Surrey Homes | SH21 | July 2016 | Interiors supplement inside

competition
WIN A one night stay for two
in a superking room with a
five-course tasting menu
at frasers in egerton
Fables
From
The Farm
Jane sings the praises
of OAD milking…
Frasers is a private guest house and restaurant nestled at the end
of a private drive on a working farm, set deep in the beautiful
Kent countryside. This unique, idyllic venue offers the perfect
location for your event – whether it is a luxury get-away-fromit-all
break, your fairytale wedding, a small conference, training
day, private meeting or product launch.
Stay, relax and unwind in one of their beautiful 5 star gold,
individually designed rooms, all with luxury en suite bathrooms,
comfy slippers and gowns. Why not treat a loved one to a stay
in the Discovery Suite, complete with its own private hot tub?
The restaurant and function suite is within a custom-made,
traditionally constructed beautiful oak-framed Kentish Barn,
with a wealth of exposed beams. Relax on the superb sun
drenched terrace and enjoy their 2 AA Rosette award winning
restaurant. Why not enjoy their now renowned ‘Tasting Menus’
offering a delicious selection of seasonal, local dishes, alongside
an excellent array of hand-picked wines to complement the
exquisite food.
Enjoy complete tranquility, savour the beautiful views across the
unspoilt Kent countryside, watch the geese flying in to graze on
the pond, listen to the owls calling from the nearby oak trees...
To find out more about Frasers visit www.frasers-events.co.uk or
call 01233 756122.
For your chance to win a one night stay for
two in a superking room with a five-course
tasting menu at Frasers in Egerton valued
at £270, just answer this question: What
birds graze on the pond at Frasers? Enter
your answer with your contact details* in
the online form at www.wealdentimes.co.uk/
competition or post to: The Frasers Competition, Wealden Times, 21 Stone
Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF by 19th August 2016. There is no cash
alternative and the prize must be taken by 19th August 2017. *All entrants’
details will be passed on to Frasers in Egerton and Wealden Times Events. Please
let us know if you do not wish your details to be passed on.
I
doubt you were aware that June 1st was World Milk
Day, an initiative of dairy farmers desperate to draw
attention to the plummeting price they receive for
each pint of milk they produce. Fact is that most of us
with any interest in the countryside are all too aware of
their plight but feel impotent to do anything about it.
The number of dairy farms has halved in the past decade and
for the first time in recent memory there are fewer than 10,000
across the UK. This is mainly the result of a price war between
the supermarket chains with no interest in the long term future
of the industry. And, increasingly, it looks like the only way
forward, the only way to produce milk at a price the supermarkets
are prepared to pay, is by creating “megaherds” of a 1,000-plus
dairy cows that live all their lives under cover in big barns and are
fed on processed food. No seasons, no grass, no dawn chorus
and no sunsets. Unimaginable.
But there are a few rays of sunshine in this otherwise bleak
outlook. Some farmers are managing to keep dairy cows on
small farms, feed them on grass and remain in business by
looking at niche markets.
One such tale concerns a truly beautiful ancient farm in a valley
near to us. It looked as if my mate Guy would have to sell his
cows, then he was approached by the Stonegate Cheese Dairy
(winners of the 2016 Sussex Food Producer of the Year) who have
always wanted to make cheese from their own pasture-fed cows
whose quality of life they could guarantee. They only needed the
milk from 50, but the deal has allowed Guy to keep at least some
of the Froghole herd that has been in his family for generations.
But for this to work Guy has to change his cows from twice a
day (TAD) milking to once a day (OAD). In the West Country,
a small but growing group of farmers have been doing this for
some years now and all swear by it. The cows are fed on grass and
hay and not surprisingly produce less milk, but the farmer incurs
much lower costs, and has more free time to do other things. And
the cows are happier too. Cows milked once a day are healthier,
more fertile and live much longer productive lives.
Of course there might be quite a lot of leg crossing as the girls
switch from TAD to OAD but apparently it can be done and
there’s one other real bonus from this new arrangement.
Cheese is made using solids from the milk. Whey is what’s left
behind, a liquid that is still full of nutrients. Traditionally, when
cheese was made on small farms across the country, the whey was
always fed to pigs. But with the advent of much larger production
units the whey now gets treated as a waste product. However…
as Guy now sets off from Froghole to the Cheese Dairy with a
tanker full of fresh milk he will be coming back with the whey.
And guess what, the pigs are arriving soon. Now that’s what I call
sustainable farming. Good luck to them all (especially the cows).
Follow Jane on Twitter @coopers_farm
Congratulations to Anthony Webster who won our May competition for a
three seater bench from Memorial Benches UK.
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