the opportunity for live events so close to home. Do look out for the next ArtsReach event, and if you see Hannah Kumari performing somewhere, go and watch as she is a rising star.
Friday 2nd December 2.00 - 9.00 p.m. and
Saturday 3rd December 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Symondsbury Estate - Christmas Fair Stalls, carols, food and drink www.symondsburyestate.co.uk
Friday 9th December - 10.30 a.m. Symondsbury Cafe - A chance to catch up with our local PCSO Alex Bishop who will be there to listen to any issues with which the Police might be able to help
Friday 9th December - Sunday 11th December 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. New House Farm, Broadoak Festive Open Studios - Cafe, local artisan stalls
Saturday 10th December - Sunday 11th December 10.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Lower Monkwood Farm, Monkwood, Bridport DT6 5PF Wallace & Sewell Wonderful Christmas Sale. www.wallacesewell.com
Monday 12th December 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Festive Tea and Chat Tel: Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Thursday 15th December 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Primary School - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. See Agenda on www.symondsbury-pc@gov.uk
Sunday 18th December 6.30 p.m. St John the Baptist, Symondsbury - Carol Service
Monday 19th December 6.30 p.m. St. Peter's, Eype - Carol Service
Wednesday 21st December 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Carol Service
Saturday 24th December 11.00 p.m. St. John's Symondsbury - Midnight Mass
Sunday 25th December 9.30 a.m. St. John's Symondsbury - Crib Service - just half an hour to remind all the family what Christmas is about. Do come and join us
Farmer George’s Diary –December 2022
Well – that was a wet month! 155mm (6 inches) of rain will have helped fill the aquifers a bit and has given a sharp rise in the rolling average more to move it to where it should be at an annual 30 inches.
The rain made us bring all animals inside. Our two Jerseys are happily sheltered in the barn at Higher Denhay and the young pigs at Lower Denhay in the yard my father used to use for pigs in the early days of Denhay. It was a great deal easier walking the cows home than loading the pigs which were knee deep in very gloopy mud.
Actual farming on the land is minimal at this time of year. The one thing we needed to do was spray the wheat for weed and aphid control. It all depends on getting a dry spell; luckily, we took a window of opportunity before the land got too soft to travel on. The reason aphids are a pest is because they carry Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) which is devastating to wheat growth in this part of the country. Aphids stop flying below 13C. so the issue this year is that it has been so mild the little creatures have kept flying.
The Marshwood Vale Cluster met this month to discuss soil health, structure and management techniques to improve it. It is a really good, interactive and lively group of us organised by Nick Gray from DWT. He arranged one of the country’s top soil scientists to lead the day. Niels outlined 7 principles of soil health that we must consider:
• Have as much living root as possible to feed organisms and build structure
• No bare soil to protect the soil and feed organisms
• Minimise disturbance and compaction to preserve crumb structure and mycorrhizal networks
• Maximise diversity by rotating crops 0.00
• Feed soils with organic matter between crops – energy in the form of carbon feeds organisms
• Incorporate animals – graze the cover crops
• Minimise the use of synthetic chemicals to maintain the microbial bridge
It has made us think not just how we prepare the ground but also what crops to use, when to plant and how to treat them. First off, we must look at our soil structure so Ellen and Philippa are going to select some fields in which to dig holes, look at the crumb and see how well water drains through it. We have lots to learn.
The other meeting with which we became involved was looking at the hemp crop we had grown this year, alongside two other farmers. There was a session in the Old Dairy to look at how we might be able to separate the fibre (used for rope and nets) from the shiv or core pith which is used for building insulation material. It is that last in which we are particularly interested; Amanda and I would love to build a new house insulated by hemp with its historic connection to Bridport as well as its low carbon footprint and high insulation value. There is a very long way to go.
Yet again this year, our sunflower fields are proving a valuable larder for many birds: pigeons by the hundred, flocks of finches of different types and one notable visitor identified was a woodlark – not very different from a skylark! But it is quite unusual in this part of the world.
Other of our Countryside Stewardship (CS) fields are also proving interesting bird habitats – it will be fascinating to see in the spring who lives in them as there is a big range of plants from which they can feed or eat the insects that live on them. CS is proving interesting in other ways; we have one very wet field that is down to be left as a legume (primarily clovers and vetches) fallow for 2 years. I walked across it this week and was amazed how firm and dry it had become.
We’ve had our rain now – lets hope for a drier and possibly cooler month ahead in the lead up to Christmas. (I’ve picked my holly with berries already).
Happy Christmas George
Good morning
Thursday 10th November 7.00 p.m. St. John the Baptist - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish. See Agenda on www.symondsbury-pc@gov.uk
Sunday 13th November 10.45 a.m. St John the Baptist - Remembrance Service
Monday 14th November 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat as usual. Tel: Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Friday 18th November 6.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Family Quiz. Questions for all ages and skills Tickets: £6.00 (£4.00 children) to include refreshments. Do come and support the village hall if you can - we are in need of funds. Poster attached.
Sunday 20th November 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Evening Prayer
Saturday 26th November 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Arts Reach 'ENG-ER-LAND' is an energetic play about who’s really on your team. Tickets £10.00 Telephone: Georgina Burnham 01308 424922 or Sue Smiley 07802 347872
Farmer George's Diary
Farmer George’s Diary –November 2022
You thought October wet? In fact, it was drier than the last 3 Octobers! Our rolling average rainfall is now under 24 inches
It has made for a very easy autumn drilling campaign. Amanda and I were away for much of the month; before we left James completed all the winter wheat drilling. We returned on Sunday and it was most enjoyable driving around the whole farm looking at really healthy crops of wheat, successful grass reseeds and even our wildflower sowings are looking good. My one concern is chickweed; it creates a mat which smothers everything else and is hard to remove. I hope sheep will solve the problem – we shall see.
We did try to harvest some sunflowers as getting seed for next year will be a challenge with the Ukraine war preventing exports from there. We failed! It was too wet and the crop too damp. If we try next year, it will have to be in early September. Meanwhile the birds are again making a good home in it.
The one sowing that has not gone well, is the direct drilling of the herbal leys. The two fields sown where seed beds were created are looking excellent. But the direct drilled ones look poor. But there is time, and we will wait over winter and see how things progress. It’s all a learning curve!
The new pond is filling – very slowly! Recent rain helped and it’s nearly there.
This is the time of year when we should be selling the crops grown and harvested over the summer. While we were away Ellen sold some of our oats and hay and Adrian Hutchings started to take some of the beans. I look forward to hearing how his cows are performing on them.
Ellen and Philippa also organised a most successful pumpkin party; we grew 200 plants as a trial this year – with the dry summer we had to water them most days. The result was they all flourished, and 60 adults and children came to carve, paint and cook them; those not used will be fed to the pigs.
Talking of pigs, our weaners are no longer weaners but chubby porkers. We plan to take 6 of them to Snells in early December. If anyone would like fresh pork just before Christmas, please let us know. We shall have legs, chops and sausages to sell. Given their diet of apples, pumpkins and grass they should taste fantastic.
Avian flu is a real worry for everyone; from Monday we must keep all birds in wild bird proof cages or pens. Gary has made a special cage in which to keep them. It will double as a fruit cage in the summer with luck.
With the clocks changing, the rain starting and the temperature dropping, winter is here. If we needed confirmation of that, we saw the Fieldfares back today for the first time. George
Good morning all
A quiet month this month, but a few activities planned for November - keep looking!
Tuesday 4th October 7.00 p.m. St John the Baptist - Symondsbury Parish Council Planning meeting - all welcome as usual. See Agenda on www.symondsbury-pc@gov.uk
Monday 10th October 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat as usual. Tel: Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Thursday 13th October 7.00 p.m. St. John the Baptist - Symondsbury Parish Council - our regular meeting to which all are welcome and can raise issues at the start of the meeting if they wish.
Sunday 16th October 11.00 - 4.00 Pilsdon Community Anniversary
Saturday 22nd October 7.30 p.m. St. Peter's Eype - Recital and Album Launch - Andrew Goldberg and Ricky Romain (piano and sitar) www.bridportandwestbay.co.uk/tickets
Saturday 29th October 2.00 p.m. Coppet Hill Pumpkin Party (see attached)
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary –September 2022
You might not believe it, but September was the second wettest month this year!!
Another busy month at Coppet Hill. Our campers are all gone and the glamping sites also are very quiet, although we remain open to the end of October.
The turnip/radish mix we sowed after wheat are all coming on well. The rain in small amounts was enough to germinate them and boost them along. Plenty of food for our neighbours’ sheep this winter.
Farming focuses on getting the new crops sown. Having got our Countryside Stewardship approval, we now must get the grass buffer strips and wild flowers in. The last area was direct drilled last week but some of the earlier ones are well up. The exciting thing is looking at a ‘green’ field and deciding if it is actually what you sowed, or something different such as rogue luins or fat hen!
With encouragement from our cluster group, we are trying to reduce the amount of ploughing. The reason is that ploughing releases carbon into the atmosphere and depletes the micro-organisms which enrich the soil. However, we’ve failed in some fields. The spring bean and lupin stubbles were really ‘dirty’ because in the dry time our pre-emergent spray did not control the weeds. Ploughing was the only option to create a clean seedbed for either grass or wildflowers. Also we are planning to drill two weedy grass (docks) fields to wheat, so again ploughing was our only option. However in two other grass fields which were ‘clean’ James Bowditch was able to use a new design of Direct Drill which he had on demonstration. It will be interesting to compare how the different crops perform.
During the month we combined the lupins – not a great crop! The idea was to grow a high protein crop for animal feed to save imported soya beans. Unfortunately we were not able to control the weeds and Fat hen rather smothered the crop. We had something, but it wasn’t enough to do it again.
Apart from the environmental benefits of not ploughing, we used much less fuel, time, and steel in direct drilling.
We have sowed 4 fields with herbal leys – a mix of different grasses and herbs such as Yarrow, Plantains and Sheep’s Burnett. We direct drilled two fields, ploughed one traditionally and only disced and power harrowed the fourth and sowed the seed on top of the soil. It will be interesting to see the difference when they are all up and growing.
During the year I’ve not mentioned the hemp growing; this is for building materials. We are a part of the Bridport group ‘Raise the Roof’ who are experimenting with using hemp as a high value, low carbon insulation material when mixed with clay (which we have in abundance). Three farmers grew trial fields which struggled in the dry time. Ours was the least successful on heavy clay with a poor and lumpy seedbed. We ended up mowing it and round baling as the crop was too small to forage harvest – which was the original intention. A second field did grow reasonably but proved a challenge to harvest – the strands of fibre are VERY strong and wrap around shafts and bearings. It was foraged in the end and brought to us to ensile – it was a very small heap! The third field was mown and is still ‘retting’ in the field before being big baled. This was all with support from FIPL (Farming in Protected Landscapes) and Dorset AONB. I will report later on how it worked as building materials.
One of the remainders of a defunct dairy farm is a collection of slurry lagoons. We took the opportunity of a dry time to get Grant Brooks to turn two of them into ponds. Having cleaned one of them out, we got into it and created an island and a gently sloping bank – we will see once it fills with water what it looks like – I think we might have quite a time to wait! The second already has a good water level and ducks are already enjoying it.
I do love a dry and sunny September, and that is what we had – isn’t Dorset a wonderful area in which to live?
George
Good morning all and welcome to the first day of autumn.
Monday 12th September 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat as usual. Tel: Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332
Tuesday 13th September 7.00 p.m. St. John the Baptist - Symondsbury Parish Council - We say goodbye and many thanks to our Clerk of eight years - Marilyn Stone and welcome our new Clerk - Natalie Bealing. This is an opportunity to review our regular meeting day and we will be moving to the 2nd Thursday of the month from October onwards.
Sunday 18th September 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Harvest Festival. A celebration of Harvest in a farming village - always a special occasion. (The Eggardon and Colmers View Magazine doesn't have the correct information.)
Sunday 18th September 6.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Harvest Supper. You are welcome to come to the service and the supper, or just one or the other. Supper will be from 7.30 p.m. and suggested donations, £5.00 (£3.00 children). We will send a flyer round the village, but please let me know if you are likely to be able to come.
Monday 26th September 7.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - AGM of Symene Community Land Trust. This is a chance to hear about the work the CLT does. Please contact me if you would be interested to come.
Farmer George’s Diary –August 2022 (a pdf copy is attached with pictures)
Last month I asked the rhetorical question – how dry can it get? The answer is ‘dryer still’ The graph below shows the annual average rainfall down to just over 25 inches, when the long term average is about 33
There has been lots going on at Coppet Hill. Of course, it is the month our tourism business is at its most busy. Along with everyone else, we have not been full but full enough. The glorious sunshine has made for some very ‘happy campers’. They love the way it is all spread out and peaceful (most of the time!). Of particular enjoyment has been the owl prowls and moth clubs which gives an insight to our environment and wildlife. Our sunflowers finished a little earlier than we hoped, but those who came seemed to thorougly enjoy it, especially some families from the Ukraine, staying locally.
One Sunday was particularly memorable with the ‘tractor trundle’ going past. Our barn was full at the time and our guests loved it |
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Our litter of pigs has grown at a huge rate; their mother got fed up with them and showed it by laying on her belly so they couldn't get any milk. So we weaned them and they are living a wonderful life at Purcombe. |
Harvesting had a delay to let the spring crops ripen. Last week we combined both the spring oats and the spring beans. Spring crops struggled this year without the rain in June to ‘swell the grain’, whereas the winter wheat was well established and deep rooted not to suffer so much. Despite that, our oats yielded well. However the beans were not so good; hampered by a large amount of weed (fat hen). This made the cutting a challenge and rendered the straw useless for bedding and it had to be chopped up. Hopefully both of these crops will go for animal feed – beans being particularly valuable as they are high in protein. The weedy stubble will make for a challenge when sowing the next crop which will be grass and clover in one case and wild flowers in another. I am very keen to avoid ploughing if possible; if we have a little rain that will get the weeds to germinate and we can then cultivate to kill them before sowing. I will let you know next month!!
The small amount of rain enabled us to sow the turnip/radish mix onto our wheat stubbles; they are coming up but could do with another drink now. They should provide a good feed for sheep over the winter.
