Long Melford Farmers Market

I took the sister to Long Melford Farmers Market today, so that she can cover for me in a few weeks time when I'm off to a friend's wedding. We did have to keep telling people we were brother and sister though, as there were a few who assumed we were married and that was just a little strange!

It was nice to see some regulars back again - our beef really does sell itself once tasted - and some new faces who we tempted with the rare-breed beef joints and steaks we were selling. It's a very good, well-advertised market, with a nice mix of different kinds of stalls, but we could really feel the pregnant pause in the pre-Christmas trade, as people save for next month's big spend. The right number of people came through the doors but they just weren't spending, so we had pretty average takings.

We'll be there again on the 19th of December (it's every 3rd Saturday of the month), hoping to pick up some of the Christmas trade. We'll have joints at the market, and we can take orders in advance as well. Perfect for a Christmas roast... who says you have to have turkey?!

Long Melford Farmers Market is held on the 3rd Saturday of the month between 10am-1pm, in the village hall, here: http://www.longmelford.co.uk/Whats%20On%20in%20Long%20Melford/Weekly%20Events/

Saturday 21st Nov 10-1: we're selling beef at Long Melford Farmer's Market

Tomorrow we'll be at Long Melford Farmer's Market - in the lovely village hall there.

It runs from 10am til 1pm so do pop in if you're nearby and come and say hello. We'll be selling fresh beef from a Red Poll - Aberdeen Angus cross reared on our farm. It's been hung for 5 weeks and is very well marbled and of course delicious!

Morning

This I think is a reason to get up in the morning.

Busy bees...

Apologies for being lax about keeping you all informed with the farm in the recent weeks. I have been incredibly busy with one thing and another, including getting roped in to helping prepare my sister's wedding, a rather extravagant affair, taking a week to put up all the decorations.




With my wife being an event designer and coordinator and a florist to boot (rosehip flowers.co.uk) things have certainly been pretty busy for us... but it's been worth it!













Photography www.intomyarms.co.uk

In some farm news, we have been nursing our new Tamworth boar through meningitis, a rather harrowing experience to say the least. Fortunately when all seemed lost Geffory pulled through with a terrific fighting spirit. Once we got through the 36 hours of fitting we were feeding him with a syringe for a week and spoon feeding him solids after. It took 2 weeks before he showed any signs of being able to get to his feet - because of how he had been lying his legs needed physio to strech out the ligaments and tendons. To begin with he was able to get up onto his front legs with a little help, then for short periods he was able to stand properly with only a little support from me. Then one morning we found him twenty yards from his bed. Since then he has improved in leaps and bounds, tucking into copious amounts of food to put on some of the weight he lost while ill. He is now the most handlable pig we have and as long as there are no unseen side effects it looks like he has managed to make a pretty miraculous recovery.

After all that we now have the run up to Christmas, in which we are extremly busy. We're going to at least 14 farmer's markets in the next few weeks, while at the same time preparing for the cows coming back in from their summer pasture. We have cows who are about ready for calfing, chickens hatching eggs and ewes that need to be tupped, which means locating a Kerry Hill ram. So we're keeping busy! At some point I guess we'll need to think about writing some Christmas cards...

Basking in fame and glory

Well, since being photographed for the paper and having produced piglets which win competitions, Tallulah, our Ginger Tamworth sow, has become a bit of a Prima Donna!

When the photographer came to take shots for this weekend's East Anglian Daily Times article, he seemed somewhat shocked that it was not going to be a picture of me standing behind a deli counter with my produce on display! He was taken aback slightly more when Tallulah came up to introduce herself and find out if he had any food. Seeing his face I asked if this was what he was expecting "Well it's certainly original" was the reply.



There are so many people out there who don't associate the meat they buy with the animals that produce it. I, first and foremost, am a farmer and my main responsibilities are to the welfare of the animals in my care. The selling of their meat is a by-product but one that needs to be done to help pay for their food and care. It is for this reason I wanted Tallulah in the shot as she has been integral to our success!

Jim