Farmer's Blog

Milk, butter and cream

2008-08-16T08:59:00.001-07:00

These are the dairy products available from the shop. Unpasteurised whole milk (white top), pastuerised whole milk (blue top), semi-skimmed milk (green top), skimmed milk (red top), butter and cream. All produced here on the farm, no food miles at all! Made with milk from our award winning pedigree guernsey cows.

Latest addition to the Briddlesford Herd

2008-08-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

This morning Briddlesford Lucks Bluebell gave birth to her third calf, a beautiful Guernsey heifer who will join the milking herd in a couple of years time. Pictured are mum and baby at just 2 hours old.

Louise and Bobby the friendly faces at the Farm Shop

2008-08-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Briddlesford Veal

2008-08-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

Over the last three months we have been raising 3 veal calves for meat sales in the shop. These calves have been raised to the highest possible welfare standards, happily living in a straw bedded barn, they have been fed by their mother twice a day. The calves are pictured.

There is so much misunderstanding about the raising of veal calves with stories of calves being kept in crates with no room to move and no light, this practise has been banned in this country for at least 25 years.

Veal is a beautiful, tender meat and we hope you will be pleased to try it once it is on sale in the shop.

The calves opposite our shop are not veal calves, they are dairy calves and all being well they will live a long and happy life here on this farm!

Boxed Beef proves successful

2008-04-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

'The best beef I have ever tasted' and 'melt in the mouth' are just two of the many positive comments we have received about our boxes of beef. More boxes are going out next week. phone the shop if you are interested in the next batch!!

Contented cows and New Season asparagus.

2008-04-18T06:02:00.000-07:00

The farm and shop here at Briddlesford have enjoyed another couple of busy months what with the Easter break and now the school holidays.

The cows have now gone out and stay out at night in order to graze the grass but as it is not yet growing very fast we still need to buffer feed them indoors before and after milking. The mix consists of soya protein, maize and grass silage and some straw. Freshly calved cows who are giving a lot of milk need a high energy diet or they will lose weight, so the grass needs to be supplemented right through the grazing season for these animals or they will not stay healthy and we will have more difficulty getting them to conceive again.

Delicious new season Isle of Wight asparagus from the Garlic Farm, Newchurch (http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/) is now on sale in the shop, if you haven't tried it yet - you must!! Superb, just lightly steamed and served with melted butter and black pepper, it is the perfect flavour of the Isle of Wight in springtime.

New Calf

2008-02-18T11:01:00.000-08:00

Briddlesford Pacific's Violet 3rd calved last Tuesday. Her calf is an Aberdeen Angus cross Guernsey and will go to another farmer on the Isle of Wight to be reared for beef. The calf is pictured above.
The cows are now going out in the fields in the morning and evenings as the ground is dry enough for them to walk on. Judi, Chris and Star, one of the farm dogs, are pictured with the cows this morning.

Boxed Beef

2008-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

We have started a‘Boxed Beef Scheme’. This means a 20 - 25 kg. box of grass fed, fully matured, traditionally hung, farm assured beef from Ron Holland at Kemphill Farm, Ryde, Isle of Wight. You are welcome to visit his farm to see the cattle.
You would receive cuts from across the whole animal – fillet, rump, sirloin, fore-rib, brisket, braising steak, stewing steak, topside, silverside and mince.
The price of a box will be approximately £7/kg or £150/box. Please contact Louise at the shop.

Beef cattle at Kemphill Farm pictured above.

Expectant mums.

2008-02-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

The next two cows to calve on the farm are Briddlesford Luck's Daisy 5th (Top) and Briddlesford Pacific's Violet 3rd. When the calves are born we will let you know and put some pictures here!

After Christmas

2008-01-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

After the mad rush of Christmas the shop seems strangely quiet here at Briddlesford Lodge Farm, but the farm remains as busy as ever.

Unfortunately we lost one of our top cows on Friday night, in fact the face of ‘Buttercup Milk’ - Briddlesford Greg’s Daisy 7th (above) died while calving, fortunately for her calf another cow calved at the same time so she took the orphaned calf on.

With all the animals housed indoors there is always a lot going on and in this weather it is hard to keep them dry, the wind blowing the rain in all over the place. Everyday the milking cows get a fresh new straw bed. We are milking 150 cows at the moment giving approximately 3000 litres a day, which for a Guernsey herd is very good.