August is when we start to sow grass. Even in the dry, it is good to get the ground ready if not actually sown. We have been working on the various ‘countryside stewardship’ requirements. Any of our arable fields that run next to a stream will have a 24 meter grass buffer strip along side it. Some of those fields are already in grass, so all we need to do is mark them out with a mown strip. However some were in wheat; these we disced at the same time as preparing for turnips, then power-harrowed (rotating vertical tines 4 inches long with a roller behind to break the clods.) We then sowed our grass mix with our mini spinner on the back of the quad bike. Our aim is to use fescue grasses with some timothy to give a low thick sward which will stop any runoff from the field but also be ideal for voles.
A group of about 10 Marshwood Vale farmers have created a ‘cluster’ with help from Nick Gray of DWT, to work together for environmental benefit. We had a fascinating meeting this week looking at herbal leys. These are grass swards with ‘added ingredients’ such as chicory, plantains, birdsfoot trefoil and yarrow. The theory is that a multispecies crop grows better, is better for the soil structure and health, and better for animal health as well as providing excellent pollinator foods during the summer. Much of the discussion was around soil health and how we can improve it. What does healthy soil look and smell like? That’s for another month. We have plans to grow some in four fields here this autumn.
Nick is very keen to create more wildflower meadows; he has supported us to take fresh cut mature grass from a lovely meadow near Charmouth and spread it onto two of our fields. This we did two weeks ago with help from Ricky Frampton and his straw chopper. It will be interesting to see the results next year. |
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And finally, the final chapter of our Barn Owl story: all three pairs successfully fledged a total of 7 chicks. We still see them about which is wonderful. Our new excitement is a pair of kingfishers on one of our ponds; let’s hope they take up full time residence.
The next four weeks will be very busy starting the new farming year all over again. The Broadoak Harvest festival on 18th September will have more meaning for me than ever. Do join us at 6.30pm and then in the Hall afterwards for a village harvest supper (but let us know you are coming – the meal is free but we suggest a donation of £5).
Good morning all
A bit late with my diary and George's blog this month due to activity at Coppet Hill and our Sunflower Saunter. Forgive me if I plug our own event, but we are open until around 23rd August for our sunflowers and tea room. www.coppethill.co.uk/sunflowers.
The great Shave Cross charity weekend - the highlight of the summer in the Marshwood Vale. All details on Facebook
Friday 5th August - from 6.00 p.m. Shave Cross Car Treasure Hunt
Saturday 6th August - from 6.00 p.m. Shave Cross Marathon
Sunday 7th August - Shave Cross Tractor Trundle
Monday 8th August - 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall - Tea and Chat - details from Sue Poppitt 01308 425332
Sunday 21st August - 6.30 p.m. St. Paul's Broadoak - Evening Prayer
thursday 25th August - Melplash Show Day www.melplashshow.co.uk
Sunday 28th August - 11.00 a.m. St. John's Symondsbury - Holy Communion United Benefice Service
We are hoping to have a storytelling evening with the wonderful Martin Maudsley in August, but will send out details when we have them. It is for our camping families mainly, but all will be welcome to come.
All the best
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary –1st August 2022
Today is Coppet Hill’s first birthday! What a year full of changes, challenges and choices.
Wow – how dry can it get! We had the grand total of 5mm of rain in July. Just look at the rolling annual average rainfall graph in inches:
When I was small, my father always tried to finish combining by Melplash Show day – and rarely achieved it! We completed the wheat harvest on Saturday. The yields were very variable; our best crop was around 4 tonnes to the acre (10/ha) which is good, but others I would rather not talk about. On the upside the grain quality was all really good with plump grains.
Some of the crops went to James Bowditch to use as ‘crimped grain’ to feed his cows but the majority has been sold away from Dorset. In hindsight (a great thing) we should have forward sold back in May when the war in Ukraine had only just started. Even now the prices are about £100 per tonne more than a couple of years ago. On the other hand, all the costs have gone up the same amount of more, so I don’t think we are any better off.
What to do next? Right now, very little as it is so dry nothing will germinate. However, we plan to ‘disc’ the stubbles to create some tilth on the top inch of the soil so that as soon as it looks like rain, we will sow the turnips for winter sheep feed.
My sowings this summer are a failure – well I didn’t think it would stay this dry. Normally as soon as the schools break up, it rains. This year was no exception but only 5mm then it stopped again! All the countryside stewardship crops are looking very poor or even non-existent as is the grass we drilled on the hill. Ah well, we will try again when it rains.
However the turnips I reported on last month have come on really well because of their initial drink. Annoyingly they are now being eaten by ‘turnip sawfly’ caterpillars. They are just about ready for the sheep to graze.
I have never known such a laid-back hay making time. We even made some ourselves. Some we made into round bales but we did make 300 small traditional bales and hauled them in ourselves. Very good team bonding I am told. The far end of the field was only sown in the spring as it was too wet in November. However, it is amazing as a wildlife friendly crop with a range of grasses and herbs.
The other Coppet Hill excitement this month has been the arrival of our litter of piglets. They may be out of a saddleback mother but their father was a ‘British Lop’ so they arrived very pink.
We are now right into the holiday season. The sunflower walks started last week with the flowers in full bloom (both fields). The tearoom is again being run by Amanda but with help from Jennie Smith. Tea, cakes and ices are proving very popular.
Finally, the ongoing Barn Owl story: all is well, and they are starting to fledge.
George
Good afternoon all
A little quieter after all the festivities of the Jubilee. Thanks so much to all who came and made both occasions so special.
Sunday 3rd July 3.00 p.m. - Higher Moorbath, Broadoak. Do come and visit Jane and Jerry Hollands lovely garden and enjoy tea there in aid of Motor Neurone Disease Association. Any time after three, with an optional walk from Symondsbury which will be signposted from Shutes Lane in Symondsbury, left of the church, turning right at Axen farm down to our house, Higher Moorbath Cottage, DT6 6HN. Lifts can be given back to cars if required, or you can drive and not walk. Parking opposite. No charge, but donations are welcome. And you may bring friends and dogs. A water bowl will be made available for the dogs.
Monday 11th July 3.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Tea and Chat Tel. 01308 425332 - Sue Poppitt for more information or if you would like a lift
Tuesday 12th July 7.00 p.m. - St. John the Baptist Church Symondsbury Parish Council www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk All welcome. Please note the Planning Committee meets at the church the previous Tuesday 5th July at the same time. All information on our updated website
Sunday 17th 6.30 p.m..- St Paul's Broadoak - Traditional Holy Communion service.
Please see the attachment for the pictures of the Jubilee and our crops.
Farmer George’s Diary –July 2022
As will come as no surprise to gardeners, we are really dry. June was ‘saved’ by 11mm the other night.
Even so, we are well below the monthly average.
June has been another busy month at Coppet Hill. We applied to join the Governments Countryside stewardship about a year ago. The agreement started on January 1st (2022) BUT we only had approval at the start of June.
This has required a fair amount of catchup work.
However before the work, the celebrations: we hosted a Jubilee Barbeque and then bonfire on the hill on 2nd June.
We were delighted to welcome over 200 people which was a huge success, including the Broadoak Choir rendition of the ‘song for the commonwealth’ and the official bugle call by Sam Bugler.
“An omelette is not made without breaking eggs.”
We wish to revert some of the ‘improved’ grass on top of Denhay Hill to traditional meadows.
In order to do this we had to kill off the existing crop. We were rightly slated for doing this by a walker who did not understand the objective. Once we explained what we are trying to achieve, he was right behind it.
Both fields have now been ‘direct drilled’ with old type grasses and herbs such as yarrow.
Direct Drilling involved cutting a slot into the old turf and dropping seed into it then rolling it down. This means we do not have to plough which would dry out the soil and release carbon into the atmosphere. The rain from 3 days ago has helped us considerably and the first field is beginning to come through already. The second was sown 2 weeks later, so too early to see anything.
“Public Money for Public Good” is an expression that I hope you have all heard by now. It is the Government’s mantra for supporting farmers. Instead of getting support for just owning land, we have to earn it by doing what is seen as public good. Countryside Stewardship is one such scheme. I mentioned last month about it and that the agreement started on 1st January 2022, and we only got approval at the end of May. As a part of that scheme, we have direct drilled 4.8 hectares (12 acres) of winter bird feed. If this comes on it will be alongside our sunflowers which were so successful as winter bird feed last year. Again, thank goodness for last week’s rain.
We have a field at Beerlands which was really poor - more buttercups, docks and Yorkshire fog than anything else. We have sprayed it off, then last Friday night we cultivated with a shallow tined machine to create a rough seedbed. We then sowed turnip and radish mix with our quad bike and rolled it in. For once the timing was perfect – just before the rain so that they are coming up already. We will have to watch for slugs if it stays damp but otherwise they will be ready for eating by sheep in about 6 weeks’ time.
Our other crops are looking well: the dry weather has done them little harm and prevented the fungal diseases from developing.
The exception is the Lupins – we knew it was a high risk, but I did not think about the sunflowers coming up amongst them from last year’s crop. I should have known better.
But they will look wonderful! Just not sure how we harvest them. Time will tell.
Once off, we will then sell the straw before either sowing grass/clover leys or turnips/radish as winter feed for sheep.
Our tourism, having had a fully booked Jubilee week, has quietened down somewhat with mainly only the three glamping sites being used at weekends. Bookings are coming in probably helped by airport chaos! In preparation we have mown the shape of a crown into the sunflower field. It's not obvious right now but what is, is the strip of phacelia which we sowed alongside. It is alive with honey bees and bumble bees all day long; you can see it from right across the vale.
Finally, the ongoing Barn Owl story: there are good and bad parts! Of our 3 pairs, two have 3 chicks and one has two. Amanda and I get such joy watching them out hunting in the evenings – priceless!
George
Thursday 2nd June 7.00 p.m. - Purcombe Barn - Jubilee Beacon Lighting details already circulated. See attached. Those who are coming, please bring a torch to light your way back down the hill!
Sunday 5th June 12.30 p.m. for 1.00 p.m. - Broadoak Village and Hall - thanks to all those who have booked in - it will be great to all be together.
Monday 13th June 3.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Tea and Chat Tel. 01308 425332 - Sue Poppitt for more information or if you would like a lift
Tuesday 14th June 7.00 p.m. - St. John's Symondsbury Symondsbury Parish Council www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk. preceded by a Planning Committee meeting. Details on the website. www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Sunday 19th June 6.30 p.m. - St. Paul's Broadoak - back by popular request, Evening Prayer
Sunday 26th June 11.00 a.m. - St John's Symondsbury United Benefice Eucharist. There will be a special celebration in the Church to commemorate the Jubilee and more details will follow.
Symondsbury Parochial Church Council is looking for a Treasurer to take over from Pelham Allen who has done an excellent job over the past few years. It is not an arduous job, but it will be contributing to the community and any help would be appreciated. Please contact George.
Farmer George’s Diary –June 202259mm rain is 10mm less than the recent average but still enough to satisfy our spring grown crops,
especially as 18mm came nicely spread over two days.
One of the changes in crop farming in the last 20 years is that we now have a ‘field walker’. He is employed to look at our crops weekly to ensure they are healthy and to advise on any sprays required. Whilst not a legal requirement, it is a legal requirement for any sprays to be assessed and applied by a qualified person – that rules me out! Generally, our crops look good. We have an issue in the lupins where we had left the sunflowers for the birds last winter – rather a lot of ‘volunteer’ sunflowers. We will just have to live with them and hope they don’t make trouble during the harvesting. They will look very pretty with their yellow flowers amongst blue lupins.
I am somewhat disappointed by some of the proper sunflower field’s germination. Most of the field is fine, but the top end is rather bare. This might be a blessing in disguise as I will explain. Last autumn we applied to join the Government’s countryside stewardship scheme. We put in quite a large programme of work including sowing special crops for winter bird feed and leaving 24-meter strips uncut beside streams. The agreement started on 1st January 2022, but we only got approval last week! One of the areas for bird feed is the poor area of sunflowers; if we get a wet spell, we will drill in the right seed mix. There are several patches totalling about 10 acres. It is quite late, but we were not going to do it unless/ until we got approval as it is expensive to do. The up-side is that if these areas work as well as our sunflower field did last year, we will have huge numbers of small birds all winter.
Adrian Hutchings took the silage off our Hemp field in good time, and we were able to drill it on Friday 13th! Coming out of grass in a dry time and under time pressure to get the crop sown, we had to plough. We next needed to roll it with a heavy flat roller to save moisture and break the large boulders of clay – I tried with our little 35hp tractor and got 6 feet before sinking into the furrow! Luckily Bobby, Adrian’s son, saved me with rather more horsepower. It appears to be an amazing crop to grow – we could see the rows in 8 days, and we are told it will be 8 feet in 60 days. We shall see.
The month ended with a further increase in our livestock: 2 Jersey cows have joined us in their retirement from the Pilsdon Community.
Finally, the ongoing Barn Owl story: there are definitely 3 pairs nesting on the farm. One has 5 eggs and should start to hatch in under a week, the second has 5 chicks and we are not sure about the third but Matt can hear some in the box. Let’s just hope the vole population keeps growing to provide enough food for all those hungry beaks.
George
Belated Happy May Day
💥Tuesday 3rd May 7.00 p.m. - St. Peter's Eype Symondsbury PC Annual Parish meeting - we have some great speakers from Dorset Climate Action Group who will help us formulate a policy for the area. You are welcome to come and suggest any project for the coming year - the Parish council, and its funds, are here for all parishioners. Refreshments will be served, so those in the parish, please do come. 💥(I think that is my first emoji)
Monday 9th May 3.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Tea and Chat Tel. 01308 425332 - Sue Poppitt for more information or if you would like a lift
Tuesday 10th May 7.00 p.m. - St. Peter's Eype Symondsbury Parish Council www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Sunday 15th 6.30 p.m..- St Paul's Broadoak - return of the popular Broadoak Rogation Service. We walk from the church, blessing the village green, water courses, crops, gardens, livestock and will end up at Higher Denhay for refreshments. Do walk the path, or follow in your car. We can arrange lifts back to the village hall car park afterwards if needed. The form of service is very traditional and has been used in Broadoak for many years.
Future Dates
Thursday 2nd June Coppet Hill (Denhay Farm) - Jubilee Beacon lighting. We are still firming up the information and will send it out in the next few days but hope you will join us at Denhay.
Sunday 5th June Broadoak Village - Bring and Share Lunch Jubilee Street Party - for villagers to celebrate around the Phone Box. Major road closure!
May Day – and it's raining (just)
May Day – and its raining (just)
May Day – and its raining (just)
April has been a brilliant month for Coppet Hill. Everything we planned to sow is in and in most cases up and looking good without a drop of rain! From January to April this year we have had 7 inches of rain; the average over the last 9 years is over 11 inches, which shows just how dry the ground is becoming. Will we have a drought? We shall see!
