Monday 26 July 2010

A video about Rural Care

Farm News: 23/07/10




Farm
• The new calf born in the last week is doing well. In the first few days, the mothers "park" their calves whilst they go off to graze, usually at the edge of fields or in long grass. It constantly amazes us how both mother and offspring know
exactly what to do.
• This week saw the arrival of more turkey chicks as well as guinea fowl chicks which are now in the chick shed and stable near the car park.
• For weeks, our Rural Care Co-farmers have been looking after and turning the Church Farm duck eggs in our chick shed. Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen 14 successful hatchlings. Come and have a look when you visit us next!



Store, Café and Veg & Meat Boxes
• Get your sustainable charcoal from the store or order a BBQ box with the butcher.
• Have you seen our new selection of dips?
• A boneless leg of pork is now £5.98/kg instead of £6.18/kg
• Look out for filo pastry with cream cheese and plums in the café.

Events, Workshops and Courses
• Have you booked to come to our Campfire, Music and Sleep Under the Stars Weekend on 24th July?
• Our new summer programme is now online: http://www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk/pdfs/SummerCoursesEvents2.pdf

Rural Care• On Monday, Ann, Emma and Brian from the Rural Care team visited Butterfly Lodge (another Care Farm in Colchester) to share ideas and experiences. Butterfly Lodge
make and sell their own ice cream - made from goat’s milk. It definitely got the thumbs up from Brian! We’re now looking into selling the same ice cream in our store for all to taste and enjoy.

"Meat" the Butcher



Did you know that we’d opened our own Farm Butchery offering you the finest standard Church Farm meats and expert advice? With the aim of providing food for people rather than commodities for market, our butchery team will be bringing back that personal touch by cutting and preparing meat to your needs and dietary requirements –all at prices comparable to supermarkets. What’s more, we’ll organise weekly “Taste of the Farm” sessions (where you can try before you buy), offer sausage-making courses, take customised orders for BBQs, dinner parties or Sunday lunches, and share all of our useful hints, tips and recipe ideas with you. The Farm Butchery is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30am-6pm.

Recipe of the Week: Belly Pork Strips in BBQ sauce

Ingredients
3 lb (1.35 kg) belly pork, trimmed and cut into
8 thick strips (trimmed weight 2 lb 8 oz/1.15 kg)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped small
freshly milled black pepper
For the sauce:
5 tablespoons dry cider or wine
5 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon light soft brown sugar

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).
2. First of all, make sure the strips of belly pork are absolutely dry by patting them with kitchen paper. Then rub each one all over with olive oil and season with freshly milled pepper (but no salt because of the sauce).
3. Now pop them into the roasting tin, tucking the chopped onion in among them and sprinkling them with a few more drops of oil. Place the tin on the highest shelf in the oven and let them cook for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make up the barbecue sauce simply by whisking all the sauce ingredients together until blended thoroughly.
5. When the pork has been cooking for 30 minutes, pour off any excess oil from the roasting tin, then pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and cook for a further 25 minutes, basting frequently.

Chef Jamie Oliver says: "The lovely thick layer of fat on this particular cut keeps the meat really moist as it roasts, and also gives you an incredible even layer of delicious crackling. Belly is a very underrated cut in the UK, but it is becoming a favourite on gastropub menus, and rightly so. If you're worried about scoring the crackling yourself, ask your butcher to do it for you, that’s what he’s there for."

Ware Raft Race


Siân Duncan and friends borrowed barrels from us over the weekend to take part in Ware Raft Race. Yes, they did capsize but they eventually got going again - coming 7th out of 10! Well done!

