Going To The Show

This week we are all getting ready for the Devon County Show. I’ve been setting up the stall today down in Exeter trying to make old bits of hessian which used to line the corn bin into a ‘rustic chic’ back drop! Back at the farm Keith, the butcher, has been preparing fantastic cuts of meat - beautiful racks of lamb arranged into guards of honour with little paper hats, rib eye steaks, and as the weather forecast looks hot, tempting koftas and kebabs for the barbecue. We are launching our new range of summer cuts at the show, lamb kebabs in a spicy marinade and pork kebabs in hoisin sauce as well as all the best selling sausages which we seem to hand out in a never ending supply of tasters at the shows! Ann who helps us in the butchery has been hand pressing hundreds of steakburgers ready for cooking, while I’ve been making some home made tomato relish and horseradish sauce to go with them. There is no shortage of horseradish growing in the garden at the moment, the only trouble is peeling and grating it is a tearful business! However I’ve discovered the food processor makes the grating less painful!

Win a Spring Meat Box

Here at Higher Hacknell Farm Spring is well under way with all the lambs now born and most of the calves too. We are always attempting to improve what we do; while Tim is trying to figure our how to increase his lambing percentage and improve the pastures, I'm wanting to make sure you get the best quality meat and service from us. So we are taking a fresh look at what we do and how we can do it better and ask you kindly for your opinions. 

Win a Spring Meat Box

However when I mentioned to Tim last night that I was intending to do a survey, he groaned, as most farmers would, at the thought of questionnaires and being hasselled, so I understand if this is something you don't want to take part in! However it will take less than five minutes and I truly appreciate your comments. 
To do the survey , follow the link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JPYFK83 and we will enter all participants who put their emails on the survey into a prize draw to give away a Spring Meat Box. Please reply by 31st May.

Find out about our customer loyalty scheme

Higher Hacknell Loyalty Scheme

Would you like extra meat FREE or FREE delivery? If you’d like to become a regular customer of Higher Hacknell Farm Organic Meat by ordering a monthly box valued at £100 or more then we will add an extra 10% worth of free organic meat or if you prefer, free delivery.

The scheme is a hassle free and convenient way to shop-we’ll contact you a week before your next order is due to remind you it’s on it’s way, by email or phone if you prefer. If you are going on holiday, or need to skip a month, just let us know, you’re not tied in.

It’s also completely flexible. Choose one of our standard boxes, the mixed box is a favourite with the loyalty scheme customers, or make your own choice of cuts from our full range of organic beef, organic lamb, organic pork and organic chicken.

You can have a different choice of meat cuts each month, if you like organic sausages, organic burgers and barbecue meat in the summer or slow cooking cuts such as organic beef brisket and organic mutton in winter

If you’d like to take advantage of our loyalty scheme offer then please email us at [email protected] or phone 01769 560909 to discuss your preferences and for us to take details of your requirements.

Spring Arrivals

During the past month the hillsides have very much come alive! During the winter when there isn’t much grass the countryside is a quiet place to be, but right now there is a cacophony of bleating lambs and anxious cows calling their calves everywhere you turn! Amongst the many new arrivals on the farm, the most prominent and certainly the most demanding has been my new Springer Spaniel puppy, ‘Buddy’.

'Buddy' the Springer

However he has incentivised me to get out of bed early and give Tim a helping hand by checking the stock, a daily routine, while out walking. It’s especially important right now with so many newly born animals. In particular we have to check the cows udders arn’t bursting with milk, a sign that her calf isn’t feeding, or any animal on it’s own could mean things arn’t quite right. The other day there were 5 cows on one side of the hill but 6 calves, as one calf had not found her way across the stream and up the other side of the hill.to join it’s mother, so it needed sorting out. We have also had to bring in cows and calves when their mothers are just producing too much milk and the calf can’t keep up, which could cause mastitis in the cow if left. We then either milk the cow by hand or sometimes put a stronger calf on it to drink the milk, but whichever method we use there’s a chance of a kicking from the cow!

We’ve had over thirty cows calve since Easter, as the lambing pretty much came to an end, calving begun. Tim was kept busy sorting things out when there were 8 calves born in less than 2 days, as some of the young heifers didn’t really know or care what had happened to them and wandered off leaving their calves, while others had maternal instinct in overdrive and became too aggressive to get close to. It’s one thing managing the farm, but worse is the admin attatched to each animal as every calf born has to be registered within a few days of birth and then receive a passport from the government. Dealing with the bureaucracy is what really drives Tim mad, the phone calls, on line systems with passwords that don’t work……., you get the picture! But however frustrating things can get, it is a beautiful time of year, the swallows have arrived, the fields and woods are filled with the sound of birdsong, the leaves are coming out on the trees a vibrant green and what we want is some rain!!