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| Recent Newsletters from the farm shop and the farms |
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Newsletter - Summer 2011
From the Farm
The silage is in the store and we have enough for our animals to get them through the winter provided we have a normal winter. We have heard of farmers elsewhere in Britain who are very short of fodder which is a worry and could prove to be very expensive for them. We have been fortunate this year to have received a few showers; just enough to keep the grass growing. I saw our cows this morning and it is a beautiful sight to see these cows lying down in the sun chewing their cud. The calves are now about 3 months of age and tend to group
together as they get older. I am in no doubt these are happy animals and this is the right way to produce meat; not all meat is produced from a grass based suckler system. Please do ask wherever you buy meat as it is important to the animals’ lives as well as farmers like us who are still producing meat in this traditional way. If you would like to see our cows with their calves please do come on a customer special, free farm tour which we will host on Tuesdays during August. The tours will begin at 11 o’clock guided by Terry, Richard or Ian Lobb. We will have a flock of ewes with May born lambs to see in the first field followed by the suckler cows with their calves in the second pasture field. We would really like you to come and see how we care for our farm and if you wish please bring along your friends and children. To allow us to manage the demand we would ask that you please book in at the shop and put your name on our list. The 16th of August tour will be hosted by Richard Lobb, the 23rd of August tour will be hosted by Ian and the final tour on the 30th of August will be hosted by Terry.
I have just been home for my lunch and checked on a cow and calf that was born at 8.00 last night. The calf was still lying down and I didn’t believe had sucked the vitally important colostrum yet. So after my lunch, my son, Will, and I persuaded the cow into a stall where we tied her in place, gave her some rolled corn to distract her and we then proceeded to try to put the calf to suck. This can be a dangerous task as first time mothers can kick and I have previous knowledge, it bl**dy hurts too. The calf was obviously very stiff from being tucked up inside the cow before birth; its back legs were very wobbly. We managed to lift the calf and support it to stand next to the cow; I then caught hold of the cow’s teat and squirted some milk into the calf’s mouth. It didn’t take this calf more than a moment to
learn, and instinct kicked in; wow this calf wanted to suck, it was so keen. The young cow; a first time calver, did not flinch or move at all. She was fantastic, allowing me to hold the teats and guide them into the calf’s mouth for a good five minutes. Result!
My son then said “there are not many shopkeepers that put a calf to suck over their lunchtime, you know”. So true, but also such a treat – a job well done.
Lobbs Farm Shop
I have just strolled around the shop and I have been thinking to myself how the shop has changed in the
eight years since we opened. It is larger but also we
have a much larger range of our own and local produce. I have just counted forty different foods ranging from
tomatoes and broad beans to honey and wine all sourced from less than five miles from Heligan. I have included our range of farmhouse kitchen pies and crumbles which we have only recently been making. It has been difficult for our cooks to keep up with demand but this morning the deep freeze and the deli counter were both very well stocked. Our ham and egg pie is a really meaty pie at only £1.55 per slice and our Scotch eggs made in our own kitchen, using Lobbs’ sausage meat, herbs, seasoning and local eggs, are £1.95 each.
One of our new cheeses this year is the Cornish Smuggler which is a cheddar style cheese with an unusual red-orange vein; it looks great and is another excellent cheese produced by Sue Proudfoot, a Cornish artisan cheese producer. The butchers are now producing the complete range of barbecue products such as garlic pork steaks at £8.05/ kg, spare rib Chinese style only £4.45/ kg or the tasty lemon pepper chicken legs at only £3.75/kg. We also have minted lamb shoulder chops at £6.95/kg; such a fantastic smell whilst cooking on the barbecue. Real beef lovers have a choice of chilli willi rump steaks preprepared or select your own steaks from the counter and add a sauce or marinade of your choice. A cheaper option is belly pork slices at only£3.35/kg; these can be delicious as the fat on the meat frizzles away and adds flavour. We always have our own Lobbs’ burgers, with beef, pork, lamb, and occasionally sausage style flavours such as Lincolnshire or pork and mushroom made into a burger. All of our burgers are made from quality ingredients on the premises priced at £2.20 for four beef or pork burgers whilst our lamb burgers made with our own lamb are £3.25 for four – delicious!