The Prince's Countryside Fund

The Prince of Wales has, for many years, done what he can to make a difference for the better in rural communities. Now, in a continuation of his work to support
Britain’s rural areas, The Prince of Wales has created The Prince’s Countryside Fund.
The Fund places improving the sustainability of British farming and rural communities; reconnecting consumers with countryside issues; and supporting farming crisis charities through a dedicated emergency funding system as its biggest priorities. The charity comes at a time when the farming industry desperately needs an economic boost. Research by the National Farmers’ Union found that in 2008 the average annual farmer’s income was £18,185 for a seven day working week, dropping to just £6,000 for those in upland areas. Beneficiaries of the charity will include The Farmer Network, which will use its grant to train eight people in hill farming skills, and Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service, which will give IT training to 24 farmers to help them manage their businesses more efficiently, as well as providing advice to 450 hill farming businesses.

Moths and Butterfies

During our morning Butterfly Walk with Andrew Wood from the Butterfly Conservation
Hertfordshire and Middlesex Branch recently, we managed to spot 12 species of butterfly around the farm. These included: Small/Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Small White, Green-veined White, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Red Admiral, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Ringlet.

Moth Night with Colin Plant
If you would like to learn more about moths, join author of “The Moths of Hertfordshire” - Colin Plant – at 10pm on Saturday 31st July for a walk and talk at Church Farm. The session will include moth trapping and the identification of different moth species. A wild experience for all the family. Adults £6.50, Children £3.50. Pre-booking is essential!

Farm News: 16/07/10

Farm• We’ve had two new litters of pigs this week. One very difficult farrowing on a hot summer’s day ended in a complication. Unfortunately, 8 piglets were born dead after 8were born alive. This is always upsetting, but working on the land teaches you that death is all part of life.
• It is possible that the biggest step forward in human health was the provision of clean drinking water to the population. We are, therefore, applying the same thinking to the animals and constantly cleaning troughs. Do let us know if you see one that needs cleaning! We add a small amount of apple cider vinegar to the water to deter algae formation followed by some garlic powder to help ward off flies. The water itself is distributed around the farm from our borehole. This gives us spring quality water from a lake 60 meters below us! So all the animals here, as well as humans, are drinking Ardeley spring water.

Store, Café and Veg & Meat Boxes• The butchery will finally be opening this weekend!
Come in for your fresh cuts of meat and to see Pete, our butcher, in action. He will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
• The café now has a new chiller which means that we can provide more fresh chilled puddings.
• Last week’s delicious wild cherry roasted duck breast sold out in two days!

Events, Workshops and Courses
• Look out for our new summer events programme this weekend. New workshops include: Grow your own food, peg-loom weaving, moth night, wildflower walk, sausage-making, elderberry, and preserving.
• Come along to our Campfire, Music and Sleep Under the Stars Weekend on 24th July. Adults £10, Under 16s £8, Under 2s £2. Free for musicians and volunteers. Prebooking is essential.

Veg of the Week: Patty Pan

Scallop or Pattypan Squash is a Summer Squash that's delicious raw, steamed, sautéed, grilled, roasted, fried, or baked. It's fun shape (almost a flying saucer with scalloped edges) makes it irresistible for kids to try. Some varieties come in a bright, beautiful, yellow colour too. Pattypan squash mixes well with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cheese, and many fresh herbs (marjoram, rosemary, dill, thyme, parsley,... to name a few).

Rural Care News: 16/0710



• This week we’ve had some help from Groundwork Hertfordshire’s Green Team - a scheme which provides real life work experience for young people in landscaping and environmental work. The team of 5 continued making a bark chip path through the new woodlands, which Rural Care has been working on too. They also collected kindling from the wood ready for winter fires/heating.
• The co-farmers made a cake for Ross’ birthday this week. This was also shared with intern, Ben, who will be leaving next week. Ben has helped us out for 2 days a week since January, and will sorely be missed by all the co-farmers.

The Vintage Shed



Opening at Church Farm, Ardeley, on Sunday 18th July, The Vintage Shed will be specialising in a whole range of vintage items from 20th century days gone by - clothes for guys and gals, nearly new kids clothes, bric-a-brac, homestuff, collectables, music and books - all with their very own history. 10.30am – 4.30pm every Sunday.

