Guest blog by David's daughter, Helen

Last month a family tragedy shone a light on the difference that businesses such as Churncote Farm with its shop and café make to the local community and rural economy. The past decade of my career has been spent working with others who want to see a secure, strong and resilient future for the countryside. In recent weeks, I have seen first-hand the value of the ecosystem of people, services and businesses which surround the family farm and its importance but also its vulnerability in the present day.
Over 20 years ago dad and Sue embarked upon a farm diversification. It wasn’t easy but it was a necessity to ensure they could continue doing what they were passionate about – good quality farming.
In the past few weeks, we have heard from many people and businesses how much they regarded my dad, how important the farm shop and café were to them as a valued customer but also an important local supply route for their products. A handful of examples includes a newly married couple who supply them with eggs, a multi-generational abattoir over the border in Wales, a local ice cream business, a local artist who supplies greetings cards and the start-up business that chose their shop to launch their savoury snacks which can now be purchased national-wide.
It is this story of farm to fork and the importance of buying local that has always been at the heart of the shop when in its fledging days it was run from a table in the back kitchen. With my dad’s regular blogs about the work on the farm, taking time to talk to customers while they chose their meat from the butcher’s counter and building long and lasting relationships over the years, thousands have been educated about the value of maintaining food production on their doorstep.
The support over the past few weeks has been so valued by my family and the kind messages and condolences from suppliers, customers and friends so special at this difficult time. It has been a truly heartening example of the strength of community in our rural areas. We need to ensure this continues to be supported so it can thrive for generations to come in order for everyone to continue to be able to access quality, local produce provided by caring and passionate people like my dad and Sue.

Apologies for my recent absence. I thought you wouldn't want to hear a farmer bemoaning the weather. So, good news! Harvest has been completed and autumn sowings are up to date.
The grass has grown relentlessly, so we have a good stock of silage as our winter feed.
Much time has been spent in the autumn on routine maintenance of field drains and ditches. However, they are not meant to deal with extremes of weather.
The continuous rain has caused many of the nutrients in the soil to be washed away, so at harvest we chopped a lot of straw and incorporated it into the ground. Farm yard manure has also been spread onto some of the fields.
Well, it is that time of year and Sue and the girls have adorned the shop with Christmas appeal. As usual there has been coming and goings.
Tia the apprentice butcher has moved on to practice more on the butchery of game. Ian, an experienced chap, has joined part time and Lucy, who brings much cheer to the shop, has joined full time as a trainee butcher.
The joys of managing a farm, a shop and a cafe can be very stressful at times. There are the inspections from Environmental Health officers, the Farm Assurance Scheme, and an inspection from the Rural Payment agency to ensure that the records of sheep keeping are current and we have the correct number of sheep on the farm.
Must go now. Christmas calls.
Stay safe,
David.

What a year I have been having since December 01, 2022 when I last posted a blog. Staff have been coming and going and I have been a jack of all trades. It’s a good job my father brought me up not to expect anyone to do what I wouldn’t do myself.
Well, it’s good to report that on the farm we have finished harvest - a very mixed affair with such a wet July and August. The present heatwave almost makes us forget that.
Oil seed rape has been drilled. I have adopted a Mintill process to try and conserve soil moisture and to reduce the cost of establishment.
The wet weather has meant we have had good grass growth and a large crop of silage has been made to fee the cattle and sheep through the winter months.
Nerves are jangling again because our next TB test is only a fortnight away. At the same time, the vet will take a few random blood samples to check the overall herd health status.
Yet again agriculture is having to face change. What has been known as the basic payment scheme, which is a form of financial support for farmers, is being phased out. This is being replaced by the sustainable farming incentive, a system that appears to have many minefields and booby traps with a very limited financial benefit.
I feel that as a consequence it will make the country more dependent on imports. We are a proud nation and we would like to feed the population with as much home produced food as possible.
In the shop, we are pleased to welcome Tia, a very enthusiastic apprentice butcher.
We’ve said farewell to Jules and Helen, who are both missed, and we have welcomed Izzy, Emily and Val.
Tony our honey supplier has included some information you might be interested in and that I’m happy to pass on.
Why spring and summer honey?

• Bees collect nectar and pollen from a large range of flowers at different times of the year, then turn it into honey in the hives with different sugars, minerals, enzymes etc. All this gives the bees a balanced diet, and for us a huge range of flavours, colours and textures.
• Spring flowers such as dandelion and oil seed rape tend to make honey crystallise (set) very quickly, often within the hive. The bees can only use this by collecting water to dilute it. Set honey spreads better on your toast!
• Summer flowers such as bramble, clover and lime trees have nectar that stays runny for much longer and is more useful to the bees in winter. Runny honey melts into your porridge quicker and is also nice from the spoon!

Why parkland honey?

• Traditional parkland such as Onslow and Loton Park have a wide range of flowering plants: at ground level such as clover and dandelion; at shrub level bramble and hawthorn; and at tree level lime and sweet chestnut.
• These plants are visited by the bees, giving them a much broader diet than they would get from just an arable farmed countryside. The bees are healthier, and so should you be!
• Just to add, two hives next to each other can fly in different directions and get different coloured honey in their hives.
• Different soils, different weather in different years, indeed different colour and behaviour of the bees add to the variety!Oh the joys of beekeeping!

Thanks Tony.
Well, cheers for now
David