We are updating our customer data base at the moment. If any of you would prefer our newsletter by email rather than by post then please do email us with your request.
Don’t forget to check out our blog http://lobbsfarmshop.wordpress.com or the website as well as the shop.
Email:lobbsfarmshop@btconnect.com www.lobbsfarmshop.com
Spring 2011
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
I have just had my silver wedding anniversary party at St Ewe village hall. It was a great evening in an excellent village hall. I can recommend its facilities for your family party and it is not expensive and so much easier to accommodate large numbers than in your own home. We had eighty people for a ceilidh with a Cornish band and a caller; great fun and very tiring but we needed the exercise, as before the dancing we had a fantastic buffet meal of local food, of course all sourced from Lobbs Farm Shop.
Phil cooked us several joints of lamb and beef in the rotisserie oven at the shop and then took them to the hall in our cool box; Lobbs Farm Shop “Roast to Go” - a cheaper and easier option than a hog roast. The lamb was marinated in a vacuum bag for three days before roasting; the beef was a joint of topside. This was served with bread rolls and a mixed leaf salad from Cotna, coleslaw and a mixed bean salad. To accompany this were slices of homity pie, ham and egg pie and vegetarian quiche. We chose the Halzephron Cornish herb dressing and the Sisley’s Cornish chutney, both real favourites of mine.
We followed this with a selection of Cornish cheeses: the St. Endellion brie which is so so creamy, the nettle Yarg (everybody knows this one - a firm textured cheese) and of course we had to have a round of Cornish Blue, fabulous flavour and currently the World Cheese Awards Champion Cheese. I know I am biased but it really was a flavoursome feast of Cornish food.
I felt very proud to be associated with such a superb selection of local food and we received many generous comments about the food.
If you are planning an event, party or a grand picnic this summer, then please do make your orders through the farm shop delicatessen or the butchery – I can recommend it!
News from the farm
It’s spring and there are so many jobs to do on the farm (well that’s my excuse for being late with the newsletter). We have planted young cauliflowers and cabbages, drilled spring barley and swedes, turned out the cattle to the pastures, weighed and sold the early lambs, fertilised and sprayed the cereal crops, ……….
The crops on the farm are, on the whole, looking well despite the dry weather this spring. We have had a few showers unlike the east of England where there is a serious problem. Water is such a vital resource which we rely on to produce our crops and to water our animals. We are lucky to have the rain regularly in Cornwall, although the dramatic downpour in December was a disaster for our hedges and for many people in Mevagissey and Pentewan. In my opinion both extremes were abnormal, once in a lifetime events, or is this what we should expect now with climate change?
Of course water is also very important for the wildlife on the farm; our swallows which returned to the farmyard a week later than last year have required assistance. The normal array of puddles around the yard have been absent this year, so I have released water from one of my rain harvesting tanks to replenish a puddle. Within a few minutes there were two swallows at the puddle either drinking or collecting mud for their nests.
The swallows are busy in the fields as well. Whenever we move a flock of sheep the birds are seen swooping down in front of the ewes catching the flies and insects that are jumping out of the way of the many advancing feet. The sheep and the cattle are depositing their natural fertiliser on the ground which is essential for the flies and insects and many other species within the cycle of life that revolves around the pasture. The grazing of these animals is so important for wildlife diversity, supporting insects, flowers, bees, birds and a whole host of creatures within the soil. The modern efficient way to progress in livestock farming is tending to house animals throughout the year. This will be detrimental to the biodiversity of the countryside; with less insects there will be less pollination of wild flowers.
Rest assured on our farms we do allow our animals to graze our pastures and meadows supporting biodiversity and also producing great tasting grass fed beef and lamb. Just as our advertising strap line says;
“Naturally the best from the Countryside”.
Winter 2010
News from the farmshop
Please, please, please do you use your Lobbs Calendar discount vouchers. We have distributed these initially to our customers that made a Christmas order and after to all customers that visited the shop in early January. The voucher is to thank you for your custom and to encourage you to purchase from us during what is normally a quiet month; we need to keep our band of
helpful staff busy so please come in and say hello and
don’t forget the more you spend the more you save. If
you spend £20 it is £2 off, but if you come in with a
friend and spent £100 it is £10 pounds off provided it
is all in one transaction, so fill up your freezers and
your neighbours’ as well.