We started the month by increasing our stock; Ellen and I collected two Saddleback sows from near Honiton. They should be in-pig to a British Lop boar and are due in early July. Just think of the fun we will have with 20 piglets running out of control around the farm! Meanwhile they provide lots of entertainment to our visitors.
The spring oats and beans are all up and looking good. Of interest to me is that the best-looking crops are those following the winter turnip/radish cover mix which were grazed by the sheep. They had the best seed beds and germinated the fastest.
The lupins and sunflowers were drilled slightly later and are only just emerging. The lupins are looking fantastic – something the pigeons seem to agree about. We have lots of silver tappers flying over the fields which help deter the birds – but my cousin and his children are integral as pigeon deterrents!
The final spring crop has yet to be sown. At long last we have been given our licence from the Home Office to grow 9 acres of Hemp – not for what you might think, but as part of a project to make low carbon footprint building materials. Hemp fibre has excellent insulation properties and is environmentally beneficial to grow requiring few inputs and being a great benefit to subsequent crops. As son as Adrian Hutchings has taken a silage cut off the field, we will get it drilled.
Finally, with rain forecast yesterday I sowed a small patch of wildflower seed in front of the Purcombe barn. Its such a hit and miss job; tiny seeds sown from a hand scatterer when you cannot see what goes where! I just hope something comes up that is not thistle, nettle or dock.
Philippa and I took a day out to listen to talks about ‘wilding’ at Mapperton. It was a really interesting day and confirmed a few thoughts that I had – we are not remotely wilding but what we are doing is “nature friendly regenerative farming”. Rather a mouthful, but it covers several areas of the farm and the different things we are doing on it.
One thing we have done is fence off the oak trees standing in the middle of fields to prevent tractors driving too close to the roots and causing compaction: it is thought that is the main reason why so many are becoming ‘stag headed’.
I must update you on our Barn Owl story. Much of the credit for this goes to Matt who builds the nest boxes, monitors the occupants with cameras and ensures we do nothing on the farm to harm a single vole. The result is that last month’s cautious optimism that we could have two pairs nesting on the farm has grown to the fact that three nest boxes are being used every night – three pairs would be amazing! What gives me almost as much pleasure is that right outside our window we regularly have a pair of stock doves; these sweet birds have become a feature on our lawn.
George
Tuesday 5th April 7.00 p.m. - Eype Schoolroom Symondsbury PC Planning Committee
Tuesday 12th April 7.00 p.m. - St. Peter's Eype Symondsbury Parish Council www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Friday 8th April 6.30 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Easter Bingo in aid of the Village Hall (see attached)
Saturday 9th April 7.00 p.m. - St. Mary's Bridport Concert by Broadoak Choir and New Elizabethan singers - Three Trees by Chris Reynolds and Requiem by Matthew Coleridge. Such a great concert, so please come and support if you can,.
Sunday 10th 9.30 a.m. - 11.30 a.m.- Broadoak Hall - return of the popular Village Breakfast - please email me or pippa@coppethill.co.uk if you'd like to come Tickets £7.00 (children £3.00)
Monday 11th April 3.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Tea and Chat Tel. 01308 425332 - Sue Poppitt for more information or if you would like a lift
Saturday 16th April 7.00 p.m. -St.John's Symondsbury The Easter Vigil - please do come to this, as there is no service in Broadoak on Easter Sunday.
Future Dates
Thursday 2nd June Coppet Hill (Denhay Farm) - Jubilee Beacon lighting
Sunday 5th June Broadoak Village - Bring and Share Lunch Jubilee Street Party
Farmer George’s Diary – April 2022
Friday 1st April started brilliantly with Philippa doing an April Fool on Instagram: we had been loaned three elephants from Longleat to graze down our camping field and to tread in the wildflower seed! It worked – and was a wonderful bit of harmless fun, something we all need right now.
It was also the start of proper farming 2022. The fields have been disced in preparation for sowing and then we drilled two fields of oats and started on the three fields beans. The latter will be particularly important as the year goes on because they are a valuable source of protein in cow feed – replacing imported soya. This dry spell has made all the difference and our heavy clay soil has dried out sufficiently to make good seedbeds. It was important to us that we did not plough as in our efforts to regenerate the soil, we need to minimise the soil disturbance as much as possible. I am pleased to report that having a good look in the soil we found lots of worms – a good sign of healthy land – also good feed for the gulls and rooks!
The ground drying out well also demonstrated the importance of keeping field drains clear and ensuring the culverts are free. I totally ‘get’ the desire to recreate wetlands but they must be in the right place and not at the expense of feeding the nation. To my way of thinking, whatever you do should be the best – grow great crops or have outstanding wetlands. Whereas just letting years of investment in below-ground land drains go to waste to achieve neither a good crop nor a good wildlife habitat, is waste of effort and money.
There were three fields which we sowed with grass very late last year (November). Most of the fields are good but the headlands are a bit bare, so Gary spun on some more seed with our new Quad-bike seeder. Also, two of them were pure grass and we would like to include clover in our leys – again to help reduce the reliance on bought-in protein by those buying our grass, so we added that as well. It will not help the first cut but should later in the summer.
This week has also provided great excitement in the form of four very wild Exmoor ponies on permanent loan from The Exmoor Pony Society. Their role will be to vary the type of grazing on our hill fields along with some Devon cattle. Pigs roaming our hills come later!
Our two sheep farmers are well into their lambing now – I do enjoy seeing lambs ‘being lamb-like’ in the spring – so long as I don’t have to care for them! They did a good job grazing the hill and turnips over the winter and are very much part of our regeneration policy.
No diary would be complete without me mentioning the Barn Owls: we are cautiously optimistic that we could have two pairs nesting on the farm: we have one for sure but we think there is another, probably young, pair in a second set of buildings. We shall see.
Meanwhile, let's hope for a good spring to get the year under way.
Happy St. David's Day
Not a great deal locally, but a few things to flag up in the coming months.
Tuesday 1st March 7.00 p.m. - Eype Schoolroom Symondsbury PC Planning Committee
Wednesday 2nd March 7.00 p.m. - St. John's Symondsbury Special service for Ash Wednesday
Tuesday 8th March 7.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Symondsbury Parish Council www.symondsbury-pc.gov.uk
Monday 14th March 3.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall Tea and Chat Tel. 01308 425332 - Sue Poppitt for more information or if you would like a lift
Sunday 20th March 6.30 p.m. - St. Paul's Broadoak Holy Communion
For your diaries in April
Friday 8th April Broadoak Hall - Easter Bingo
Sunday 10th April Broadoak Hall - Village Breakfast
Thursday 2nd June Coppet Hill (Denhay Farm) - Jubilee Beacon lighting
Sunday 5th June Broadoak Village - Bring and Share Lunch Jubilee Street Party
Farmer George’s Diary – March 2022
What a good job Gary did his chain saw course last month! Whilst we had little building damage from the four storms, we have lost a number of trees, of all sizes. Nothing too disruptive, but still plenty of clearing up to do.
During February, we had Barry Legg with his JCB repair some land drains which were blocked; one was not working because, when it was originally put in, whoever did it was short of a pipe and covered the last 9 inches with a large stone! No wonder it didn’t work. It is pleasing to see the ground now drying out and gateways accessible. It is so important to stop water running into fields or laying in ruts and to stop the ground becoming waterlogged: a healthy soil is a free draining one with lots of worms.
I was slightly optimistic last month about getting on with spring work. We didn’t have that much rain – 42mm which was the same as January. However, looking at the graph below, you can see that we may well be heading into a period of low ground water – watch out for water board predictions of hose pipe bans!
Meanwhile back in the 21st Century, if the forecast is right, it is going to be dry for the next two weeks, in which case we will be able to start farm work in earnest – spring is on the way!
('Ne'er cast a clout till May be out'.)
Those who don’t read the ECV Magazine might like to know about a project in Broadoak. We are planning to put together a folder of photos on our village website to be viewed alongside Bob Machin’s book “Marshwood Vale – the making of a landscape” about which I wrote last month. If anyone should have old photos of people, houses, work places, etc. that they would be happy to let the hall borrow to scan in, please do send them, or the information, to photos@broadoakhall.org.uk. Details about the book, now in print, are available on www.broadoakhall.org.uk
George
Good evening all
Prompt this month as the Parish Council meeting has moved forward a week till tomorrow evening.
Tuesday 1st February at 7.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall : Symondsbury Parish Council General meeting - all welcome to contribute or observe. These will be in the Hall monthly for the time being. Agenda on noticeboard but please contact symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk or me for more information. Our website is currently being updated.
Monday 14th February at 3.00 p.m. Broadoak Hall : Tea and Chat. Please contact Sue Poppitt on 01308 425332 if you would like to go or know someone in the parish who might like a lift.
Sunday 20th February at 6.30 p.m. - St. Paul's Broadoak : Celtic Worship
The Platinum Jubilee
A little forewarning for those in Broadoak: we hope to celebrate the Jubilee in Broadoak with a listed beacon lighting at Denhay on Thursday 2nd June and then a village lunch in or around the Hall on Sunday 5th June - shutting the road for a street party might not work! I will keep you up to date with arrangements. Symondsbury PCC also hopes to get an arts event in and around the Church for some time in June. Please let me know if you would like to be involved at all as we need ideas.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary – February 2022
I’ve been recording rainfall over the last 9 years. January has averaged 3.8 inches over that period, but this year we had 1.7 inches – most of which was in the first week. With the ground drying out we are able to get on and do a few things.
Gary went on a chain saw course earlier in the month, so he is now busy clearing up the fallen trees after the various storms. We have a huge requirement for firewood, so it will stand us in good stead. We have had a couple of enormous ash branches come down; I don’t thing it is die-back but the trees were both hollow inside. The remainder of the trees are both standing so will hopefully become bird nest sites.
Today, we took an in-depth look at the crops and how they have fared over the winter. It has been really mild with hardly a frost to speak of. Much to my surprise, the winter wheat, which went in late after the difficult maize harvest, looks not-too-bad! Where previous cropping has compacted the ground through heavy machinery constantly turning on it, little grows; this shows the urgent need to repair soil structure through growing the right crops in a planned rotation. We will include legumes to fix nitrogen from the air as well as deep rooted crops to help create a friable soil - one that easily crumbles in your hands. Success will be when the soil freely drains after heavy rain, rather than sitting in great puddles.
On our farm walk today, we also started to plan what crops to grow this spring, the two main ones being field beans (like small broad beans) and oats. The beans, being legumes, bring fertility to the soil and are a valuable protein crop for animal feed. Sunflowers will be part of the plan again this year – with some other cropping attractions (watch this space – or the farm).
We should not forget that what grows best in the Marshwood Vale is grass. We will have lots of different types and treatments of it this year. On the side of the hill there will be regenerative grassland, the fields on top of the hill will be sown with heritage grass varieties with additions (let’s see what grows!), there is grass to be grazed by sheep and kept reasonably short, and finally in our ‘arable rotation’ we will have grass as a crop for others to use for their cows. In that last, we have a lot of clover which gives a double benefit: fertility to the soil and high protein feed for the cows.
At the end of March we will be taking delivery of six Exmoor ponies; along with six of Ricky Frampton’s Red Devons, they will have the run of much of our hill all summer. In preparation for their arrival, we have had to remove the bottom strand of barbed wire from our fences. Philippa and I did this last week while Briar the German Wirehaired Pointer spent an ecstatic day hunting voles – there were so many of them!
It was a real joy to receive a copy of Bob Machin’s “Marshwood Vale, the making of a landscape”. It is the result of three year’s hard labour in the Dorset Records office. “The Vale was an uncultivated waste until the late Saxon period. By 1086, only 12 small areas had been enclosed…..”. There are fascinating snippets of information about many parts of the vale; I never knew that Purcombe derived from William de Pircumba who owned the farm in the 13th century or that there was a ‘great way’ running from Broadoak, via Denhay and Purcombe to Whitchurch. There is much more (155 pages). If you would like a copy (£20), please contact Bob at bobmachin125@gmail.com
Meanwhile back in the 21st century, if the forecast is right, it is going to be dry for the next two weeks, in which case we will be able to start farm work in earnest – spring is on the way!
('Ne'er cast a clout till May be out'.)
Good morning all
Now that Omicron is spreading through our community, fortunately without major illness at the moment, I do hope that anyone needing anything will contact either your neighbours, or me, who will be able to fetch and carry if necessary.
Tuesday 4th January at 7.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall : Symondsbury Parish Council Planning meeting - looking this month Vearse Farm and Symondsbury Primary School applications amongst others
Tuesday 11th January at 7.00 p.m. - Broadoak Hall : Symondsbury Parish Council General meeting - all welcome to both meetings to contribute or observe. These will be in the Hall monthly for the time being. Agenda on noticeboard but please contact
symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk or me for more information. Our website is currently being updated.
Wednesday 12th January at 7.30 p.m. - Broadoak Hall : ArtsReach - an amazing opportunity to hear incredible live jazz in our own village. Please book as soon as possible from Sue: 01297 489844 or 07802347872. Adult £11 under 18 £6. Details bedlow.
Sunday 16th January at 6.30 p.m. - St. Paul's Broadoak : Holy Communion.
Not much more from the village at the moment, but if anyone has anything they would like publicised, please let me know.
I attach Farmer George's Diary.
It’s hammering it down outside and I have just seen a yellow thunderstorm warning on my iPad; what to do? Amanda reminds me that Farmer George’s diary is due!
On days like this we either think back to last year or plan ahead for the next. I am never very good at looking back (what’s done is done) but I do like to think about the future, what we will be doing in Coppet Hill as well as the wider factors affecting our lives – climate change, inflation, political uncertainty both at home and abroad and ever evolving technology not to mention the changes in our society – intolerance, loss of respect of other views and the inverse which is unable to say what you really think for fear of causing offence.
Having said I don’t look back, we need to learn from the past. This autumn and winter we have had so much pleasure from our sunflower field: an increasing array of bird experts has visited and relished the sight of flocks of linnets, bramblings and reed buntings besides the resident goldfinches and wood pigeons. If for no other reason, this is a crop we will grow again in 2022. The other birds to give immense pleasure are the barn owls: every morning I go out to Purcombe around 8am and while there, see one or two of them hunting the long grass above the farmhouse. Matt has camera traps up all over the place to monitor the owl nesting boxes and their occupation: we have four sites up and ready to house married couples – we shall see the outcome!
