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| Available in our shop - seasonal vegetables grown in Cornwall |
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We are a 850 acre traditional mixed and non-intensive family run farm based in the heart of rural Cornwall and we produce, supply and deliver the finest quality meats and produce from our licenced premises.All the beef and lamb sold in the shop is born and reared on our farm.
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Seasonal Selection from Lobbs Farm Shop ...
July 2009
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| Terry and Richard Lobb receiving the Silver Lapwing trophy from Valentine Warner at the House of Lords London. |
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Spring 2009 newsletter
News from Kestle Farm
Spring is here again and the swallows are back; although slightly earlier this year, there appear to be fewer. Let’s hope we have a good summer which will assist their increase in numbers. We have managed to turn out the cattle back to the pastures and it is great to see them run and stretch their legs again. One complication this year is that we have to inject the cattle with the blue tongue vaccine. This involves two injections, three weeks apart, which complicates matters as we now have to bring the animals back in for their second dose.
We had our annual TB test in the winter and unfortunately one cow tested inconclusive; this then led to our farm being given restrictions as to where we can sell our animals. Farmers are not allowed to take stock to a livestock auction market, only direct to an abattoir, to reduce any chance of cross infection with other animals. This could not have come at a worse time for us as we were about to sell several of our prime cattle in the market where we believe good suckler cattle like ours can achieve a higher sale value. The majority of our prime animals we sell direct through the farm shop but in the spring we normally have more cattle to sell than the shop requires. We do have good contacts with other Cornish butchers and we have managed to sell cattle to Peter Morris Butchers at St. Columb (these are the guys that make the pasties that we sell from our freezer).
The suspect TB cow was quarantined and then tested again 60 days after the initial test. She tested inconclusive again, so after a further 60 days she was tested again using the supposedly more accurate gamma interferon test. The result was a possible reactor. Defra’s vets wanted to cull her to confirm the diagnosis by checking the lungs and lymph glands for TB. The cow was valued at a standard Defra rate which was slightly below what we thought she was worth. This cow was pregnant and about to give birth so obviously we wanted to let the cow calve and suckle her calf for the first 6 weeks which we have done. In the last week of April the cow was sent to the abattoir by Defra and they were unable to find any visible sign of TB!! But they will try to grow the organism on in a culture disk from a sample taken from the animal.
We have been paid compensation for the individual animal but we now have a calf to feed by bucket and we have had to put all our animals through the cattle crush four times. The restriction of not being able to market our animals as normal has reduced our sales - at a rough estimate it has cost our business £2000 in the last twelve months.
We are lucky that it is only one cow; many farms have lost far more with a few losing over 80% of their herds which is a crippling position for that business. Where did the TB infection come from? We do not buy stock in from other farmers except young calves which are minimal risk and older bulls which are all pretested for TB before movement. The borders of our farm are double fenced to reduce the likelihood of infection from adjacent cattle.
There is the possibility of infection by wildlife, possibly deer which are very rare on our farm, or probably badgers which are common. Badgers are beautiful creatures and are fun to watch but badgers with TB are a menace and are causing huge problems in the countryside.
This is a real crisis which Defra needs to address as soon as possible. This disease is causing huge problems for badgers, cattle and farmers. Every year it gets worse. In 2008 nearly 40,000 cattle were slaughtered for TB which was a 42% rise. Government ministers have avoided taking the tough decision of culling diseased badgers due to the fear of becoming unpopular. But government should be about taking informed decisions to benefit the country as a whole. The current situation is unsustainable. Action has to be taken; the longer it is delayed the more animals will suffer and the more it will cost Government and the farmers concerned.
Many of you have inquired about the earthworks at Corran. Terry is excavating a site for a new shed to house cattle during the winter. The earth removed has been utilised to create new hedgerows and to increase the depth of soil on the brow of the hill where soil has been shallow. A new hedgerow is being created where there used to be a fence; we believe the hedge is more sustainable and will eventually be useful for wildlife.
News from Lobbs Farm Shop
We had fantastic feedback from those of you that came to Pier’s Italian cooking demonstration. He made fresh pasta with a delicious tomato sauce (Sugo della Nonna) and pesto. Everyone also greatly enjoyed his Carpaccio di Manzo (fillet of beef thinly sliced and marinated in olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper which is eaten raw – so tender it melts in your mouth), Scaloppine de Maiale e Pollo (a chicken and pork dish with lemon) and also grilled aubergines marinated in olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. To finish everyone tucked into a delicious lemon polenta cake.
His volunteer assistant for the day was Kay Lobb, our sister, who is well qualified as a teacher of domestic science herself. We hope to have more of these sessions next winter and they will be advertised in the shop next autumn. Pier’s cooking is available to buy from the delicatessen. There are quiches, pork pies, sausage rolls, homity pie and many salads. In the freezer there are lasagnes and shepherds, beef and ale, and chicken and mushroom pies - ideal for that easy meal when you are busy with life.
Our butchers are again creating our own BBQ products: minted lamb, Chinese flavoured pork ribs, peppered steaks and lemon pepper chicken. A new line this year is our own faggots; these are made from belly pork, pigs’ livers and hearts mixed with a selection of spices and wheat flour. Please do try these products and let the butchers know what you think - your feedback is appreciated.
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