Whilst you are here you may like to go to The Lost Gardens of Heligan and enjoy a meal or a cup of tea and a piece of cake. On Wednesdays and Sundays there will be a roast dinner available which will include Lobbs’ succulent meat with seasonal vegetables from the gardens. Lesley, in the butchery, our sausage specialist, has introduced a few new flavours of sausages. My favourite at the moment is the Old English. Other new ones are the game sausage and the less traditional caramelised onion and red pepper. Any of these would make an easy and relatively cheap tea of bangers and mash with lovely gravy. Yum. An even tastier treat would be to serve the sausages dripping in caramelised onion marmalade from Tracklements or the sage jelly from Crellow; both are available in our preserve section. If you have not tried this yet then please do, it is really scrummy.
Another winter warmer is our range of herbal and
green teas; what better than to snuggle up to the fire
with a nice cuppa. We stock Clipper products which
use fair trade ingredients, with various flavours. The
green tea with lemon is a light refreshing clean tasting
tea with the zing of lemon, a natural source of
anti-oxidants. I expect many of you will also like the sweeter alternative of Miles hot chocolate; a luxurious instant drink, well you could almost justify it as a food, very nice and comforting and available as sachets at only 27p each or in tubs at £3.49 for 400g.
Don’t forget to look out in the shop for the notices for
our barn events:-
Saturday 26th February - tray bake cake demonstration
with Anne. Come along and have a relaxing and fun
day. 12.30 to 4.00ish. Tea and sticky cake included for
£10.00.
Saturday 26th March - a lamb cookery demonstration
with a selection of seasonal recipes. 12.30 to 4.00ish,
also only £10.00.
More events are planned for the summer. Please do
keep a lookout for the notices on the website,
lobbsfarmshop.com or the blog -
http://lobbsfarmshop.wordpress.com or of course in
the shop.
News from the Farm
Yes it is winter and what a winter it has been; we
have never seen so much rain which has damaged
hedgerows and our bridges over the stream in the
woods. We have repaired the hedgerows but it will
take years for these to recover to their former
splendour.
Our autumn born lambs have surprisingly grown on well despite the weather; undoubtedly the rolled barley feed is supplementing the frost retarded grass successfully. It is most unusual for the grass in Cornwall to be so affected by the cold weather; usually the grass continues to grow through our mild Cornish winters.
I have a field adjacent to the farmyard that
is one of our stewardship areas in which we have left the crop unharvested, essentially to supply a feed source and habitat for wildlife such as mice, shrews and several flocks of resident and migratory birds. One bright moonlit evening my wife and I were out in the yard and we heard a terrific screeching noise, obviously an owl, but so much noise, almost continuous. We walked out to the stewardship field where we saw two barn owls that were hovering above the remnants of the crop searching for prey. Gradually and methodically they traversed the field until whoosh an owl swept in for its supper, probably a mouse or a shrew. It really
was a beautiful sight; you had to be there to really
appreciate the simple pleasure of two owls by
moonlight. I wonder did they share the hunt. Were
they a pair or rivals? I must put up another box just
in case they were a pair in need of a new home.
The spring ewes should begin to lamb in February
and the cows should start calving in March and we
need to plough the fields and plant the spring crops
of corn and vegetables during March and April; the
ever constant rhythm of life on a farm continues
whatever the weather. There has been much said in the press about food prices going up and yes they are in
some cases; I have just sold barley for £177/ton which is double the price we received last year. I am relieved because I believe we needed to achieve £130/ton to make a profit which we did not manage last year.
The price of beef is still difficult for the farmer. In
March 1996 we took four animals to market and
averaged £1.26/kg live weight. The average price
of steers in Truro market on 19/01/11 was
£1.37/kg, an increase of 11p over a period of 15
years!!! Unless we can reward farmers for their
produce how can we expect an increase in food
production? I wonder what the increase in oil and
average earnings has been in that period!