My Christmas reading this year is ‘Dirt to Soil’. It describes an American farmer’s evolution from land with poor structure and drainage quality to good health by means of careful husbandry (I am avoiding the term regenerative agriculture as it means too many different things to too many people). It does show the way we need to go here; our soil structure is poor, the fields quickly become a quagmire and soil runs off easily.
Healthy soil will retain moisture without being ‘waterlogged’ and permit gradual drainage back into the aquafers. To recreate that health, we will need to grow deep rooted crops to make the soil more fibrous and legumes to fix the nitrogen. Healthy soil will also raise nutrients from deep down and reduce our reliance on artificial fertilizer – with nitrogen at £750 per tonne, that has to be a good thing!
So what are we actually doing right now? Agriculturally, we are playing a waiting game. It will be at least six weeks before we can really tell how well the late sown crops are doing. Will they be good enough or will we have to redrill and replant? The mild weather has helped; it’s a measure of plant population that will be important.
The work revolves around preparing for the new visitor season: we plan to welcome guests from Easter and so must be ready with compost loos, picnic benches and fire pits – not to mention enough chopped up firewood. Now is also the time to tidy things up – repair fences, put up new ones, remove endless rubbish and make sure any gates are working properly. If a footpath has a gate in it, we can only expect walkers to close it if it works properly.
Perhaps the most important activity right now is to use this wet time to play a game of consequences based on all those bright ideas so generously fed into us by all our friends and family under the maxim ‘no idea is a bad idea’
Happy New Year
Good morning
Lots of things to take part in for December – Omicron permitting.
3rd-5th December 10.00 am to 4.00 pm – New House Farm, Broadoak - Open Studios and Barn Café, wonderful pre-loved Clothes Sale in aid of Refugee charities. Great local shopping opportunities
4th-5th December 10.00 am to 4.00 pm – Lower Monkwood Farm Wallace & Sewell Sample Fair. Excellent offers on scarves, cushions throws, etc. www.wallacesewell.com
4th-5th December 11.00 am to 4.00 p.m - Symondsbury Estate Christmas Fair
6th December 6.00 pm – Broadoak Hall AGM via Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87154344079?pwd=MXlMcUdxTHYzQUs4WXBtaHAyLzRDQT09
14th December 7.00 pm St. Peter’s Eype – Symondsbury Parish Council
16th December 6.30 pm Loders Church – Glad Tidings of Joy concert in aid of the church. Details and tickets from Gillian Palmer email: loderschurch@gmail.com
19th December 6.30 p.m. St. John the Baptist Symondsbury – Carol Service
21st December 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – Carol Service. This may move to Broadoak Hall but we’ll be in contact nearer the time. Please take a lateral flow test before you come to ensure everyone’s safety, but we would love you to come and celebrate with us.
Farmer George’s Diary – December 2021
It’s a topsy turvey world we live in! After October’s 167mm of rain, we had 14mm in November. It has made such a difference to life on the farm for so many reasons. We can drive to places that we would normally never get to at this time of year. Traditionally we would never sow grass seed after 13th September; this year we have been sowing in November and much of it is up and away leaving a green tinge on the fields. We did have a few frosts, but the ground temperature is still above average allowing germination. The result is that most of the wheat and grass that we have sown has germinated, come up and is looking good.
Looking at the wheat that was sown in October, it can at best be described as variable! Some of the fields are looking excellent but the wetter ones are poor to awful. We can only wait until the spring to review what we do about them. I hope most will recover but inevitably some will have to be replaced with a spring crop.
The dry spell has allowed us to get our hedges cut. I am very passionate about our hedges so let me summarise the conundrum. To maintain a thick and healthy hedge it should be trimmed every September, ideally into an upside down V shape. However, that destroys all the food and cover for the wildlife. Consequently, we are encouraged to trim every 2 or even 3 years by which time the woody stems are quite thick. Do you prune your roses with a hammer? No, because it makes the stem spilt and growth only starts some way down the stem; the same is true of hedges. Sadly, we had a few hedges which had not seen a trimmer for a few years and they did get the rough treatment but for most of them Mike Simmonds did an excellent and sympathetic job only side trimming many to stop them growing out into the fields. We also left some completely. We have also been making the best of the dry spell cleaning ditches and culverts which have become choked with run-off in previous years. Now that we have some sort of green cover everywhere, this should no longer be a huge issue.
Perhaps our most successful crop is the turnip/radish mix which we sowed after the wheat; the fields are thickly covered and even all over. Shortly the sheep will move onto them before we drill a spring crop. They are proving an unexpected bonus for the birds; when you walk through them, the number of song thrushes and redwings that seem to live there is amazing.
While on birds, every day I drive through the farm at about 7.30 and without fail I watch the barn owls both at Purcombe and Lower Denhay quartering the fields. It is such a joy and shows why it is important to leave areas of grassland ungrazed and uncut. It doesn’t have to be whole fields, but 10-metre-wide strips will work so long as it is tussocky. The sunflowers are also proving a wildlife haven. I have started mowing strips every two or three weeks so that birds and voles which are unable to reach the seed heads can get them on the ground: the kestrel loves this and is immediately following after me.
For all farmers the future is uncertain; we know our ‘basic payment scheme’ is being removed, and we know it is being replaced by ELM (environmental land management). The Government say that the total support for agriculture will not change, but it will be distributed differently and with emphasis on the environment (I will not get into the critical topic of food production and feeding the nation!). The issue for all of us is that they have not given any detail of the new scheme – just that it is ‘public money for public good’: it sounds great, but what does it mean in practice? We shall see.
Our Coppet Hill ‘away-day’ last month proved a success with none of us falling out, a constructive review of 2021 logged and plans for 2022 set. We now have the rest of the winter to get ready not forgetting of course to enjoy the Christmas period and relax, just a little.
Good morning all
At last, lots of things to put in your diary. I will endeavour to put correct dates and times this month!
Tuesday 5th October at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council, St. Peter’s Eype. An open meeting to discuss the Community Governance Review. CGR happens every few years when the boundaries of the parishes are reconsidered. Bridport Town Council are proposing radical changes to their boundaries which would involve moving several of the outlying communities into Town Council control. This will dramatically affect Symondsbury by removing Vearse Farm (Foundry Lea when it is built), West Cliff, Watton Park and Pine View from our parish into Bridport. They have also proposed moving Dottery and Pymore into Symondsbury. We will have maps available at our meeting on Tuesday and would welcome input from Broadoak and others parts of the parish. North Chideock have already made their views felt that they would like to remain in Symondsbury Parish and we will be representing that view.
Sunday 10th October from 11.00 a.m. at Broadoak Village Hall. A Countryfile Ramble for Children in Need, followed by lunch in the Village Hall. This will be one of our regular local walks, this time across Denhay, taking in Jan’s Hill Pond to the top of the hill (with stunning views of the Vale) and back down through the Rookery (a ‘not quite so steep’ route available). Lunch will be available afterwards for £5.00 and we hope for generous walk donations for Children in Need. Please book in with me to give us an idea of numbers and do bring friends with you to raise some money for Children in Need: amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk
Tuesday 12th October at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council, St. Peter’s Eype. Our regular monthly meeting. All welcome for part or all of the meeting.
Sunday 17th October at 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak Harvest Festival followed by a Harvest Supper in the Village Hall. Feel free to come to either or both, but email amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk if you’d like to come to the supper. It is such a help to have approximate numbers.
Wednesday 27th October at 11.00 a.m. Broadoak Village Hall ArtsReach present The Tales of Robin Hood – puppetry and drama for 4 year olds upwards. Tickets from: 01308 424922 or 07802 347872. Those with families, do take the opportunity of some great live entertainment.
Friday 29th October at 5.00 p.m. Purcombe Barn Autumn Amble – come and stretch your legs with the family and enjoy a barbecue in the barn afterwards. More details and booking information to follow.
Farmer George’s Diary – October 2021
The turnips and radish mix are all now up and looking good, ready to be eaten in the hungry months of January and February. Before that, our sheep keeping tenants have brought their animals into different parts of the farm, so we do now have some livestock – the first time since March!
Wilding a farm does not mean just walking away from it and letting nature take hold. We do have to manage the land to some extent in order to retain a balance. On the hill in places the nettles have definitely come out of ‘balance’! I had fun mowing them last week and had the unexpected joy of watching my labour appreciated by the buzzards and kestrels hunting voles and mice who had suddenly lost some of their cover.
We’ve missed the window of opportunity to sow wild flowers this autumn for several reasons but primarily as it was so dry, we were unable to make a fine enough seedbed with our heavy clay. They need to be sown in August or early September ideally or wait until the spring, so we will wait and see what next year brings.
We now have to wait until the maize is harvested before our next job. Because of the wet spring, many of the crops were sown late which means they will be harvested late. That limits our opportunity to get a wheat crop sown if the weather turns really wet. Right now, the rain we have had has been ideal to make the soil ‘friable’ (crumbly and easy to create a seedbed). A couple of fields are able to be cut so hopefully they and two of the grass fields we have half worked down will be drilled with wheat next week. We shall see!
Tourism has now gone very quiet – I wouldn’t camp at this time of year! However we are starting to think more widely and consider how we could use The Barn and our landscape for other events – still maintaining our ethos of being wildlife friendly and encouraging the opportunity to soak in the atmosphere. We are planning some Autumn Ambles (following our Sunflower Saunters) starting on Friday 29th October to include a walk in the wild followed by a meal in the Barn. Details to follow.
George
Good afternoon
Saturday 11th September – Ride and Stride. This is the opportunity to support your local church by visiting as many other local churches as possible – usually on a bike but it could be walking, and getting some sponsorship. No one has done this for Broadoak or Symondsbury for more than 10 years, though many other churches raise hundreds of pounds. It is not too late to sign up, and George has the papers. https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/how-we-help/ridestride. Since we hope to ask for Dorset Historic Churches Trust for funding for our project (see below), it would be wonderful if someone would like to spare some time to take part.
Tuesday 14th September at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council, St. Peter’s Eype. We will be considering proposed boundary changes for the Community Governance Review – this may affect you.
Thursday 16th September at 7.30 p.m. Bridport Arts Centre. “The Vale” is Lawrence Moore’s film of life in the Marshwood Vale, filmed over several years. Tickets from the Arts Centre.`
Sunday 19th September at 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak Evening Prayer. Harvest Festival and Supper will be on Sunday 17th October.
Wednesday 22nd September at 6.00 p.m. St. John’s Symondsbury. A meeting to discuss the reordering of the church – that is, raising funds for the roof repairs, installing a servery area and loos, and other ideas for bringing the church into more community use. All are welcome.
Please do let me know if there are forthcoming events you would like publicised.
Farmer George’s diary – August 2021
Today we subsoiled and disked the wheat stubbles in preparation for sowing a mix of turnips and radish. These will be eaten by the sheep later in the winter before we plant spring barley in March (weather permitting).
- A subsoiler is a 9 inch deep tined implement which breaks up compacted soil. This works well in a dry time as it creates cracks in the soil which allows both root development and water drainage. The disks help the process by hitting the clods from a different angle.
- Turnips and radish are fairly deep-rooted plants, again to help improve the soil structure and improve natural drainage
After this we have some wild flower mixtures to sow; this is very weather dependant because if it turns wet and cold early, they will not germinate successfully. We are doing a trial in one field where we will prepare a seed bed but leave the ground unsown to see what grows naturally. I am hoping for more than docks and chickweed! We are being helped with the field work by James Bowditch and family. He will be doing all the cultivation and field work as we are too small to justify the machinery required, and the benefit to him is that it helps spread his fixed costs over more acres.
Soon we will start to look back at August to see what we achieved with the campsite, the glamping sites and the sunflowers. August has been very full-on but we have all really enjoyed doing it; our guests have been amazingly positive about what we are doing which is so encouraging. The atmosphere in the Purcombe Barn informal tearoom has been wonderful – relaxed and welcoming. We had table tennis, table football and a small pool table which were great assets especially when it was wet at the start of the month. The sunflowers have exceeded our expectations – despite the battering given to them by the wind in July. They just make people smile; we have so many pictures of them – but here is one of my favourites:
Talking of which, our next step with the sunflowers, when they are mature, is to cut some into bunches and sell them as bird feed to hang in the garden. Let us know if you are interested.
Finally, we are really excited as we have a family of young barn owls in one of our woods. Along with our hobbies, kestrels and tawny owls, it means there must be a considerable small rodent population which is good news.
George
Good morning all
I am afraid I am a bit behind hand this month for some reason! The main event will be our reinstated village party on 20th August either in the hall or in Kathy Dare’s field to the right of the Hall. There will be children’s games, a bar and barbecue and we will be kicking off at 6.00 p.m. Tickets will be £5.00 each (children school age and under free) for the barbecue and there will be a bar. It would be lovely to see as many of the village as possible but please do let me know if you are able to come so we can ensure there is enough food but no wastage. We also hope to invite members of the Walbridge Trust and Symondsbury Parish Council to thank them for their donations earlier in the year. RSVP to amanda@higherdenhay.co.uk or 07970 770746 by 17th August please.
Tuesday 3rd August at 4.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council Planning Committee – St. Peter’s Eype Agenda on www.symondsbury.org.uk . This covered items on Vearse Farm and there will be an exhibition in St. Peter’s Eype and the Town Hall this month = details to follow.
Friday 20th August at 6.00 p.m. – Broadoak Hall – party – see above
Sunday 22nd August at 6.30 p.m. - Celtic Worship - St. Paul’s Broadoak. A wonderful service, particularly on a summer’s evening.
Thursday 26th August – Melplash Show : Discover Farming event at Vurlands Farm https://www.discoverfarming.co.uk/news/discover-farming-vurlands-animal-farm
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Dairy – August 2021
We aim to create a business that is sustainable both financially and environmentally; soil health is particularly important to what we plan to do – there will be less heavy machinery and therefore less compaction of the soil. We will also be learning about the cultivation of new crops, eg. sunflowers and maybe hemp.
This area is an amazingly beautiful part of England and we wish to maintain and improve it as well as share it with others. Our venture into tourism is to provide a unique experience and allow the maximum enjoyment of the wildlife, landscape and night sky: the camp site has very spread out pitches, at least 50 metres apart and accepts no dogs and no music.
Sharing what we have is important, so Matt and Ellen have created 6 miles of nature trail walks on the farm to which we welcome you all. In addition, for the campers there are moth clubs, owl prowls and pond dipping. So far we have 8 small ponds on the farm and plan to convert some of the ex-slurry lagoons into ponds as well; this year we planted some wild flowers beside one pond which have been just amazing.
