Two months on from when we last caught up I suppose the moral is (having complained about the rain) that one has to be careful what one wishes for!

In stark contrast our heavy land has turned to concrete and whilst there is still a tinge of green to the grass, it is fair to say that some of our pastures look like standing hay.

It’s terribly “British” to talk constantly about the weather, but it really does have a long lasting effect on everything we do and everything we plan for. The girls, however are coping and we are beginning to install our new parlour at the building behind the shop.

Since we last spoke I’ve become involved in setting up the Raw Milk Producer’s Association which is very exciting – the aim of the association is to liaise between the Food Standards Agency and producers as well as to help promote the benefits of raw drinking milk to consumers. At the moment there is a lot of conflicting advice about how best to set up a dairy for the production of raw milk, and the legislation and standards is as clear as mud, so it will be great to have some clarification and de-bunking of the badly written legal jargon.

In general farm news, we’ve just started our application for Countryside Stewardship which will see a large increase in the amount of legume and wildflower rich grassland planted which will have significant benefits for wildlife across the farm – as well of course as for our Jersey goddesses!

We will also be focusing on nectar and pollen mixtures as well as winter bird food mixes – having suffered so badly in the beast from the east which was only a few months ago, we want to make sure, going forwards, that the diverse wild bird population we see on our farm can continue to flourish. As an experiment this year for example, we were able to leave some plots for Skylarks and I’m delighted to say that they are thriving!

A few more dates for your diaries: Beccles Farmer’s Market - July 21, August 4, August 18 and September 1.

Wyken Vineyard Farmer’s Market: July 14, July 28, August 11, August 25 and September 8.

Of course if you can’t wait for these dates, our self-service farm shop at Woodton is open every day from 7am until 9pm and if you have any queries in the meantime do call on 07900814252.