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New Blackmore Vale, 22 July 2022
blackmorevale.net
Farming
It’s open day down on the farm! by Ruth Kimber
We are holding an open day at the farm in connection with the Somerset Food Trail on Saturday, 23 July. The starting point is Kimbers Farm Shop, where there will be vintage and modern tractors, and tastings from local suppliers. Somerset Trading Barn will be joined by more stallholders outside selling antiques and collectables. The kitchen at Kimbers will be selling barbecue food all day, breakfast through to tea time! Pulled pork, sausages burgers etc. Somerset Wildlife Trust and The Woodland Trust will also be attending. Transport will be available to take visitors to the farm, where you will see the dairy cows, the milking parlour, the yards and barns where the cattle are housed and fed in winter; the turkeys, avian flu permitting; and learn from Tom, the farmer, how your food is produced. The open day runs from 10am-4pm.
A feast of attractions will be on offer when Kimbers Farm Shop stages an open day.
School children The first of the school visits took place last week, a bus load of very well-behaved primary school children arrived from Chew Stoke, to have a tour of the farm and then picnic in the field, then up to the farm shop where they saw our produce with lots from the surrounding area. The butchers showed them some of their skills, including how to portion a duck! They also enjoyed some of our sausages, burgers and Clare’s home-made butter shortbread! More visits are booked next spring, all through the charity Farmlink. Any interested schools can contact Farmlink at www. farmlink.org.uk where advice and help will be given. Some funding is available for transport to the farm, and help with teaching plans, risk assessments etc. The day-old turkeys have arrived, so the countdown to Christmas for us has started! They are so cute when they
arrive but after only a few days they start to grow wing feathers and lose their initial sweetness. Right from day one they are aggressive feeders and tuck into their chick crumbs, and if they can harvest a passing insect, they will quick as a flash gobble it up – forgive the pun. However, they are also very vulnerable, mustn’t get too cold, too hot, be frightened with sudden noise etc, which can cause them to flock together and smother. They also make a good meal
for rats, cats, rooks, crows, magpies and jackdaws. The birds become less of a threat as the turkeys grow but rats will creep behind a fully grown resting turkey and nibble its parson nose – tail – causing it to bleed, then other turkeys will peck at the blood! We had a stray cat squeeze into the barn and feast on the baby chicks – expensive taste! Then there are the foxes and mink to worry about. The barn is like Fort Knox! The grass is just about
keeping growing for the dairy. The animals are enjoying the summer and appreciate the high hedge’s shade when it’s hot. The first of the dairy cows have been dried off, which means they are having a well-earned two-month holiday in a field away from the dairy before having their next calf. Kimbers Farm Shop, The Kitchen at Kimbers and Somerset Trading Barn BA9 8HJ. Opening Tuesday–Friday, 8.30am–5pm, Saturday 9.30am– 4pm.