Newsletter - Autumn 2010
Lobbs Farm Shop
The butchery team have had a very busy summer with our shop customers and increasingly with sales to local hotels and restaurants; many chefs are specifically choosing to purchase their meat with a known provenance. These local businesses are very particular with their meat requirements and will only accept the best meat cuts. This is fine with us as we also endeavour to produce meat sourced from our own farm which is cut and prepared by our butchery team to the highest standards.
On the back of our farm shop shirts is, as the admen say, the strap line
“Naturally the best from the countryside”
We really do try to care for our farm, its crops and animals and our wildlife habitats to the best of our abilities. It is far more rewarding to farm well and create a good product; it makes for a more satisfying job. It is one of the reasons we developed the farm shop as before this we continually had to cut corners to satisfy the demands of the supermarkets for cheaper and cheaper food.
Although we are adamant that quality is paramount, that does not mean we do not sell good value. Obviously a fillet steak is expensive but our mincemeat is not; in fact at £7.59 for a 5lb pack it is extremely good value. These packs are so useful and the mincemeat can be used in so many recipes from cottage pie to lasagne - great to eat on a cold evening. We also sell diced chuck meat packs for an economical £11.10 /5lb pack which is 20% off the normal selling price - great for stews and casseroles; an easy meal that can be prepared and put in the oven on a timer ready for your return from work.
Autumn is also the beginning of a new year for game. We have packs of venison steaks for only £13.00/kg which is cheaper than rib eye steak; try some for a change. There are also packs of venison mince and diced game; ideal for a pie. Rabbit, at £2.51/kg, is very cheap and can be very tasty; you may well have tasted it whilst on holiday in Spain where it is very popular. The Romans brought rabbits to Britain over 2000 years ago as it was considered an important part of their diet. Pheasant packs are also on sale with a price of £4.17 per bird, or for a change you could try one of our turkey crowns which are all of the white meat only without the legs or wings; delicious as an alternative to chicken for the larger get together.
Meat boxes - have you tried one yet?
We are able through the winter to deliver meat boxes to our customers throughout the local area from St.Mawes to Probus to St.Austell. Please do enquire from our butchery team about delivery to your home. You can order either over the phone and pay by cash on delivery or pay by visa card over the phone. The more computer minded ones may well like to try our internet site at www.lobbsfarmshop.com
If you are buying for yourself then why not try a meat box delivery to your home. Any order over £100 has free delivery to anywhere on mainland UK. You can choose the meat cuts on our website www.lobbsfarmshop.com . Our professional butchery team will prepare your choice of fresh meat packed with ice pads in a recyclable box for next day delivery.
Compare our prices with Donald Russell or the Well Hung Meat Company; we are competitive. We believe our meat is some of the best available, produced on our own farms using a grass based system. Our farm has won awards as one of Britain’s top wildlife friendly farms. Our beef is well hung for up to 21 days to maximise flavour and eating quality. Try our meat and taste the difference; you won’t be disappointed.
Discount vouchers - Those of you that have a Lobbs Farm Shop 2010 calendar should have a voucher for a 10% discount, which is redeemable during November. The voucher can be found on the reverse of the front cover, behind the image that depicts our farms in the snow, at night!!
Lobbs Farm Shop calendars will be given out again this Christmas with your collection of pre-ordered festive fare. The order book will be open from the 1st of November.
News from the farm
The summer is now over; the swallows have almost all gone. We had a wonderful sight on Sunday the 19th of September at 8.00 in the morning. Our farmyard has two wires that cross diagonally from the electric pole to the barn; this morning the wire was packed with swallows and if there were 50 there were 200. It was impossible to count so many, and they sang and chattered, and then they were gone; it was almost like they were saying goodbye. I felt so proud and so fortunate.
The winter vegetables are now growing away well after a rather slow start due to the weather conditions. They are certainly a beautiful sight early in the morning with the dew glistening in the sun when we go to cut the vegetables before delivering to the farm shop. I personally really enjoy the flavour which is definitely far superior when the vegetables are cut and delivered as soon as possible after cutting.