Find out more: facebook.com/thevintagesheduk

Quote of the Week

"I think what you've created there is absolutely wonderful. I came away feeling so good about the world. I suspect that's everyone's experience who visits the place. So well done, Tim, and all your team.“ Graham Harvey following his recent visit to Church Farm.

Back Sustainable Livestock Bill

Factory farming of meat and dairy is wiping out rainforests and wildlife and helping push the planet to the brink of runaway climate change. Forests are being cleared and communities forced from their homes in South America so that big business can grow animal feed for the UK on huge plantations. Much of this animal feed is GM. The Friends of the Earth Food Chain campaign is calling on Government to revolutionise the way we produce meat and dairy. We need real action to halt the environmental destruction in South America and support thriving, planet-friendly farming in the UK. The good news is there's now a real chance for our Government to fix the food chain. Graham Harvey, inspiring author of Carbon Fields and Killing of the Countryside – also a friend of Church Farm - is helping Friends of the Earth launch their Early Day Motion (EDM) at the Houses of Parliament next week in support of the Sustainable Livestock Bill which was introduced to Parliament on 30th June. This new Bill will commit the Government to take action to make the changes we need a reality. By showing their support for the Bill, your MP can make a big difference to its chances of becoming law!

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/biodiversity/press_for_change/back_sustainable_livestock_bill_24522.html

Farm News: 09/07/10

Farm
• The turkeys have moved to their woodland home and their voices are telling us that they are happy exploring the undergrowth. Unfortunately, we lost one to a stoat this
week. They’re now 6 weeks old so we hope not to lose anymore between now and Christmas!
• So far, we have 230 bales of silage and will need at least 600 and the same of straw ready for next winter.
• The ragwort, thistle and dock battle has commenced...

Store, Café and Veg & Meat Boxes
• Freshly picked Church Farm broad beans, French beans, flat beans, mange tout, cucumber, courgette and wild cherries can be bought in store.
• The new butchery will be ready soon – tiling has already been completed.
• All organic and natural toiletries for men, women and children have been reduced.

Events, Workshops and Courses
• Butterfly Walk and Talk: Identify the species of butterflies that can be found during high summer with butterfly expert Andrew Wood at 10.30am on 10th July. Adults £6.50, Children £3.50.
• Knitting Workshop: Have you ever wanted to learn how to knit, but never known how to begin? If so, come and join our two-hour knitting workshop at 10am on 10th July. £10.
• Beekeeping Course: Join beekeeper, Euan Brierley, at 2pm to 5pm on 17th July to find out more about why bees are kept in hives, the life cycle of the bee, essential beekeeping equipment and the risks involved. As long as the weather is fine, you’ll also be able to open up our hives. £30.

Rural Care
• Three children from Jubilee House Care Trust came along for an afterschool session at the farm this week. This Welwyn based organisation help to organise activities for people with learning disabilities, especially in the evenings. The children collected eggs, boxed them up and fed the pigs and sheep. They finished their visit with a scrumptious dinner at the Café.
• We also run regular days for Greenside School, a school in Stevenage specifically
for people with learning difficulties. They do a bit of work around farm on Mondays(as you can see in the photos (left)) and will be attending every week when next year’s term starts.

Customer Quote of the Week

‘....Although it may seem expensive at first I am saving money as I don’t go in to the supermarket now if I can help it, I’m one of those people who goes in for a pint of milk and comes out with 10 other items I didn’t really need! ‘ Kristine Bean (Veg box customer)

Recipe of the Week: Quinoa and coriander chicken with grilled courgette

Ingredients
275g (9 3/4oz) organic quinoa
230g (8oz) organic mini chicken fillets
1tsp freshly crushed coriander seeds
2 long courgettes, thinly sliced
4tbsp pure rice bran oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2cm (3/4in) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly, then chopped
1 large bunch spring onions, thinly sliced
Herbs or mini leaves to scatter over, to serve

