June is one of our favourite months at the farm with the stock looking so well at this time of year, their summer coats gleaming in the sun. The trees are heavily in leaf and the countryside is a mass of shades of green. It's now that we appreciate where we live, with stunning views of the moors from here and can forget what it was like last winter! We made a short video of the farm in June last year to give you an idea of where we are and what we do, so I hope you'll have a look if you haven't seen it yet.

The sheep are looking chic and cool, having been shorn a couple of weeks ago and we have plenty of wool. We send most of it to the Wool Board, but I have had some spun into knitting yarn available in natural white and a selection of colours on the website. The next job is silage making, and there's plenty of grass this season which is good, but we need some dry days to cut it and bale it up. I think it's looking better weather towards the end of the week, so we'll keep an eye on the forecast.

It's always great to have good news, and we're very happy to have just won another clutch of awards from the Taste of the West, winning Gold for our organic South Devon beef steak, Silver for our Lleyn lamb steak and Bronze for our Lamb and Squash Curry. There were over 1000 entries and we are lucky enough to have won an award for each of the three products we entered. There's nothing easier, quicker or more delicious than a Higher Hacknell steak, I hope you'll agree, especially if you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen! I'm just happy to have a steak with some fresh salad and home grown new potatoes, but you can always dress it up with a bearnaise or creamy pepper sauce. I'll often marinade lamb steaks using the recipe for kebabs or serve them with 'patatas bravas' from the Moro cookbook. If you've got some favourite Higher Hacknell dishes, please share them or send me a picture or recipe for our Facebook page.

We've had a couple of technical problems on the website adding items to the shopping cart lately, and thank you for letting me know. It is fixed now, but please contact me if you have any difficulties ordering online at www.higherhacknell.co.uk or if you prefer to order by phone, that's fine.

And lastly, to thank you for supporting Higher Hacknell and to celebrate our recent success we are offering FREE delivery on all orders over £100 from now until the end of June, ordered on line. If you are going away this summer or planning a party with friends somewhere, we are always happy to deliver to a different address and do phone me on 01769 560909 to discuss what you'd like or need advice.

With the solstice just over a week away, I hope you enjoy the summer ahead and best wishes from

Jo and Tim and all at Higher Hacknell Farm