What a difference a year makes
Last year in October when we planted the crops that we have just harvested, the price of wheat was £75 /ton. We planted those crops in the expectation that we could make a loss on every acre planted; of course we were hopeful that prices would increase. We estimated that we needed £130/ton to cover all of our costs and make a profit. Fortunately we did take the risk and planted a crop because now wheat is worth £140/ton and rising – incredible; it is like riding a roller coaster up and down. Now we need to sell our crops at this new price before it drops again. The truth is though; every business needs a degree of predictability to be able to invest in our businesses. Wild fluctuations in price are not good for our business or for the many bakers and millers that use cereals as their major essential ingredient. I wonder now that we are about to plant our next crop, what the price will be next September?
Newsletter Summer 2010
News from the farm
It has been a dry spring and early summer which has meant the silage harvest was down in quantity by 30% but because it didn't get rained on, the quality will be good. We are just going to have to save the fields and hope to cut a second crop in July. It has been great weather for making hay which has been saved without any rain creating drying problems. The hay we make is made into small oblong bales which are ideal to carry around the farmyard to feed individual animals in pens such as a cow with a baby calf.
Between the silage harvest in May and the hay harvest in June we, like many farmers, went to the Royal Cornwall Show. This year's event was special for us as Derek Hocking, one of our farm team, received his long service award - a framed certificate and free entry to the show for his lifetime. This is an award that Derek will enjoy and has been well earned.
Derek has worked for the Lobb family at Kestle Farm since he was 19 years old; a total of 45 years. He began to work for our father, Jim Lobb, at Lower Kestle Farm as a general farm worker which is a catch all description which conceals more that it reveals. In reality Derek is highly skilled and is able to turn his hand to many a job on the farm from tractor driving and machinery repairs to the care of beef cattle and sheep. Derek has probably ploughed more land in St. Ewe parish than any other person alive; he knows the fields like the back of his hand which enables him to complete his work to a very high standard. Over the years Derek has rebuilt many a stone gaps within hedgerows as well as trimming the hedges and maintaining the fences. His knowledge of the farm, its animals and wildlife is immense; he observes the creatures around him and follows the nesting and hatching of the wild birds. During his lunch break Derek regularly shares his grub with the birds and is on first name terms with his robin!
There have been many changes on the farm over the years. Like many family farms, the farm management has been passed down to the next generation of the Lobb family to run in their own particular way. Derek's current employers, Terry, Ian and Richard Lobb, have diversified the business by the development of the award winning Lobbs Farm Shop at Heligan. Derek was also involved in this diversification as he assisted the local building team in its construction, and now helps in the growing and harvesting of the fresh produce sold in the farm shop.
We, the Lobb family, are in no doubt that Derek deserves this award in recognition of his many years of hard work and his self taught abilities as a 'general farm worker'. He is a true countryman through and through.
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
The farm shop has an interesting choice of events occurring in the Barn:-
Greek cookery with Helen Chumbley 17th July £10.00
Pasty making with Anne Stanfield 21st Aug £6.00
The summer is the time to have a picnic. Whether it's the complete job of basket, tablecloth and glasses or just a few plastic boxes and a cold drink, we can help.
The delicatessen counter has a wide range of our own and Cornish produce. We would normally have quiches (smoked bacon or vegetarian), pork pies, sausage rolls, homity pie and frittata (an omelette that thinks it's a pie). For cheese lovers we have some superb Cornish cheeses such as Cornish Blue, an award winning blue vein with a soft center. St Endellion is a terrific creamy soft cheese similar to brie. Trelawney is a creamy lemon flavour hard cheese, great with one our pickles. Everyone now seems to recognise Yarg with its unique wrapping of nettle; it is a good flavoursome cheese. No picnic is complete without a hunk of cheddar and we stock the award winning Montgomery's, a real classic cheese.
We really do have a huge choice of pickles from Sisley's, one of which is an award winning red onion & chilli delight which is mild and sweet. Crellow have a large range, some with great names such as 'Damsons in Distress' which is a Cornish damson (kea plum) chutney ideal for cheese or cold meats.
To wash down your food I would recommend one of our many ales or cider. The Wooden Hand Brewery are now making a Cornish steam lager which is a light beer with a golden colour and Healey's are selling the Cornish Rattler, a cloudy biting refreshing drink best drunk on a sunny beach in Cornwall.