Method
1. Soak the quinoa in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, strain through a fine
sieve and rinse.
2. Put in a pan with 850ml (1½pt) of salted boiling water, and simmer without
the lid for 10 minutes, until the seeds just begin to pop to show a little of the
germ. Place the lid on the pan, turn off the heat and leave until any remaining
water has been absorbed. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
3. Cut the chicken into 2cm (3/4in) lengths and toss with the coriander seeds
and a little sea salt and pepper. Set the grill to high and line a baking tray with
tinfoil.
4. Toss the courgettes with 1 tablespoon of the oil and grind over some
pepper. Grill 15cm (6in) from the heat for 8 minutes, until lightly charred
golden, and turn over and cook for another three minutes.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok. Add the chicken and fry on all sides for
5 minutes, transfer to a bowl and wipe out the wok. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil
and add the chilli, garlic and ginger.
Stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the spring onions and the quinoa. Stir to
mix, add the chicken and fold through with the grilled courgettes. Scatter
over a mixture of herbs or mini leaves of your choice.

Reference: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1291178/Recipe-Quinoa-coriander-chicken-grilled-courgette.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Dear Veg Box customers

Dear Box customers…
We hope you are enjoying the glorious summer weather! We understand that you cannot always be home to receive your box. However, we want you to be able to enjoy the high quality of our produce. We would therefore, like to remind you that the Farm and Meat Boxes contain items that must be refrigerated or frozen. If you are not home to receive your box and if you haven’t done so already, please let the box scheme team know where to place your box. You could arrange a drop off with your neighbour, leave a cool box out or have your box returned to the Farm Shop to collect the next day. Please advise us of your preferred option as we are unable to accept responsibility for your box once it has been

EU votes against compulsory GM food labelling

Campaigners angry at EU's decision to keep consumers 'in the dark' over food from
animals given genetically modified (GM) feed. Consumers will continue to be none the
wiser about whether they are eating food from animals raised on genetically-modified
feed after MEPs voted against introducing a compulsory label rule. There is currently
no requirement on the food industry to label meat or dairy products produced using
GM animal feed, usually made from GM soya or maize. However, campaigners have
argued that consumers should be given a choice about whether or not to buy such
produce. A recent poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth found that less than 40
per cent of the public was aware that GM was creeping onto their plates via imported
GM cereals and protein crops fed to livestock in the UK. Almost 90 per cent of those
surveyed wanted these products to be clearly labelled. Genewatch director Dr Helen
Wallace said consumers should be 'given a choice' and blamed the vote against labelling on lobbying from the food industry. 'They want consumer decisions to focus on the end product you see on the shelf and not the wider issues,' she said. The vote against feed labelling comes as the EU commission prepares to approve the import of six new GM maize varieties after lobbying by biotech firms Syngenta and Monsanto.

Have you tasted Church Farm wild cherries?

Over the last 50 years, we have lost 90% of our cherry orchards and now import
around 95% of the cherries we eat. British Cherry Day on 17 July aims to raise
awareness about how the British public can save the British cherry. Don’t forget to
try some Church Farm wild cherries in the Store or Café.

Farm News: 02/07/10

Farm- Turkey pen restoration is going on in the woods. The poults are growing fast and will be ready to move to their woodland home at six weeks old - next week!
• Phillip Franklin has been busy cutting haylage on our behalf - about 130 bales are now back here. We need around 500 for this coming winter.
• Peas are growing fantastically well in Lowany field. Chicory is growing strong despite the drought and is providing good forage.
• We have selected 13 pedigree Lops for potential breeding. We also have a home-reared Lop boar which will be visiting the "girls" in the next few weeks! More due to farrow next week - two Berkshires due 8th July.
• Just as the mange tout has run out, the climbing french beans have come to fruition. That’s the sign of a good veg grower!