Talking of flowers, the sunflowers have grown spectacularly – sadly last week’s wind created rather a lot of turbulence over them and flattened a section. Nothing daunted, we have created a new entrance and the sunflower saunter starts today. We look forward to welcoming many of you with family and friends to enjoy this fantastic experience and then have a cup of tea or an ice-cream in the Barn tea room.
With a great deal of help from Nick Gray, of Dorset Wildlife Trust, we have submitted our Countryside Stewardship application to DEFRA. If accepted, we will get support for doing things like leaving uncut margins along streams, protecting oak trees or planting herb rich swards; lets hope they approve it.
August is going to be full on ensuring our guests are well looked after. Next month I will outline our farming plans which are equally exciting. Meanwhile please join Discover Farming at Vurlands farm on Thursday 26th August (Melplash Show day) for a wonderful day out full of ‘farming experiences’
George
Good morning all
Friday 2nd July at 4.15 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council Planning Committee – St. Peter’s Eype Agenda on www.symondsbury.org.uk
Tuesday 13th July at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – St. Peter’s Eype. The information is on the Symondsbury Parish Council website www.symondsbury.org.uk. Public are most welcome to attend both meetings.
Sunday 18th at 6.30 p.m. - Holy Communion - St. Paul’s Broadoak. A wonderful service, particularly on a summer’s evening.
- Sadly we have had to cancel the Broadoak party on 10th July. It would have been outside, but if the weather was inclement, indoors would not have been possible. Please do look out for the next date which we will fix soon.
- Plans are moving forward for Fibre for Broadoak. I will shortly circulate an update from Tris Button and Lynden Norman who are working on our behalf.
Farmer George’s Diary
Well at least it was not as wet as last June – but still wet enough to make farming even tougher than usual. I am very relieved not to be trying to feed cows as well as save high quality forage for the coming winter.
Maize growing has been a huge challenge. The early sown crops which went into good seedbeds, became waterlogged and rotted and the later sown crops were sown into good seedbeds but late so will struggle to catch up their growth. Maize should be ‘knee high by the for fourth July’. Well, that is not going to happen this year on most of the crops unfortunately.
Meanwhile our field of sunflowers avoided the pigeons and is growing well. We have mowed two butterflies into them so that in August when they are in flower, we can advertise the opportunity to saunter in the sunflowers followed by teas and ice-creams. We will also offer pick-your-own sunflowers as well.
Wildlife is never far from our thinking at the moment, so it was lovely to drive up the hill and see a cloud (well almost) of butterflies rising out of the grass which is normally grazed at this time of year. Future management will be interesting to balance production against butterflies.
Some warm sunny weather will be a great fillip to more than the butterflies – let’s hope for it.
George
Good evening all
Tuesday 8th June at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – St. Peter’s Eype. At last the PC will be meeting in person by the kind invitation of the Chapel Wardens. The information is on the Symodnsbury Parish Council website www.symondsbury.org.uk. Due to the increased amount of planning applications, including Vearse Farm, there will be separate Planning Committee meetings which will also appear on the website and noticeboards. The public are most welcome to attend both meetings.
Sunday 20th June at 6.30 p.m. - Celtic Worship. St. Paul’s Broadoak.
Sunday 27th June at 2.00 p.m. – ArtsReach Dorset Little Beerland, Ryall.
‘Oh Mary’ A swashbuckling tale of transportation, love, escape, tragedy and redemption.
Cornish actor Bec Applebee, well known for her work with internationally acclaimed companies:
'Kneehigh',' Wild Work's and 'Dalla,'
now presents a one-woman, open-air physical theatre show based on the incredible life story of Mary Bryant; Cornish highway woman, convict, mother and maritime adventurer.
www.artsreachdorset.co.uk for details
Sunday 27th June at 3.00 p.m. – Higher Moorbath Cottage, Broadoak –
the Hollands’ wonderful fundraising tea and walk for MND.
Please call Jane and Jerry for more information about the walk: 01308 425717
Please do let me know if there are forthcoming events you would like publicised.
Farmer George’s Diary
I’ve been so wrapped up in our own issues that I have totally ignored the rainfall chart – not that we forgot the rain in May! We had 149mm compared to 8mm in 2020. Two interesting things:
- June is usually much wetter than May
- The rolling average annual rainfall peaked in January 2020 at 45 inches, since then it has been steadily falling to our ‘normal’ average of 32 inches. However, May created a jump to 37 inches – what a difference one month can make.
Monthly rainfall
Last month I said a warm showery spell would help. What a wish! The thing about the rain was not just the volume but the cold. The maize that had been drilled came up a rather insipid yellow rather than vibrant green that it should be: it hates cold and wet but thank goodness for the last week of fine weather which has turned things around.
Denhay Farms Ltd is still farming the land, so making silage (now completed), emptying the slurry lagoon and drilling the rest of the maize. They will be selling the grass silage and the maize later in the year. This could be the right year to do that as forage is going to be in short supply thanks to poor growth.
Meanwhile, we have sown a field of sunflowers to create a ‘sunflower maze’ later in the year. Like the maize, it does not like cold and wet but germination seems mostly good much to the delight of the pigeons. This is going to be a colourful summer for us all.
George
Good morning all
I am afraid that for technical reasons, this did not go out yesterday, so sadly you missed the opportunity to have a last view from the comfort of your own home of the doings of the Parish Council. Thanks to Philip Colfox for his year as Chair and it is now over to Steve Ralph and I shall do my best to support him as Vice Chair.
Tuesday 4th May at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – this will probably be our last by meeting by Zoom. It is our Annual General Meeting, so there will be hotly contested elections for Chair, Vice-Chair and also new systems instituted for planning committees and managing the Vearse Farm development. Minutes and information are always on our website: www.symondsbury.org.uk
Sunday 16th May at 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – Holy Communion I don’t think there is anything else to mention at the moment, but as information comes in, I will send an update. One thing for our locals to note in your diary now, is the Broadoak Hall Summer Party – Saturday 10th July. This will be a fun-packed afternoon of children’s sports and games and cakes and tea, followed by a barbecue and bar, music and whatever else we feel like doing! We will be celebrating the repairs to the Hall that have been enabled by the Symondsbury Parish Council and Walbridge Trust and the joy of being able to meet up again with our neighbours. |
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Advanced notice ... 'Oh Mary' by Bec Appleby |
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Don't miss the outdoor Artsreach event on Sunday 27th June at 2 o’clock
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Farmer George’s Diary
It is very quiet at Denhay with no cows and the attendant feeding. The tractor team is still employed until the end of July and they have already been making grass silage and will plant the maize fields and of course there is all the remaining slurry to spread.. There is much work to do but we expect the transfer of the land to Amanda and I to be at the end of July also.
Some of the grass fields may not get grazed this year which will be very interesting from a wildlife point of view. The cuckoo flowers are amazing in some fields and the woods are a blue and white sheen from bluebells and ransoms. Do come and walk through our woods to see them if you have the chance.
We had the grand total of 11mm rain in April – and that fell right at the end of the month. Coupled with such a cold spring, it is a mild relief that we are not trying to get milk from grass. I took advantage of the rain to sow some wild flower and grass seeds as well as the strip approaching the Denhay office. A warm showery spell would now be ideal for that and all the crops.
George
Good morning
At last one or two things to put in the diary:
Saturday 3rd April at 7.00 p.m. - St. John’s Symondsbury – Easter Eve Service outside the church with singing! This service usually happens at Broadoak, but will be in the churchyard at Symondsbury. Do please join us; there have been spectacular lightings of the new fire from which the Pascal Candles are lit!
Monday 12th April at 6.00 p.m. – Broadoak Hall. The committee will be meeting to discuss plans for the coming months and to assess what work needs to be done in the Hall. There will be much decorating and cleaning to be done, particularly in the kitchen which has a new ceiling and lighting. If anyone would like to be involved, when we are safe to do so, please let me know.
Tuesday 13th April at 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and the login is on our website www.symondsbury.org.uk. This may be the last time when you will have opportunity to sneak a look at what goes on in the parish without having to leave the comfort of your own home. Do please spare a few minutes.
Thursday 22nd April – Saturday 24th April – From Page to Screen https://www.frompagetoscreen.info/events. Do sign up for a Festival Pass to a range of wonderful films this season – even if we can’t get together yet. All these events will need as much support as possible this year. It is your chance to see ‘Ammonite’ too.
Please do let me know if there are forthcoming events you would like publicised.
Best wishes, Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary
There was a temptation not to write anything this month. The pain for us all is huge especially as we are in the middle of selling the cows. It is already very quiet around the farm and that sense of emptiness will only grow. I think we are in the equivalent of the hour before dawn – the darkest hour. Things will get better, but it will take time.
Meanwhile there is work to be done. This year we will be growing the maize crops as before and harvesting grass for silage. The latter will start in about 4 weeks’ time. Spring and longer days wait for no man. The signs of new life are everywhere; my dog brought back a freshly laid pheasant egg to me two days ago and a pair of magpies are chancing their arms by nesting in the yew tree right outside our office window! Perhaps of more excitement was that son-in-law Matt filmed a polecat on his camera-trap – how unusual is that?
Quite how things will unfold at Denhay is still uncertain but in a month’s time I hope to be able to tell you more. What I can say is, contrary to one rumour, the land is not being sold and we are staying here.
GeorgeIt is with a heavy heart that I write an update on life at Denhay.....
Despite the best endeavours of all involved, the farming operations over the last five years have consistently lost significant money. This is despite the fact that over that period we have farmed better than we have ever done.
In the period since 2015, performance has improved on all fronts, not least milk yield which has increased by 1,600 litres (21%) on average over all herds. However, we have incurred substantial losses, and it is not sustainable to continue to do so. Given the weak outlook for milk price, the withdrawal of Basic Payment Scheme over the coming years, the fact that we are spread out with nearly 20 miles from one end to the other, coupled with increasing environmental pressures, there is no apparent and clear sustainable future for dairy farming at Denhay. We should not forget those that will be seeking new employment and we will do all we can to support them.
Having gone clear of TB, the herds will all be dispersed by early April and the Hood and Streatfeild families will each be responsible for farming their own land. Denhay Farms as a bacon curing business will remain in operation as an ongoing business. The detail of what we plan to do will unfold over the coming months as you read my diary.
Best wishes
George
Good morning all
Happy St David’s Day; to those wearing a leek or daffodil today, hope you enjoyed Saturday! Not many diary entries again this month, but I am sure that dates will start to appear soon.
A couple of requests:
- as a trustee of the wonderful Pilsdon Community, I am possibly looking for a volunteer Treasurer, so if anyone might be interested, please contact me.
- and with things opening up before too long, Dorset ArtsReach, the organisation which brings live entertainment of incredibly high standard to the local community and village halls, will be getting its programme together. Georgina Burnham, who runs the Broadoak events, would love a couple of volunteers to help her with planning and running those activities; we will probably only have a couple a year, but someone to help get the hall ready, put up posters, etc., would be much appreciated.
George enters his last month as Dorset’s High Sheriff and has produced a booklet highlighting the work of some of Dorset’s charities. Please let us know if you would like a copy or download it from his website:
http://highsheriffdorset.co.uk/uploads/Inspiring%20Hope%20-%20High%20Sheriff%20of%20Dorset.pdf. With thanks to Martin Clunes, a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset, for his support.
Tuesday 9th March 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and the login is on our website www.symondsbury.org.uk. We will be looking at the Dorset Local Plan revision, and it is important to be part of the long-term planning of development in the county. It is also an opportunity to put in for local grants: Broadoak Hall has been awarded £2,250 and Bridport Leisure Centre £5,000. Thanks also to the Walbridge Trust for their grant towards the Village Hall roof repairs.
Farmer George’s Diary March 2021
Sunday 28th February and it seems more like the end of March- not a cloud in the sky, the birds are singing and the snowdrops and wild daffodils are in full bloom; it must be spring.
Exactly a year ago I wrote about this new virus Covid 19! Interestingly I listed what we knew and what I thought would be the effect on us and I wasn’t too far off the mark. Specifically it did help tourism in the southwest and it did help our supermarket sales. However, it has continued to put huge pressure on the price of milk; less coffee drunk to and from work has had a dramatic impact on the demand for milk.
I am really pleased to report that after many years, all our cows passed the second TB test last week. It is a huge relief; being shut up with TB places a great deal of stress and cost on everyone. Meanwhile, despite my claims about spring approaching, the cows are still very happily in their sheds eating lots of last year’s well made grass and maize silage. It will be a while before they get to grazing the grass as we need the ground to ‘pitch’ out and warm up.
Whilst February was wet, at this time of year it doesn’t take long for the ground to dry and then field work can start. I went to Middlemarsh last week and driving up over the chalk top, I could see tractors rolling the grassland and ploughing ready for spring corn. It will be a while before we are able to do that in the Vale. At least we can keep the slurry pits under control.
Matt Kingston keeps a record of the bird species he sees each year; he is up to over 50 already this year which seems a huge number. The greatest excitement for us all is regular sightings of the barn owl; let’s hope he finds a mate and uses the carefully constructed nesting box. If this weather continues, we will have more to do and write about.
George
Good morning all
Happy Candlemas – light a candle for someone, or just for yourself; traditionally celebrating Jesus being presented at the Temple, but also heralding spring and life giving warmth (though probably not today!).
Tuesday 8th February 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and the login in on our website www.symondsbury.org.uk. We will be looking at the Dorset Local Plan revision. Please remember for those in the parish that this is the chance for you to join a PC meeting at any time and just watch, maybe only for a few minutes, to see what goes on. We are delighted to welcome a new councillor, Paul Hartmann, who has huge planning experience and will be able to support our comments on applications, which will include Vearse Farm. Broadoak Hall will also be making an application to the Parish Council for funding to repair the kitchen ceiling in the village hall, which has now fallen in. We have asked for quotes and hope that we can get funding to repair it soon.
Wednesday 17th February – 5.30 p.m. A live service broadcast from Salisbury Cathedral at the start of Lent. Visit www.eggardoncolmerschurches.org if you would like the link.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary February 2021
We seem to be going back up the average rainfall chart with a very wet January! It does not appear to be just one year, but a trend – as shown by the black line. If this is what global warming means for us we should all be considering the effect on our businesses. I suspect we do not really know the answer, but it doesn’t look good right now for those of us dairy farming in the Marshwood Vale.