There are also a huge range of soft drinks. I can personally recommend the Luscombe St. Clements, a classic orange and lemon drink made with a tingle of fizz. One of our most popular drinks is the Cornish Orchards elderflower presse, an infusion of freshly picked elderflowers and sliced lemons sparkled with Cornish spring water. This is flying off the shelf and should be served chilled. We are now selling Burts crisps again, available in several flavours. These are great with pickled onions, eggs or gherkins. Other picnic favourites we sell are olives and sun dried tomatoes, all to accompany our fresh bread and real Cornish butter.
For those of you with a sweet tooth please do try one of our own made cakes and sponges. The choice includes a lemon drizzle cake, carrot cake and banana cake. The sponge flavours are coffee, chocolate and victoria sold as a whole or half a sponge packs, with the yummy half a Victoria sponge priced at only £2.09.
If you are anticipating holding an event where you would like to use our produce, to avoid disappointment it may be best to make an order so that we can reserve your food and keep it chilled ready for the picnic. Just ask any of our delicatessen staff who are happy to help or ring Lobbs on 01726 844411
Newsletter spring 2010
News from the farm
It has been a long cold winter; we have even had enough snow to go sledging twice in one winter. It has been great fun for the local kids and many parents as well, but it has made it difficult for our sheep. The grass which normally grows throughout the winter has just stopped growing leaving our ewes with lambs rather hungry. We have been supplementary feeding more rolled barley to the animals but really they need grass. We are having to move the flocks every four days to a fresh field, not that there is any more grass in the fresh field but it is a new set of hedges that the sheep can look at whilst trying to mastermind their escape route.
The dry weather in March has been great for lambing the spring ewes, with all of the lambs being turned out on dry days easing the pressure on the lambing pens. I hope you saw some of the lambing live programme on the BBC; it was very interesting and a true to life depiction of lambing on a farm.
We are busy at the moment planting hedging trees such as hazel, blackthorn and hawthorn on our new hedgerows. In our woodland we have planted 750 broadleaved trees in areas that we cleared of laurel last summer which you can see if you walk the woodland path. In a couple of our pasture fields we are planting a few individual parkland style trees. These majestic trees of the countryside can take many years to become mature and we hope our children and grandchildren will enjoy their beauty in 50 to 100 years time. To be effective it is important that we fence the hedgerows and the parkland trees otherwise the farm animals will just chew the young shoots. This fencing is expensive to erect and this work is supported by our Farm Environmental Stewardship Scheme.
The TB story continues: hurrah we have had a clear test with no animals testing positive. This is a great relief to us as it now means that some of the trading restrictions have been lifted as two of the farms are now classified as free of TB and the other farm now needs another clear test to follow suit.
We have replaced our TB infected bull and another older bull by purchasing three new bulls - one for each brother Lobb to introduce to our cows. The three bulls are all of the same breed, namely the South Devon which are a traditional west country breed which excel at producing top quality beef from grass. The bulls’ names are Jubilee, Eclipse and Trusty; we hope they live long and prosper.
The prices farmers receive for grain has recently plummeted from £120/ton to £80/ton. We were hoping to get £130/ton for our crop this year which we feel is a level that we can begin to make a profit. Instead we have the disastrous scenario where we are planting and managing crops that are going to create losses in their production. What do we do? We have to harvest the crops to get some of our money back but should we order seed for next year? How are we going to store this year’s crop as our corn store is still partly full with last year’s crop?
Do you remember when the price of grain went up to £180/ ton? There was a big fuss in the press and the prices of bread, cakes and lots of food items went up; well they haven’t gone down yet!!! I wonder if they will?
With wheat at £80/ton the farmer’s share of a kg of flour priced at £1.35/kg is: £80 divided by 1000kg (ton) = 0.08p,
£1.35 divided by 0.08p = 6%.
When that flour is made into bread each kg could make two loaves for sale at roughly £1.20. The farmer’s share of a loaf is:
Two loaves worth £2.40 divided by 0.08p = 3.33%
When you hear somebody say that food is expensive please do not blame the farmers. Most of the money is made further along the food chain in the baking, transport, packaging and the supermarket’s margin.