Store, Café and Veg & Meat Boxes
• A welcome return to the lemon tart in the Café.
• Salad bag contains mixed lettuce, nasturtium petals and beet thinnings. (As beetroot typically grows from ‘seed clusters’ rather than single seeds, you always have to remove some of the seedlings from the rows so that the remaining ones will have enough space in the soil to produce large roots.)
• Get a taste of the farm: Pick up a ready-made Farm box in store (weekends only)

Events, Workshops and Courses
• Are you interested in astronomy, photography or even both? If so, astronomical photographer, Nik Szymanek, will be coming to give a talk on the latest techniques used to photograph galaxies, the moon and sun at 7pm on Saturday 3rd July. Adults £6.50, Children £3.50.
• Come along to our Campfire, Music and Sleep Under the Stars Weekend on 24th July. 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. Prebooking
is essential.

Rural Care
• One of our college students, who only came to Church Farm as part of his course, has received an award for outstanding achievement from North Hertfordshire College. Well done!
• Saffron, a work experience student from Buntingford Freeman College, joined the Rural Care team this week. She found the work interesting and turned duck eggs in the incubator with Susanne.
• Pumpkins have been planted by Teasha and Susannne in the Forest Garden.
• The herb area is looking its best again after a thorough weeding session this week!
• The beans for the veg box scheme have been harvested by Rural Care.

Help Save the Bees

For the past 10 years, colonies of bees have decreased at an alarming rate. A phenomenon called colony collapse disorder has been killing them off en masse, and beekeepers have been quick to alert the public about their high hive mortality. The bees are threatened by new and intensive farming practices(heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilisers, plant growth regulators, and methods such as mono-cropping and organised irrigation), climate change and the arrival of the Asian hornet. In recent years, the mortality rate of bees has quadrupled. The disappearance of bees endangers the beekeeping profession and threatens agriculture and the food supply (according to French scientists from INRA and the CNRS, 35% of world production of fruits, vegetables and oilseeds depends on the activities of the pollinators).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/cancities-save-bees

You can help!!!
Join Euan Brierley on 17th July (2pm-5pm) or 7th August (2pm-5pm) to find out more about why bees are kept in hives, the life cycle of the bee, essential beekeeping equipment and the risks involved. You’ll also have the opportunity to open up Church Farm hives providing that the weather is fine. If you can’t wait to keep bees and/or want to help save them, then this is the course for you! £30.

Supermarkets selling meat from animals fed GM crops

Supermarkets across Britain are routinely selling food from animals reared on genetically modified crops without having to declare it on labelling, it can be disclosed. They have acknowledged that meat, fish, eggs and dairy products on their shelves could contain “indirect” GM ingredients. Last night supermarkets including Iceland, Aldi and Lidl said they could provide no guarantee that meat, farmed fish, eggs or dairy products on sale did not come from animals given GM feed. Asda said “all livestock” could potentially have been fed GM products. Sainsbury’s and Tesco said poultry and animals for certain high value lines were fed a non-GM diet. But they could not guarantee animal products from most of the rest of the range. M&S and Waitrose, which promote a tougher stance against factory-farmed foods, sell processed food such as chicken sandwiches and ice cream produced from animals fed a GM diet. Pete Riley, of the campaign group GM Freeze, said: “No supermarket can claim to be non-GM, they might have aspired to be at one point, but effectively they have been pulling the wool over people’s eyes.” The disclosures have reignited the debate about the use of genetic technology in food production following health and environmental concerns.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7852762/Supermarkets-selling-meat-from-animals-fed-GM-crops.html

Scouting trips at Church Farm




Chells Beavers visited Church Farm at the beginning of July. They had a tour of the farm, fed the animals, collected eggs, played in the woodland, and planted their own patch of vegetables as part of one of their badges. They even had the chance to meet Mr Bee and each received a certificate of thanks for helping on the farm. Walkern Cubs and Buntingford Rib Beavers also visited the farm this week. They all had a great time!