Farm News - 28th May 2010

Farm
- We have reseeded the small field in the village where the pigs were. For the time being, they’ve been moved down the lane…
- This week, we’ve planted 15 acres of forage rape, stubble turnips and pea mix. That’s all we need now is a really good soaking of rain!
- All of the cattle were pregnancy tested this week. We have a lady who comes in and scans them – just like a maternity nurse really. On the animal health side, we now have regular weekly vet checks on all our stock. Our aim is prevention rather than cure. This is paying off with low mortality rates on all animals.
- Coming soon will be the biggest crop of wild cherries. Did you know that there were over 200 wild cherry trees on the farm?

Store, Café and Veg & Meat Boxes
- Upgrade to a Weekly Farm Box and enjoy our eggs, fresh bread, Church Farm meat and organic milk.
- We have a new butcher in store – watch this space!!!
- Cupcakes - made with our own eggs and organic ingredients - are in store now.
- Check out our special offers on selected Church Farm free range chicken, lamb and beef this holiday.
- Browse through our selection of marinades, BBQ sauces and mustards - all in store.
- Try our super sweet sugar snap peas, freshly cut herbs, radishes, spring onions and salad leaves.
- And, don’t forget to taste our freshly picked scrummy strawberries with dollops of thick clotted cream.

Events, Workshops and Courses
- Next week is National Family Week! Whatever the weather, there’s plenty of things for everyone to do this holiday. Walk the footpaths for FREE and see how your favourite animals work, live and play or take on the responsibilities of a real farmer by collecting your very own freshly laid eggs from the orchard – everyday at 11am and 3pm.
- We also have walks and talks and courses on family chicken-keeping, acrylic painting, bees and peg-loom weaving. Check out our Bank Holiday and Half Term Specials board for more information.
- Come along to our Campfire, Music and Sleep Under the Stars Weekend on Saturday 5th June. There will be jamming, campfires and camaraderie. No electric : No impact : Compost Loos : No litter. Just bring everything you need for your comfort and survival. Adults £10, Under 16s £8, Under 2s £2. Free for musicians and volunteers. Pre-booking is essential.

Rural Care
- Phil (see photo (left)) attends Rural Care and always works in the café on Thursday mornings. Here he is helping Adrian, the chef, bake some scones. It was his
birthday on Wednesday – Happy Birthday Phil!

Figure of the Week: 1 in 6

Beekeepers lost one in six of their honey bee hives over the winter, according to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA). The nationwide figure is slightly improved on the 19 per cent losses suffered in 2008 and considerably less than the 30per cent losses from 2007. However, the BBKA said it was still well above the acceptable losses of between 7 and 10 per cent. It blamed disease, bad weather and poor quality of foraging due to habitat loss for the continued rate of honey bee deaths.

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/491367/

Did you know? - Tufted Vetch

Tufted vetch is a member of the family Leguminosae. Plants in this family often have nodules on their roots containing Rhizobium bacteria which 'fix' nitrogen from the air. Plants and animals need nitrogen to build proteins and other important chemicals in the body. The air is full of nitrogen, however it is in an inert form that very few organisms can use directly. These bacteria perform a very useful task of converting atmospheric nitrogen into fertilizer for the plants, eventually animals eat the plants and so obtain their nitrogen. Some legumes such as peas and beans are grown as crop plants and they often need less nitrogen fertilizer because they produce their own. This is generally good for the environment as the production of nitrogen fertilizer in factories is very energy intensive. At Church Farm we have planted vetch as well as other green manures, such as clovers, to help enrich the soil and fix nitrogen.

BBC Radio 4's On Your Farm Programme: Agrarian Farmer

Britain's farmers are slaves to the supermarkets. That's the view of Tim Waygood, entrepreneur and farmer. In this weeks On Your Farm Adam Henson visits Tim's farm and discovers how in taking back power from the supermarkets, he wants to alter the landscape of Britain. This weeks On Your Farm is recorded at Church Farm near Stevenage, where a philosophy of Agrarian Renaissance aims to reconnect people, land and food, and offers a radical alternative to what it calls 'corporate supermarket consumerism'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s8dhx/On_Your_Farm_Agrarian_Farmer/

Broadcast on:BBC Radio 4, 6:35am Sunday 9th May 2010
Duration:22 minutes
Available until:12:00am Thursday 1st January 2099
Categories:Factual, Science & Nature

Farm News: 20th May

Farm
- At least 25 chicks have hatched from our own hens and cockerels this week as well as another 15 ducks.
- 11 Berkshire piglets were born in the field near the car park on Monday.
- The pigs have nearly completed their move to the Great Field where they are now enjoying a salad of chicory. Our cattle and calves are in the same field.
- The subsoiling and cultivation of Lowany field has been taking place since the pigs have moved out. This will then be planted with a mixture of peas, forage rape and stubble turnips for late autumn fodder.
- On a more serious note, cattle with calves will attack and chase dogs. Tim saw them chase off a fox very aggressively the other day. This is how people tend to get
trampled by cattle. Did you know that two people died this way in the UK last year?
- On a cheerier note, thanks to BBC Radio 4’s programme “On your farm”, we will be hosting a steady stream of visiting farmers from all over the UK in the coming months.