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
The farm shop has an interesting choice of events occurring in the Barn:-
Baking with Helen Chumbley 24th April £10.00
Lamb cookery with Pier Palena 22nd May £10.00
Hungarian cookery with Zita Tar 19th June £10.00
Greek cookery with Helen Chumbley 17th July £10.00
Pasty making with Anne Stanfield 21st Aug £6.00
These are very interesting and make for a stimulating day which may widen your recipe portfolio. These events normally run from 10am to 3pm-ish. Please book your tickets in advance - just ask at the tills or telephone 844411.
The delicatessen will be trying a few new lines this summer such as Pier’s frittata with either mixed vegetables or courgette. A frittata is essentially an Italian omelette that has aspirations to be a pie without the pastry. The usual fresh pie selection (pork, homity, sausage rolls) should be available along with a few new ones like chicken and ham or bacon and egg. In the freezers we have a range of frozen prepared pies and dishes like lasagne, all made here in the farm shop for you to enjoy; an easy meal - just remove from the freezer and cook for 40 minutes. To accompany these meals we have a range of frozen vegetables, petit pois, Tuscan roasting potatoes, garlic and thyme roasted sliced potatoes, breaded garlic mushrooms, battered onion rings, and hash browns. All count as part of your five veg a day programme!!!
The chest freezers also contain fish cakes at only 52p each, Yorkshire puddings (made in Yorkshire), pastry (puff or short crust) at only £2.35 per 500g pack, frozen Cornish pasties large and small, croissants, pains au chocolat and, one of my favourites, pains aux raisins which are lovely. Do try one; it’s amazing how much they swell up when left out overnight to defrost, yummmmy!!!! I know the croissants are good because Mrs Lobb uses them for her B&B’s breakfasts and she tells me they are best cooked from frozen.
Winter 2010
News from Kestle Farm
I am writing this just as the snow is beginning to thaw; luckily all of our animals came through the difficult wintery conditions well. When the grass was covered with snow I took out hay to feed the sheep but they were not especially eager to eat this. Presumably the sheep were able to scratch the snow away and grab a mouthful of grass from under the snow. We were fortunate that the snow was only a couple of inches deep unlike some of the snow-falls up country.
The ewes with young lambs were all happy in the snow. I have been supplementary feeding the ewes with lambs with a daily feed of rolled barley and it has been very noticeable recently the numbers of birds that are taking advantage of this daily feed by clearing up any spilt corn and even joining in with the ewes at the troughs. On the coldest days we also saw a flock of twenty lapwings also enjoying this winter feed. I tried to get a photo for the calendar but the lapwings would not pose close enough for a quality picture. Hearing their pee-wits was a treat. I just asked Gill, our shop manager, how you describe the lapwing song and she does a remarkable impression - just ask her when you see her!!
Unfortunately we have just heard back from the Animal Health Office that our one animal that tested inconclusive for TB in September has just been retested and is now classified as a reactor. This means that the farm is put under restrictions and we are only able to sell animals for slaughter which must travel direct to the abattoir. Although this disease is not transferable to humans through eating meat, it does potentially limit where we can sell our animals. The individual animal concerned is now isolated and will be sent for slaughter under defra instructions and will not enter the food chain. It’s sod’s law but this animal is actually our most valuable animal on the farm; it’s the bull, Tsar, which we purchased in the summer for £2,500. We will now have a meeting with the Animal Health Officer and they will inform us as to how much compensation we will receive for this animal that has to be culled. Hopefully he will have done his job last summer and we will see a few calves that are his offspring arriving in the spring.
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
We offered customers the opportunity of winning a free Christmas order and this was open to any customers who ordered before the middle of December. This year’s winner was Mr Collier from Gorran Haven; his prize was a free 20lb turkey and five packs of pigs in blankets. I hope he and his family enjoyed their meal courtesy of Lobbs Farm Shop.
The butchery currently offers good value on several lines; our packs of mince are the same price as last year at £6.29 for five one pound bags of quality mince. These are excellent value and are just ideal to keep in the freezer at home. The packs of chuck steak are also the same price as a year ago; these are five one pound vac packed bags of diced chuck, each bag containing one pound of quality Cornish meat ideal for pies, casseroles and stews.
