Thursday 8 April 2010

April visit to an organic farm

Nineteen of us on a perfect Spring day, warm with hardly a cloud in the sky met up at Vernham Dean Box Farm, Andover. We were greeted by the farm owner who gave us a good grounding on organic farming with its 3 year cycle and in regenerating the land with grass and clover. The changing over of animals each year to lessen the number of parasites that are species dependant. We then went to see where the lambing ewes were kept and the cattle ready to go to market. Then David Sullivan the speaker from last year who gave us "Life time as a shepherd and a story teller" told us about the background of who worked where. finally on cue a lamb gave birth to two just before we left. David showed us the way to the local pub where a cream tea was waiting for us. Very nice day's outing.