However, the cows are all safely kept indoors for now and do not make any attempt at getting out. You know when spring is coming because the slightest rattle of a gate will bring them bellowing to be let out. Not now!
I am pleased to say the milk is coming up and our price has a little as well. That has nothing to do with the market which remains dire. We lost our Waitrose supply arrangement; they cut back on their milk requirement because they lost the Ocado business so their sales were dramatically reduced. Being far away from any distribution centre, we lost out. However, after a herculean effort by all the farm staff in achieving the necessary standards, half the Denhay milk is going to M&S. It is not that they are any harder than those of Waitrose, they are different. When you read about those farmers that supply supermarkets having a much higher price than those to fresh milk sales, please remember that price comes at a huge cost; they are very demanding over building design, animal welfare and the use of antibiotic and chemicals. I am not saying that it is a bad thing, far from it, in many areas it is excellent, but it does add a great deal to the cost of producing a litre of milk.
The whole farming landscape is changing. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a thing of the past and we have 6 years of transition to a time when there will be no subsidies without a benefit to the tax payer in return. The new system is called Environmental Land Management or ELM. We will be paid for providing ‘Public Good’ such as wildlife meadows or new wetlands. This requires a whole new mind-set for farmers – since the 1947 agriculture act we have been exhorted to ‘feed the nation- never again will Britain be held to ransom for food as it was in WW2.’ Now food security is not seen so much as a priority and we must also care for the environment, landscape and wildlife. I would add since Covid 19 as well – care for the nation’s mental health and welfare.
Clearly food production will remain at the heart of what we do as farmers but we will have to rethink how we farm with our support coming from a different perspective. I suspect there will be increasing emphasis on planting up corners, leaving hedges to grow and considering if some of our less productive land can be farmed differently. For example the grassland on Denhay hill which is grazed by youngstock in the summer is entering a scheme this year called ‘low input grassland’ in other words reduced fertilizer and sprays. DEFRA have yet to give us the full details of the future support, but clearly this is a discussion to be continued as we learn more.
Farmer George
Good morning all
I have failed in my New Year Resolution to get the Broadoak Diary out promptly, so Happy New Year on 2nd January.
A little catch up on December – we had three lovely services in Broadoak and Symondsbury 23rd, 24th and 25th December and the interpretation of the Christmas Story in Symondsbury has been a true community effort – it will be there for a couple more days I think if you have the chance to visit.
Tuesday 12th January 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and the login in on our website www.symondsbury.org.uk. We will be looking at the Climate Change policy of Dorset Council.
Sunday 31st January 11.00 a.m. St Paul’s Broadoak – Benefice Eucharist. We appreciate that most people will not feel able to attend church services, but for those who would like to, all precautions will have been taken to protect us all. Services may have to revert to purely online, so please check https://www.eggardon-colmers-view.org.uk
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary allied to the musings of a High Sheriff – January 2021
I have to admit my son, William, was right! In mid-December he said we would leave the EU with a deal – and he was spot on thank goodness. For agriculture and the food industry, including fishing, it would have been horrendous and caused real hardship on top of all else right now. Before thinking about farming, I would like to pay tribute to the Police, Fire and Rescue and Dorset Council; they have all been very risk averse over Covid. For me that has meant I have not had as much interaction with them as I would have liked, but more importantly, I think it is a key reason why Dorset is in Tier3.
Like many, I will not mourn the end of 2020 for the impact on society, mental health and the disastrous effect on many businesses. As High Sheriff, it has not exactly been as I expected. However, being 9 months through my year in office, I feel that I have probably done more good and had a better impact on some key areas of our community than if things had been more normal. Yes, I have missed all the smart functions, invitations and events but I have met some amazing people doing fantastic things for their community or charity. I will not go into any more detail, but if you would like to see what I have been up to, do go to www.highsheriffdorset.co.uk. Amanda and I have thoroughly enjoyed it; things would not have been half as effective without Amanda’s ideas, suggestions and support.
Monthly rainfall in inches
My role has not stopped me keeping tabs on what is happening on the farm – or from recording the rain. A year ago we were suffering from a really wet winter; surely we could not have the same again? It’s starting to look like it with 149mm rain from September to the yearend compared to 143mm last year. The slightly drier summer means our rolling average has dropped from 40 inches to 36 inches a year.
Back in the cow sheds ….. I am pleased to say the cows are milking well. However TB has been a constant battle this year. We have had both the usual skin tests (which are not 100% accurate) and the gamma interferon test (which picks out false positives). It has meant we have lost a lot of cows in the process but our most recent test was all clear. This does not mean we are TB free – we need another clear test in February – let’s pray it is also clear. Losing cows is always painful for us all but also hits the milk production; the new heifers joining the herds are milking well so things are on the up at last.
As in every year, we have had sheep grazing all our grass fields in the autumn; they do a fantastic job pulling out all the old tough stems and allowing new growth to flourish. This year they have had the benefit of grazing the maize stubbles which have had amazing grass growth from the midseason inter-row drilling. As I constantly say – it is a really successful way of holding the soil, helping the structure and providing cover to wildlife.
Talking of wildlife, son-in-law Matt is totally hooked on watching ‘his’ Barn Owl. He built a nesting box in the barn at Purcombe and a Barn Owl has taken residence. It would be fantastic to have a breeding pair – let’s hope!
Matt is much better at identifying birds than the rest of us; he is up to 77 different species seen on Denhay this year (some advantages of Covid). It is wonderful to have such a variety.
As we move into January, the nights will be getting shorter, the grass will start to grow and before long we will be thinking of turning the cows out. Spring is not very far away – roll on.
A very Happy New Year to everyone.
Farmer George
Dec 9th Good morning all
We have set up the hills around Bethlehem and look forward to stocking them with sheep and shepherds. Let us know if you would like your offerings collected, but please do take them down if you would like too. The church should be open from 10.00 until 4.00. George will be going down on Friday to suspend the star and angel (ladder needed).
To confirm that we are having a Eucharist on 23rd December in Broadoak at 6.30 p.m., and if anyone would like to do a little decorating for that, it would be good, but probably not preparing the usual wonderful display we have. There will be the short family service in Symondsbury on Christmas morning at 9.30, and Midnight Mass will be in Symondsbury on Christmas Eve at 11.00 p.m.
Best wishes
Amanda
November 2020 Good morning all
Another rather gloomy diary I am afraid. However, I would like to include a poem by a local superstar poet (Chris Reynolds) which rather summed up our local choir’s attempts to just do a little singing around September time. I think it’s brilliant! We did take the opportunity last night to record some carols before we were all shut down again, and these will be available for listening and viewing as part of a ‘virtual’ Carol Service next month; I hope you will take the chance to sing along at home. There will be news then of how we are going to try to make the best of a bad thing, but this month it will just be the online service.
My friends, we can now get together
to wield the willow,
or boot the leather,
safely, we can leave the house
take down our guns to shoot at Grouse
If so inclined we can get wed,
( or buried if we find we're dead )
can share the air at school or work
( where surely never virii lurk!)
We can explore the local pub
( or restaurant,) in search of grub
or watch a film or play ( en-masked ,
and distanced suitably, as asked )
Our chums can run, and jump and play
cycle in packs, and kick up hay
or hit each other in a ring
but as to choirs, here's the thing ..
it's far too dangerous to sing!
But Hark! As I laid down my pen
I heard they’d changed the rules again !
The danger, with this type of sars is
Owning antique Chinese vases? (*)
Nigel thinks ( he could be right )
They’ll change again ‘ere Wednesday night!
(* an awful pun on the dangers of ming-ling )
Tuesday 10th November 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and the login in on our website www.symondsbury.org.uk.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary November 2020
October was really mild but turned out to be the wettest month since January. Despite the wet we were able to complete all the autumn work scheduled and in places even more.
The main project was the maize harvest; most was done in September but we had to stop for two weeks to allow the later drilled crops to mature. Then of course it rained and we started to worry. Luckily a dry spell came just in time and we completed the job with little damage to soil structure or mess on the roads.
We were also able to get winter wheat drilled and both Italian ryegrass and perennial sown. The latter is much slower growing and more sensitive: there is a huge risk if sown late that it will be either flooded out or frozen. In the event with the mild weather there is a wonderful green tinge on all the fields as they are coming up well.
The wheat is also looking good; in fact it may be too advanced (well grown) but we can sort that by grazing with sheep over the winter. A crop that is too advanced will be much more susceptible to diseases such as mildew. Grazing by sheep also helps by encouraging the plant to tiller out (develop more side shoots). This will result in more ears of corn in the final crop.
Not quite all the cattle are indoors yet; we have a few groups of heifers pulling out the tough grass on the grazing fields. This will mean that in the spring there are only fresh new leaves for the dairy cows to graze. It is always a fine balance because if we leave them out too long and the weather turns really wet they will do a lot of damage to the soil.
On that point, I was reminded of my childhood when driving around Blackdown Hill where I saw a herd of cattle grazing kale behind an electric fence. Every dairy used to do that; the cows would trudge out after milking each morning through udder deep mud making deep ruts. The last time we did that I grew a huge crop at Lower Denhay that was nearly 6 foot high. When the cows came in from trying to eat the thick storks (there cannot have been any milk I it!), you would see Ted Higgins in yellow sou’wester dive into the crop, slasher in hand to move the electric fence for the next day. Thank goodness that no longer happens. Our cows are happily eating well made silage in their comfortable sheds.
I cannot finish without a mention of the pandemic; farm life has to go on but our guys are being really careful to keep their distance from others; it is not far away. The cows will always need to be feed, mucked out and milked twice a day, seven days a week come what may.
George
Good afternoon all
There are beginning to be a few cultural activities in the area, so do look them up for example in the Marshwood Vale and ECV Parish Magazine. Good news that Bridport Literary Festival is going ahead in a slightly reduced format.
Monday 12th October 6.00 p.m. Broadoak Village Hall AGM – we hope to hold this properly in the Village Hall.
Tuesday 13th October 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and website www.symondsbury.org.uk. This is just a great opportunity for you come along and see what happens at a PC meeting, from the comfort of your own home. You can just ‘pop in’ for a few minutes and leave when you want, but this will be a unique opportunity which may not be available for much longer – hopefully we will be meeting properly before too long.
Sunday 18th October 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – our Harvest Festival. No singing I am afraid, but we will have a joyous celebration of harvest in some way or other. It would be great if you could let us know if you’d like to come, so we can set out covid-secure seating.
Sunday 25th October 11.00 a.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury – Benefice Eucharist, with the Loders Choir giving us some live music from a very safe distance. It was appreciated last Sunday for the Harvest Festival.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary October 2020
I know I keep going on about it, but the inter-row sowing of Italian ryegrass into the maize has really worked this year. I was driving around Dorset yesterday (as a High Sheriff does!) and looking at all the bare maize stubbles. Then I come home and our stubbles are a green and welcoming part of the landscape.
The world is rather topsy turvey right now; my friend in Norfolk has had 93mm in 72 hours this week, and we have had a total of 33.5mm for the whole of September and most of that was this week. In fact the rain is needed to get the autumn reseeds and early drilled wheat growing. Looking at the forecast I fear that someone might now forget to turn the taps off!
Our maize harvest has gone really well so far; working in the dry has been so much better – no ruts in the fields, no mud on the roads and trailers being filled properly. I appreciate the chaos at times on the road and can only apologise; we do our best with radios in the cabs so that drivers know where they are to avoid meeting in the narrow sections. We also try to work a one way system so that trailers don’t meet head on. We also try to work with our neighbours – this doesn’t always happen – sorry! I also understand that working late upsets people; if the weather is good, we need to make the most of it and it is only a very few nights a year. There is also an argument that it is safer by night because we can see car lights coming and there is less traffic. However I apologise to the residents on Denhay corner where a trailer tipped over late one evening.
The dry autumn has meant that we have drilled most of our wheat already. This is quite early and may give us problems later; too much leaf growth encourages plant diseases. A good graze by sheep will control that! However we have had to stop maize harvest because the last drilled crops are not fit – they need another 2 weeks to ripen. Once they are off, we will be able to complete the wheat drilling. Looking at the long range forecast we might get a dry interlude in about 2 weeks – ever the optimist!
As feared, our TB tests produced quite a number of reactors – all of which have now been culled. Apart for the economic cost to us, the dairymen find it an emotionally painful time with cows they have cared for leaving them in the prime of life. Even the skin test did not come back clear so we wait for another 60 days to test again.
I mentioned walkers last month; a dry September has seen even more enjoying our beautiful landscape. How easy to keep a good social distance on top of Denhay Hill.
I look forward to celebrating Harvest Festival with you in Broadoak on 18th October; it will be Covid safe and different. In these stressful times it is easy to forget just how lucky we are to live in West Dorset with our landscape, wildlife and farming; this is a chance to remind ourselves.
George
www.highsheriffdorset.co.uk (if anyone is interested)
Good morning all
Tuesday 8th September 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we will be meeting by Zoom again this month. Please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and website www.symondsbury.org.uk.
Saturday 12th September – Ride and Stride raising money for our Historic Churches. Sadly still no volunteers for Broadoak or Symondsbury but the wonderful Pelham and Janet Allen at Eype are rising to the challenge for St. Peter’s. They are going to try doing the Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT) “Ride & Stride” this year on or about 12th September, visiting about 11 churches they hope, on their bikes. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/PelhamJanet https://www.dhct.org.uk/m/index.php is the general website.
Sunday 20th September 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – it will be Celtic Worship this month – a service with time for some music (canned I am afraid!) and some quiet.
Sunday 27th September 11.00 a.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury – Eucharist, followed by, at 12.00, the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Do feel free to come to this at 12.00 if you are in the parish, as it is your chance to air any views on services, finance, etc.
Best wishes
Amanda
Farmer George’s Diary
What a funny old year! No Melplash Show, although there were some great online competitions. For me it meant that August passed as a non-month. Normally I am frantic preparing for Discover Farming – and it just didn’t happen. The upside is my other duties kept me out of trouble.
The farm is gearing up for the autumn work. We are making yet another cut of silage; the rain we had a couple of weeks ago was perfect for stimulating growth, especially the clover which was just amazing. Clover, being a nitrogen fixer and high in protein, is a great part of the diet. Its disadvantage is that it can be very hard to make into a good and palatable silage when wet; this time of year should be fairly straightforward – it is the spring when things often go wrong and you make a clamp of butyric silage (smells awful and the cows will not eat it!). In addition to that, the bees love it!