Store, Cafe and Veg & Meat Boxes
- A welcome return to our renowned quiches and mixed leaf salad in the Café.
- There’s also a new popular addition to our Café menu: Lamb’s liver and bacon served with mashed potato and gravy.
- Frozen mutton is available in store.

Events, Workshops and Courses
- A welcome return to our renowned quiches and mixed leaf salad in the Café.
- There’s also a new popular addition to our Café menu: Lamb’s liver and bacon served with mashed potato and gravy.
- Frozen mutton is available in store.

Rural Care
- This week, the co-farmers planted spring onions in the vegetable fields, strimmed the grass, removed labels from old veg boxes, and boxed up all of the eggs that went into your veg box. One co-farmer said ‘you now know what I am capable of don’t you?’ - in reference to his excellent strimming and use of a power tool!

Recipe of the Week: Honeyed Chicken and Potato Salad

Prep Time: 15 mins (+60 for marinading)
Cook Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Marinade
2 x 15ml spn (2 tblspn) Olive oil plus an extra spoonful for frying
_ Lime, juice of (see dressing also)
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 x 5ml spn (1 tspn) Clear English honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Chicken or Turkey breasts, skinned, boned and cut into strips
450g (1 lb) British new potatoes, scrubbed and halved

Dressing
2 x 15ml spn Olive oil
1/2 Lime, rind and juice of
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Dijon mustard
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Clear English honey.
Cherry tomatoes and salad leaves to serve.

Method
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl then add the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Place the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil for frying in a large frying pan or wok then add the chicken with the marinade and stir fry for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
4. Drain the potatoes then add to the cooked chicken in the wok and continue to cook for 1 minute.
5. Place all the dressing ingredients plus seasoning into a screw topped jar and shake well. Pour over the salad leaves and tomatoes and serve immediately with the honeyed chicken and potatoes

Do you love potatoes?

Check out this website: http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/

Help Save Bees

There are about 250 species of bee in the UK. Only 25 of these are native British bumblebees – half of what we had in the 1950s. Three have already become extinct, five are currently under serious threat and two more are precariously close. So what can you do to help? As well as planting bee-friendly plants and not using insecticides, you could join Euan Brierley, our beekeeper, on 4th June for a walk and talk on bees. Or, alternatively, sign up to our in depth course to develop the skills needed to take up the hobby. http://helpsavebees.co.uk/

Figure of the Week: 10

It’s national Be Nice to Nettles Week (19 - 30 May) so here are 10 reasons why nettles are worth nurturing:

1. Nettles are butterfly food for common British species. Without these ruthlessly
efficient plant pollinators all sorts of crops would suffer and that in turn could affect the human food chain.
2. They're medicinal.
3. The sting on the underside of the nettle leaf is designed to protect it.
4. Dock leaves are commonly believed to soothe the symptoms of a nettle sting, and they often grow close by.
5. The fibre inside the plants can be spun into string and used to make fabric for clothing, cushion covers, and even paper.
6. The German army used nettle fabric to make army uniforms during World War I.
7. It's low-maintenance. They will flourish wherever the soil is rich in phosphate.
8. The plants are packed with magnesium, iron and calcium - all essential minerals for healthy humans.
9. They're tasty too, although nettle nutrition is a dish best served hot.
10. Nettle wine is a traditional country wine that's enjoying a bit of a resurgence.

Find out more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8692782.stm
http://www.nettles.org.uk/

Food for thought - Animal welfare tops Britain's food concerns

When it comes to our food, there is nothing closer to the hearts of the nation than the wellbeing of animals. Indeed, new research from Mintel finds animal welfare is Britain's number one food concern with as many as four in ten (40%) Brits worried about this issue. And it is women who are showing the greatest concern, with almost half (46%) of British women expressing concern about this issue, compared to just a third (34%) of men. Meanwhile, being of British origin (37%) and free from additives or preservatives (36%) make up the remaining top three food concerns, closely followed by the desire to have locally produced food (35%). By contrast, today organic is important to just one in ten (11%) of Britons.

Find out more:
http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/538/food-for-thought-animal-welfare-tops-britains-food-concerns

London Farmer's Market

Having opened on Sunday 16th May, London Fields Farmers' Market is now based at London Fields Primary School on Westgate Street E8 right by London Fields. Every Sunday 10am - 2pm. If you missed us last Sunday, don’t worry we’ll be there
again this coming Sunday! Come and say hello! Find out more: http://www.lfm.org.uk/