Rump steak is one of my favourites because there are no bones with very little waste; absolutely great flavour and superb tenderness is assured as our beef is well hung for twenty one days. These steaks are great value at the moment as well as very tasty. If you prefer, the butchers can coat these steaks with either a chilli willi or a peppered sauce, to add that little bit more flavour, whichever takes your preference.
The Heligan pheasant season is now coming to an end but we still have many products available from our freezer section. Please do look or ask the butcher for your requirements before it is all sold as supplies are limited.
In the farmhouse kitchen our cooks have been busy preparing our pies, sausage rolls and quiches. The homity pies are still very popular and the quiches, which are made from West Country mature cheddar, Cornish smoked bacon and Cornish milk, are available from the delicatessen counter. The vegetarian quiche has mushrooms which replace the smoked bacon. In all of our farmhouse food products we try to maximise the amount of Cornish ingredients to enable us to capture that authentic Cornish taste, reduce food miles and support jobs here in Cornwall.
This winter we have taken the decision to try to produce more of our own products that we sell in the farm shop. One area we feel we have the expertise to produce a quality product is fresh cakes. Helen, who has been working for us for several months now, previously worked as a cook and ran her own cottage business making cakes. In the future she will be working more in the farmhouse kitchen producing chocolate, coffee and Victoria sponges. These are proving to be popular and are sold in half a sponge style to enable smaller families and couples to enjoy them. Sticky lemon and lemon iced gingerbread are also on offer as are various flavours of fruit pies. Although we aim to have these products available within the shop you can also order your choice to avoid any disappointment as it is first come first served.
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
The alterations to the shop were suspended during December but are now back on track. We are planning to relay the rest of the new floor boards during the end of January and through February. During this time the shop will still be open but slightly rearranged. We hope that we have not inconvenienced any customers during this interesting time; we believe that the shop will be bigger and better and there should be more space to allow for easier access to the enlarged butchery and delicatessen counters.
Our own farmhouse kitchen range of prepared food on offer in the farm shop freezer includes a range of soups such as potato and leek soup, parsnip, butternut squash, and mushroom. There is also a choice of our own home made pies made from our own ingredients with steak and ale, chicken and mushroom, and now the new flavour of pigeon and mushroom.
The butchers have been busy preparing our game products such as local pheasant, partridge, venison and rabbit. A brace of pheasant retails at £6.80 which is a similar price to a free range chicken but with a stronger flavour.
Recent TV programmes have investigated chicken production methods with both Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall encouraging consumers to choose free range if possible. It was surprising to see on the film that many people did not remove the chicken meat from the carcase and use in a pie or other meals; I was always taught that the tastiest meat is nearest to the bone.
There are three types of chicken production:
Industrially farmed which is meat from super-fast growing birds reared indoors at high density with low animal welfare.
Barn reared which is meat from slower growing birds reared at lower stocking densities able to move around a large pen with medium animal welfare.
Free range describes a system where birds are of a slower growing type with access to the outdoors, able to roam, peck, and with good animal welfare.
We sell barn reared chicken supplied to us by a Cornish abattoir; these chickens are British grade A reared to the red tractor assured standards and free of antibiotics.
We also sell free range chickens from a Devon supplier that has won awards for their farming systems. These chickens are allowed to roam grassy fields yet have the protection from predators and the elements in their specialist housing. Birds are fed a low density GM free, additive and antibiotic free diet to allow slower growth, greater maturity and better flavour. Birds are reared in small flocks to reduce stress and increase freedom. A simple diet, greater maturity and a natural environment produces a happier, better tasting chicken.
We have also managed to source free range chickens from two local Cornish chicken producers; Phil and I have visited these farmers and seen for ourselves how the chickens are cared for, and it is reassuring to see happy contented chickens allowed the opportunity to exhibit their natural behaviour. If you are able to buy free range, please do, as you are supporting good animal welfare practices. If price is important be assured that our barn reared chickens are of a high standard for that type of production method.
The choice is yours! We do sell our own reared Beef and Lamb which are well cared for and range freely over our pastures.
Your purchasing decisions do make a difference to how farmers care for animals and care for the countryside.
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Our Farm Shop at Heligan