I am pleased to say that most of our slurry lagoons are empty; this puts us into a good position for the winter. Now that we have taken a cut of grass, the plan is to empty the last slurry onto the grass stubble.
The cows are milking well but are mostly eating silage – grass and whole crop (wheat). TB remains a huge problem for us, having been ‘locked down’ for over three years. Last week we did what is called a gamma interferon test; this is very sensitive and will find every cow with TB in the herd. Sadly it will also make a few false positives, meaning some cows will go slaughter even though they haven’t got TB. Once this is done, we hope that the next skin test will then come back clear – we can only hope.
We had one field of very early maize and so harvested it last week. It was still rather green, but it allowed the team to make sure the forager was ready for the main harvest when it comes. Our thinking is that we will start in earnest in about 10 days’ time. Many of the maize crops have been under sown with grass, so hopefully they will not require any work after harvest. The other fields will need to be worked and sown with grass to provide winter protection of the soil. Therefore an early cut is a real bonus; every day after 1st October increases the risk of crop failure and therefore soil erosion.
One of the good things about the easing of lockdown is that we have seen many more walkers than normal; how nice that they are able to enjoy what we often take for granted – the views, the wildlife and the tranquillity. We did have some gates let open earlier but recently all has been well – brilliant. To those of you that walk the farm, thank you
We are coming up to the time of year when we celebrate Harvest Festival. This year we are not allowed to sing in church or meet in large numbers in the village hall, which will present a challenge. I propose that we will have a service of poems and readings instead of singing but will need to get help from everyone – Broadoak’s service will be on 18th October and Amanda will let you know how we will celebrate it this year.
George
August 2020
Good afternoon all
Useful addresses:
- the wonderful Bridport Food Festival list of food outlets which is still being updated: www.tiny.cc/bridport. It lists all those participating in Mr. Sunak’s restaurant evenings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
- the Eggardon and Colmers magazine is back up and running and being distributed, but it is online as well, for those not in the area. https://www.eggardon-colmers-view.org.uk/e-magazines/
- The Shave Cross Inn is open at times now – email tom@foxandowl.co.uk for details of their drive in movies. Meals being served are Fish & Chips on Thursday, pizza on Friday and burgers on Saturday. This coming week the programme is:
6th August – Rear Window, 7th August, The Princess Bride and 8th August Finding Neverland. Pre-booking only and they start at 8.00. Let me know if you need more information.
Tuesday 11th August 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we have been meeting monthly by Zoom – please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and website www.symondsbury.org.uk. We tend not to meet in August unless there are important planning issues to cover. I don’t think we will have a meeting this month, but do check the website if you are interested.
Sunday 16th August 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – we are at last having a service again, and it will be BCP (Book of Common Prayer) traditional Holy Communion. We have had some great offers to tidy up inside and out on Thursday 13th August, but if you would like to join in, probably from around 5.00 p.m., do contact George.
Saturday 12th September – Ride and Stride raising money for our Historic Churches. No-one has done this for about six years for Broadoak or Symondsbury so it would be great if someone would like to take part or organise the local effort. https://www.dhct.org.uk/m/index.php do let George know if you are interested.
Farmer George’s Diary
I have attached it this month as it has a rather nice picture which may not go through the ether another way. Let me know if you would like the text sent.
Best wishes
Amanda
We may be very dry right now, but our rolling average rainfall remains very high. This is because July is always quite a low rainfall month. For dairy farming, summer rainfall is so valuable to keep the grass growing; all winter rainfall does is fill the lagoons. That is not quite fair; we need the winter rain to fill the aquafers. It a sort of nimbyism – not on my farm!
We can really see the difference in old pasture and newly sown leys. We measure the grass growth every week and I am told it is still growing quite well which means that the cows get to graze fresh grass every day. That is because we have sown it especially for them. On the other hand, the old leys, for example on Denhay Hill, which not been reseeded for over 60 years have totally stopped growing. There, the heifers are eating the grass tight which will do the sward a lot of good by removing the poor grasses which thrive if left alone.
The good grass growth has enabled us to make a good quantity of silage for feeding in the winter. Lots of early sunshine also helped the sugar levels which results in good quality as well. It all helps the future milk production next winter.
Sadly we are nearly through our stock of maize silage; we had hoped to have enough until the next harvest in October, but last year’s poor growth and the long winter meant we ate more than planned of the 2019 crop. To offset that, we have harvested the wheat as ‘whole crop’. This means we harvest all the plant and ensile as if it was grass silage. However it has a much higher feed value because of the grain; it should be the equivalent of the maize silage.
Meanwhile the young maize crops are looking well; the early planted fields are fantastic; they are over 2 meters high and in tassel (flower) which means we should be able to harvest them very early before it turns wet! The later sown crops are catching up but will have a lower bulk – sunshine now will ensure a good grain which is the main thing for feed value.
We have had some fun with the entrance to Denhay this year. I planted a small strip of wild flowers a few years ago, but this year we extended it the full length of the field running up to the office and planted a mix of mustard, phacelia and sunflowers. There are so many bees and bumble bees – it is quite fantastic.
The other piece of wildlife joy is that we have a pair of hobbys nesting on the farm; son-in-law Matt watched them chase off a peregrine the other morning – how spectacular is that!
I have avoided both Brexit and covid-19 so far – let’s have an August holiday, keep ourselves to ourselves and return to them in September!
Let us enjoy the sunshine
George
July 2020
Good morning all
Useful addresses:
- the wonderful Bridport Food Festival list of food outlets which is still being updated: www.tiny.cc/bridport
- the Eggardon and Colmers magazine (possibly the last exclusive online version) which gives much of the local news. https://www.eggardon-colmers-view.org.uk/e-magazines/
- I understand the Shave Cross Inn is open at times know – I don’t have the information, but I think the Facebook page is: tom@foxandowl
Tuesday 14th July 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury Parish Council – we have been meeting monthly by Zoom –
please contact the clerk Marilyn if you would like to attend virtually: symondsbury@dorset-aptc.gov.uk and website www.symondsbury.org.uk
Farmer George’s Diary – July 2020
Who used the expression ‘flaming June’? For two years running we have had around 80mm rain in the month which has maintained our high average fall. It would not seem it if you dig your gardens!
However, that rain has stimulated tremendous grass growth. At the start of the month things were really drying up and we got a little concerned but all that has changed and the cows have plenty of grazing ahead of them. Our second cut of silage has been done, slightly delayed by a combination of rain and TB testing all the cows. When a test is fixed, there is no moving of the date and it takes everyone to do it which in our case is a whole week disrupted.
There is an annual predictable cycle to our lives; July sees the volume of milk drop as cows are ‘dried off’ for their annual 60 days holiday from being milked before calving and starting the whole journey over again. The most important thing right now is to ensure they are in the right condition – neither too fat nor too thin. As with humans, this is not an instant fix but takes years of management to get right. For the final 2 or 3 weeks before they are due they go onto a strict food regime to prepare them. Over the last 3 or 4 years this has worked well with (touch wood) very few cases of milk fever or retained cleansings (afterbirth or the placenta). Milk fever is a lack of calcium in the blood caused by a sudden draw on it by the cow’s body as she comes into milk. It causes cows to fall over and if not treated quickly, they will not survive. Luckily it is easily sorted in most cases by a dose of calcium under the skin.
This is the time of year when we try to empty our slurry lagoons on to freshly silage fields. The operation is going well this year with levels coming down. It is vital to enter the winter with them all as low as possible in order to hold the winter’s deluge. We try to avoid rain water joining the slurry, but it is really hard to achieve so a wet winter can be a real challenge. On the positive side, the slurry to apply really helps the grass to grow and saves us using artificial fertilizer; we can see where it is applied or missed!
Coronavirus has become a way of life for us; the routine continues with everyone maintaining as much distances as possible. The biggest issue is getting supplies; we are doing a big refurbishment in one of our houses and have come to a halt because we are unable to get any plaster – there is a national shortage as stocks have been used up and manufacturers furloughed their staff so none was made. Hopefully things will return to normal quickly.
I have been doing all sorts of ‘environmental’ things around the farm this spring and have become aware of two issues: ticks and rats. It appears to be a massive rat year –I hate rats, so hygiene must be very strict over things like bird feed. Ticks are a worry because they can cause Lyme disease. If you or your family go for walks in the countryside, please keep a keen eye for them and be careful how you remove them; make sure you get the heads!
On that happy note: stay safe.
George
June 2020
Good morning
As usual, not a lot of great activity in Broadoak! Farmer George has been busy as ever, and I have attached the diary as a PDF so you can see the pictures in glorious technicolour! If anyone can’t open the file, let me know and I’ll send you the text.
Farmer George’s Diary – June 2020 T’is terrible dry; in May we had 8mm rain in two small bits. The graph below shows the rolling average rainfall at Denhay; we are forecast a dry June – that will really pull our average down!
We are seeing the advantage of heavy clay: the crops are looking remarkably good with early sown maize powering away and regrowth after a good first cut of grass for silage also flourishing. Even the late sown maize is coming up well; it may be dry and baked on top, but there is still a lot of moisture down under. I talked to a friend farming in Kent last night; he is really suffering on drier ground with spring sown crops not germinating. To cap it all, his latest planting of lavender was almost wiped out by frost. Every month I seem to report that the cows are still milking well – no exception in May! The early dry period allowed us the get most of the cows out to grass in good time and they grazed well with good grass recovery after each grazing. It is also great credit to the team milking them; dairy farming is all about attention to detail and dealing with the smallest things before they grow into big issues – so well done them. The great thing about this spring, which no one expected, is that the cows and heifers all went out onto dry ground; no poaching of the soil. There is much talk about soil health and the effect of compaction damaging structure. Cows walking on wet soil do as much damage as a huge tractor as their weight is spread over such a small area. In a wet spell, just after first turn out, cows waiting by the gate to be let back into their sheds will damage that ground which will not grow a thing for the rest of the year. When silage is made it takes six weeks for the fermentation to complete and stabilise; so we must wait yet before doing an analysis to see what it looks like. We are ever hopeful; when harvesting, Ben had real trouble with the forager because the grass was so sticky with natural sugars that it kept wrapping around the pickup reel rather than feeding through the knives as it should.
As far as coronavirus is concerned, we have a way of life; try to keep as far apart from each other as possible but appreciating at times that just does not work. We are having trouble getting things – spares and even oil was on long lead times because of lack of drivers (the price is still really low!). One of the benefits of this lockdown is that some of us have more time on our hands; encouraged by Amanda (Parish Councillor) I have been going around our public rights of way making sure they are open and not grown over; I have a few to go but let me know if you come across any I have missed
I read in this month’s Eggardon and Colmers View (ECV) that a small group has set up a new 'Lifelines' project. It
aims to enable anyone with land - from a garden to a farm or estate - to join commitments to managing their land in
ways that maximise biodiversity and allow wildlife safe passage in pesticidefree corridors. While much of Denhay
doesn’t fit the criteria, we do have a fair amount of the farm that does. Our hedgerows, including the ditches,
probably average about 4 meters wide and these are amazing wildlife corridors; it is one of the characteristics of the
Vale which makes it such a haven. We also have a number of wild flower strips and many fenced off corners, often
with a pond. Farms often do these things without seeking credit however Government support is changing and in
future farmers must record all areas as it is those which will attract financial support. As Ines Ford writes “Society
should recognise the huge challenges that farmers face with the vagaries of weather, markets and now government
policy. Communities need to support their local farmers as they are asked to transition from a mind-set dominated
primarily on production, to one where food must be produced with greater consideration for wildlife and the climate
emergency.” I think many farmers are doing the right thing more often than not.
In this weather, happy haymaking (something I NEVER do)
Farmer George
One of the joys of the lockdown has been the fun that my grandchildren have had in a pond on the
middle of the farm: with help from Dorset Wildlife Trust, we had cleared it out and cut the vegetation
back in February. It is a mass of insects - dragonand damsel flies amongst them,
successful nests of both ducks and moorhens and we have even seen 3 newts (which was why we had help from
DWT). It has been a real outdoor classroom for them.
This funny old year continues but while it does, you cannot stop birth, growth and production from the land;
we just have to get it safely to market
Stay safe and keep healthy in body and mind.
George
Amanda May 2020
I do try to limit my posts, but have a couple more things which might be of interest. Having said that, there is so much opportunity on the internet for watching and listening that I find it quite overwhelming and end up hardly looking at anything!
Discover Farming has just launched some home-school projects on its website, and if you know of any primary school children at home at the moment, they might like to look at the brilliant section on activities – starting with sheep and lambing. Please pass it on.
If you are interested in the mention George made of the lifelines project in the Char Valley, I understand the full details are in the Marshwood Vale magazine which is digital this month. I give the details below:
https://issuu.com/marshwoodvaleltd/docs/marshwood__june_2020?fr=sNWExMDEwNzU0MQlink: https://issuu.com/marshwoodvaleltd/docs/marshwood__june_2020?fr=sNWExMDEwNzU0MQ
Good day all
Another odd Broadoak Diary with I hope some useful snippets of information, particularly for those very local in Broadoak.
- Local Support: the Resilience group is still meeting regularly and do let us know if there is any support anyone needs in Broadoak, or the Symondsbury parish. Please contact me if you feel the group can help you or anyone.
- Bridport Town Council is also running an extremely efficient system of support. https://www.bridport-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BTC-Covid-leaflet-final-300320-web-version.pdf
- The Eggardon and Colmers View magazine is on-line this month. It is normally delivered to every home in the Benefice so this attachment should hopefully go to most in Broadoak. If anyone knows someone who needs a copy printed out, please let me know: https://www.eggardon-colmers-view.org.uk/e-magazines/
- Do join the regular service that the Rev’d Chris Grasske broadcasts from Loders Vicarage every Sunday; the information is on the attached Pews News. I will circulate this weekly to our regular church goers, but let me know if you would like it to.
This month Farmer George’s diary is a pdf file and an attachment.
Stay safe and well
Amanda
May 2020
This funny old year continues but while it does, you cannot stop birth, growth and production from the
land; we just have to get it safely to market
Stay safe and keep healthy in body and mind.
George
Farmer George’s Diary –April 2020
What we really need now is a night of rain! Bet you did not expect me to start with that; I didn’t. A month ago one could not imagine the ground as dry as it has become by now. We are not complaining –at last we can get muck out, fertilizer on and start working the fields including rolling those shut up for silage. When there is so much talk on soil structure and avoiding compaction, why do we roll? When we put muck on the fields in the winter, we always leave some ruts, moles start to have a lovely time leaving their mole hills and finally to push any stones back in (not that it is too much of an issue in the Vale). It is really important to avoid either soil or muck getting into the grass for silage as they prevent a good fermentation and therefore reduce the quality of the feed next winter.
Our cows are still milking really well which is one saving grace; the milk price is dire and has been for several months. I notice that there are 500 less dairy farmers than a year ago – that comes as no surprise.
Strange times indeed: how does coronavirus affect us and all farmers? Last month I listed my implications for us – these are my updated ones, some of which have yet to be proved correct.
POSITIVE AFFECT ON DENHAY |
NEGATIVE AFFECT ON DENHAY |
With consumers only buying from supermarkets, which we primarily supply, we are set to benefit. If we were supplying hospitality it would be the reverse; I have a cheese making friend who has gone down to making 4 days a week |
Stress over maintaining healthy staff |
The bacon factory is flat out with ‘Christmas’ sales levels but nothing on promotion (ie all on full price) |
Cannot get saw dust for cow bedding as timber mills closed |
Consumers are buying more basic foods rather than exotic which helps British Farmers |
No market for either cull (old) cows or bull calves |
IF international trade becomes restricted, could be an increased demand for British dairy products and a price increase at farm gate in the short term |
Many firms with whom we work have stopped eg. those that do lawn mowing in our churchyards; the wood haulage company |
The publicity around lack of vegetable and fruit pickers may have raised the awareness and importance of food security |
The collapse of international trade will result in reduced global demand for dairy products and therefore lower farm gate prices long term |
No talk of Brexit!!!! |
Beef market plummeted as no cattle markets and McDonalds closed (see below) |
As a food producer our employees are regarded as key workers and their children are eligible to remain in school |
Less availability of food by-products such as brewers grains to feed the cows |
|
|
With family working from home, I have help at the weekends such as collecting sawn logs! |
|
Fuel prices have fallen dramatically |
|
With no walkers, ground nesting birds will not be disturbed; we saw this in foot and mouth times |
|
Over the last few days I have been chain sawing fallen trees as a result of this winter’s gales; these are mostly ash but not a result of dieback. There are some beyond my skills (or size of saw) but at least I can get most of it out of the way of both cattle and tractors.
Whilst on trees, last month I said we had started to fell the ash trees planted about 20 years ago around the Denhay Dairy. This was almost completed but has had to stop and we are left with one large pile of logs! I have yet to hear if the replanting will go ahead but I am fearful that we shall miss this season.
You may remember that last month we had a mistle thrush belting out its song and Amanda said they are known as the stormcock. Little did we realise what the storm was going to be.
Take care, stay safe and keep well,
George
MARCH 2020 NEWS UPDATE
I felt it might be helpful to do a brief update on the diary for March.
The following events are postponed, we hope, rather than cancelled.
Friday 20th March – 7.30 p.m. Bridport Literary and Scientific Institute – An evening with Sir Ken Olisa, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London (last seen on the news on Friday holding an umbrella over the head of Prince Harry – I think he does more interesting things!). Details to follow.
Wednesday 25th March – 2.00 and 6.00 p.m., United Church, East Street – Noye’s Fludde by Benjamin Britten. This is a major project being produced by Symondsbury School and is involving lots of local talent and of course the children. Tickets available from the School, so please do come along and support them.
But since it is St. Patrick’s Day, I thought his prayer was rather appropriate:
As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Thanks to all those who turned out for the Referendum Vote for the Neighbourhood Plan in Bridport, Allington, Bothenhampton and Walditch, Bradpole and Symondsbury parish. There was a turnout of around 17.5% and an 84% majority. Though disappointing that more people were not able to recognise the huge amount of work people have put in, the vote was 1861 for and 280 against.
The Broadoak Box has just had its spring clean and the shelving renewed. About 30 snails were removed from their winter hibernation. Do call in for lots of new books for exchange. We do need to replace all the cycle support stuff, as it has either been broken on stolen! Thanks to caretaker Lesley.
Tuesday 10th March - 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School. Symondsbury Parish Council with our democratic Half Hour between 7.00 and 7.30 when everyone is most welcome to come and air their views or raise particular subjects.
Sunday 15th March – 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – Celtic Worship
Friday 20th March – 7.30 p.m. Bridport Literary and Scientific Institute – An evening with Sir Ken Olisa, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London (last seen on the news on Friday holding an umbrella over the head of Prince Harry – I think he does more interesting things!). Details to follow.
Wednesday 25th March – 2.00 and 6.00 p.m., United Church, East Street – Noye’s Fludde by Benjamin Britten. This is a major project being produced by Symondsbury School and is involving lots of local talent and of course the children. Tickets available from the School, so please do come along and support them.
Sunday 22nd March – 11.00 St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury – Benefice Eucharist with Symondsbury School
Sunday 29th March – 11.00 a.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – Benefice Eucharist – our annual service for all the churches in the benefice – please come to join us.
Farmer George’s Diary – March 2020
To start each month talking about the weather is definitely boring; however the actual weather itself is far from that – last night was just awful with over 20mm rain and really stormy with it. One advantage is farming here is that at least our crops are not physically under water; I do feel sorry for those with lakes rather than wheat fields.
To finish this boring subject off, please look at this graph. It is of the 12 month rolling average rainfall. Since 2017, we have been around the 30 inches a year; we are now rolling at 45 inches – that makes for some fairly substantial problems.
As if this was not enough, we now have the unknown of corona virus; it is much too soon to predict what the effect will be or how far it will spread but I understand that:
- · It spreads very easily
- · It is a virus so antibiotics and antibiotic wipes don’t work
- · Because it is new, none of us has any immunity to it
- · As yet there is no vaccine – the earliest one might be available is mid-summer
- · Most physically fit people will be fine – it is the older and more vulnerable who are at greatest risk.
- · Already travel is being restricted either by Airlines or people making their own judgement
- · Oil prices have crashed globally – not yet at the pumps!
The possible implications for our business, if it does take a hold in the country, might look like the following:
- · If a significant percentage of the team are off ill at any one time – you never know who will end up milking cows!!
- · If schools close, employees with children will have a massive childcare problem which will rebound on the employers
- · Our major inputs are mostly UK produced, so they should not be affected, but spare parts that come from China may dry up – so the unexpected may hit us quite quickly.
- · Drugs and pharmaceuticals may become in short supply as many are made, or part made, in China – so treating sick animals could become an issue
- · I don’t see raw materials (wheat) being affected but energy costs will come down
- · World travel will become more restricted, suggesting more people will holiday within the UK perhaps helping increase UK’s food consumption
- · There is a potential for the West Country tourism to benefit – holiday houses, especially isolated ones
- · Will fear of meeting people lead to increased online grocery sales? Bacon sales to Ocado are already building
Is there a conclusion for Denhay? It may well cause real upset, difficulty and chaos, but there just might be a few benefits in terms of sales. Perhaps the worst bit is waiting for things to happen or not.
Back in the real work of milking cows, we are still hauling a lot of slurry around to try to keep things under control. The team are working really hard and totally committed to looking after the stock. Ben tells me in the worst storms at Boarsbarrow, the rainwater has literally floated the calf hutches, with calves inside, across the yard. The best that can be said is that we are holding our own, but at what cost in human and financial terms? At least the cows continue to milk exceptionally well; every credit to all our guys for maintaining this in these conditions.
By now we should be thinking of putting on fertilizer if not actually turning animals out to grass! No chance of that right now, but at least the grass is growing. I expect a late turnout, resulting in more acres cut for silage as the grass grows away from the cows’ ability to eat it.
Last month I talked about Ash Die back; we have started to fell the ash trees planted about 20 years ago around the Denhay Dairy. They have grown well and we should end up selling a good amount of timber which will pay for the replanting.
We plan to replace the ash trees with both Hornbeam and Oak. Talking to the Tree expert, if you wait until the disease has got a hold of the tree, the wood becomes pappy and unsellable making it financially impossible to regenerate the woodland.
When it was blowing a gale this morning, a Mistle Thrush was belting out its song; Amanda tells me it is also known as the Stormcock!
George
February 2020
Tuesday 11th February - 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School. Symondsbury Parish Council with our democratic Half Hour between 7.00 and 7.30 when everyone is most welcome to come and air their views or raise particular subjects.
Thursday 13th February – 7.00 for 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall – ArtsReach: The Wit and Songs of Noel Coward. Please book tickets with Georgina on 01308 424922.
Saturday 15th February – 7.00 for 7.30 Broadoak Hall – Cabaret and Canapes: a night of music and gaiety by public request following last year’s huge success. Please let me know if you can come. Tickets £7.50 – bar and raffle and wonderful canapes.
Sunday 16th February – 6.30 p.m. St. Paul’s Broadoak – Evensong
Wednesday 26th February – 6.30 p.m. St. John the Baptist, Symondsbury – Eucharist with Ashing – a special Ash Wednesday service to commemorate the start of Lent.
Thursday 27th February – just when you thought it was safe to go out, it is Referendum Time again. This is a vitally important vote for all those in the Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan area to approve the work that has been done over the past three years to give our community a voice in what is decided in our community. Polling cards will be sent out, and there will be a mail shot in the post. Please, if you are in the area, take the time to read any material, and make a decision. https://www.bridport-tc.gov.uk/projects/neighbourhood-plan/
Farmer George’s Diary – February 2020
I am not sure my life is any different today than 4 days ago! Things may be rather different by the time we get to the year end. But we just don’t know!
Therefore all my focus is on the farm and the wet! January was about 1/3 of the rain in December which is one thing but still twice as much as in 2019. In order to keep things under control our guys are hauling slurry all over the place; our apologies to any of you held up on the road. Being the eternal optimist, maybe the weather is looking a little drier this week and definitely no snow.
Meanwhile in their sheds the cows are milking exceptionally well. When your product prices crash out of your control, the only thing to do is control costs and maximise output. This is exactly what we are doing; thanks to a number of things coming together well last year we have some really good silage to feed the cows and this makes all the difference. At the time of cutting the grass, the weather was good, the guys doing the work were determined to do the best they could and the (huge) investment in our forage harvester all delivered the right result.
It is very easy and tempting, to keep one’s head down and stay on the farm, but everyday laws are constantly changing: Denhay has a number of properties, some with our employees in, others let to outside people. From April this year there are changes to landlord requirements, so we are getting every house inspected and reviewed to make sure we are doing what we should. Time passes very quickly and what seems only yesterday can quickly become several years. Every house should be electric tested every five years and it is amazing how many have slipped past that time - another job to be done! Perhaps the worst of all is that the rain has brought forward the need to rethatch a number of houses; we have 3 big projects this year and they are not cheap.
When I go out first thing in the morning, the bird song is fantastic – do they think it is spring already? The snow drops are out which is normal but so are some daffodils and even catkins – that’s early. This prompts me to start working on the trees; those planted in the last couple of years need to be sprayed to stop grass competition especially the short lengths of hedging. Those planted 10 years ago need their tree guards removed to allow them to expand. I am also concerned about the amount of ash die-back in those 10 year planted areas. If I get the time, we will cut down as much as possible to prevent them becoming a danger by crashing onto people, stock, or fences.
Lots to do this spring to prevent me worrying about those things over which we have no control. To those romantic amongst you, don’t forget - Happy Valentine’s Day
George
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020.
Tuesday 14th January - 7.00 p.m. Symondsbury School. Symondsbury Parish Council with our democratic Half Hour between 7.00 and 7.30 when everyone is most welcome to come and air their views or raise particular subjects.
Thursday 16th January – 7.30 p.m. Broadoak Hall – ArtsReach event "Revelations” with James Reynolds. A few years ago, James' best friends Sarah and Emma asked for his sperm to start a family. This is the tale of what happened next, and what happened after that - an epic story about friendship, faith, life, death, foxes, snow buddies, and trying to do the right thing. "Captivating... a generous, deepening hymn to friendship" Sunday Times. Please do book tickets for this amazing storytelling evening. We do need support to keep these events coming to our local hall. Book with Georgina on 01308 424922 Tickets £9.00.
Sunday 19th January – 11.00 a.m. St. Michael’s Powerstock – special Plough Sunday service.
Friday 31st January – Broadoak Hall – another Quiz night with a slightly unconventional bent. Please put in your diaries! I will confirm all the details a little nearer the time, after our Hall meeting next week.
Thursday 13th February – Broadoak Hall - ArtsReach
Saturday 15th February - Broadoak Hall – Cabaret night hits the village again. We will be looking for ‘appropriate’ acts – do let me know if you have a talent which needs spotting.
Farmer George’s Diary – January 2020
Every month I write my diary, I look back a year ago – when we feared the worst of a Brexit crash out. What a year it has been both on the farm and in the wider environment (politically, economically, socially, technically and environmentally).
As a dairy farm just keeping our heads above water, literally, has been a challenge. There has been SO much rain since September: We forget the very wet the start to 2018, but didn’t we end 2019 on a horrific note; over a longer period our average is 34 inches, so averaging 40 inches in the last year is challenging.
The effect on us is to have to haul rain contaminated slurry from Denhay to Loders and Beaminster Down where we have the capacity to store it; my apologies to those of you who have been inconvenienced by this; it is not something we like to do for several reasons not least the expense! Back in the cow sheds ….. I am pleased to say the cows are milking better than ever before. This reflects not just the hard work of the team looking after them but also the excellent growing season at the start of 2019 and the good weather during silage making; I have always said the success of dairying depends on 14 days in May!
As in every year, we have had sheep grazing all our grass fields in the autumn; they do a fantastic job pulling out all the old tough stems and allowing new growth to flourish. The very mild spell which we have right now encourages this growth and will hopefully set us up for an early turnout to grass and lots of milk from our own forage. As I said last year, let’s hope for a (dry) ‘wus* from the west’ rather than a ‘beast from the east’.
We have a small family shoot at Denhay – have done for nearly 40 years. Three years ago we stopped shooting woodcock; they are lovely little birds that migrate up to 4400 miles. Their numbers were struggling (not from shooting) so it seemed sensible to leave them in peace. We never saw a huge number – 2 or 3 a day. We were all really excited on New Year’s Day when we saw 8 in all.
Last month, I went on about the vegan movement’s effect on livestock farming. Lots appear in the newspapers on both sides of the argument; I think it important that we should take a holistic approach supported by Minette Batters, the National Farmers Union (NFU) President, who aspires to have UK Agriculture deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. What a positive note to start the year.
A very Happy New Year to everyone.
George
*wus is an old west Dorset term for mild and innocuous weather!
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