Hello

Flaming June is turning out to be more of a damp squib but that isn’t stopping us at the farm!!  We had a fab time with the Good Life Show a couple of weeks ago and are extremely excited about the forthcoming Medieval Festival this weekend (19th & 20th June) where we will be hosting two days of medieval entertainment set against the backdrop of the magnificent medieval farm. Bring your young Robin Hoods to our living history encampment including the awesome knights tent, medieval games, armourer's tent, kitchen tent, coin striking, butter churner, lantern making, archers tent and much more!

 I am coming to the end of the filming for Food Factory and I know that some of you have been kind enough to send comments in about the last series which has been repeated on the BBC over the last few weeks.  Thanks for your support and I am looking forward to hearing your comments on the new series.

Apart from this, the main subject of conversation on the farm at the moment is all about our fabulous restaurant which is shaping up nicely!  We had a recruitment day at the weekend and are busily building our crack team of chefs and front of house people  ... we will be revealing more as the weeks go by so watch this space ....

Love

Jimmy x

Hi Everybody,

I am still really busy with the Food Factory filming - it is great fun and very, very interesting to see the processes behind our supermarket food. I can't give away too much so you will have to wait and see how I get on when the series airs!

The farm is looking stunning with this beautiful weather bathing it in sunshine and I love that I can fire up the barbie at every opportunity. We recently had a photoshoot here for the Sunday Times (you will be able to see the article in the Magazine sometime in June) and it gave me a chance to try out some new ideas and, of course, get a few of our sausages and burgers cooked up for everyone to sample. Jamie, our butcher, has come up with some lovely ready-to-grill BBQ meats, so do have a look at the online shop.

I am also very excited about the forthcoming Good Life Show held over two days (29th and 30th May) where you will be inspired to live the good life and enjoy the very best of country living. You will discover how to start your own small holding, growing your own veg and meet people who have discovered the good life for themselves!

I'm going to be around all weekend to host the event and be on hand to chat to you about my own experiences of setting up Jimmy's farm as a small holding.

So I look forward to seeing you at the farm very soon!

Jimmy x

At last - it looks like spring might finally have sprung!!  The farm is coming back to life in the warm sunshine. There are loads of new lambs, chicks and piglets all over the place and the bluebells in the woods are in full bloom.

I hope you all came along to the Science Festival in March.  A great time was had by all and it was fantastic to see the enthusiasm and interest shown by everyone in all the different exhibits and hands-on stuff.  It is wonderful to think that we can help encourage interest in this extremely important area.

Easter has also crept up on us and, despite some chilly weather, we were busy showcasing our latest arrivals on the Nature Trail including ducklings, chicks, piglets and lambs, and generally enjoying the spring break.

We have also re-opened the Butterfly House, thanks to lots of hard work by Ninette (Nature Trail co-ordinator) and Maz (volunteer)! It looks amazing already even though some of the plants (like the bananas) are still only just coming into leaf due to the cold winter.

In between looking after the farm, I am now back on the road filming a new series of Food Factory.  In the last series, I investigated the contents of our supermarket shopping trolley by looking at the science behind making mass-produced food with some surprising results. I am really looking forward to continuing to find out what really goes into our processed foods.  I will keep you posted on when it will be on the BBC.

In the meantime, enjoy the spring!

Jimmy x

Brrrr!!  I thought we had seen the last of the wintery weather but as I look out over the fields, a beautiful white blanket is covering the ground again.   However, that doesn’t seem to deter our hardy customers – the farm is coming back to life after the January lull and it is great to see you all.

In between the farm work, I’ve been busy filming in London at the Natural History Museum for a new BBC programme,  The Museum of Life.  We have been tracing the journey of the dramatic and pioneering work of this great institution and I have found it a fascinating experience. I’ll keep you up to date on this project!

Thanks to all of you who sent in sausage recipes last month – the response was overwhelming! We will be announcing the winner at our Science Festival in March when the sausages will be ready to order and to buy in our farmshop.

Right – got to get back to the pigs.  Keep warm!

Jimmy x

Happy New Year to you all!! Last year passed in a blur of marriage plans, filming and farming and I know I wasn’t that good at keeping you up to date …. But my New Year’s resolution is to share what is going on on the farm and with Michaela and I on a regular basis!

The farm has been looking beautiful with all the snow but the icy cold weather has meant extra care for the animals – we are busy keeping them warm, fed, watered (water pipes keep freezing) and happy. And of course we are looking forward to spring and warmer weather.

Plans for lots of special events on the farm are also underway. We have got loads of exciting days and weekends planned for you including a fantastic Science Festival in March, a Medieval Festival in June and, of course, Harvest in September. Keep an eye on our news page for further details. We are also very excited about work starting on converting the barn into a restaurant, which we hope to have open in the summer!!

Finally, we need your help – we are planning to launch a new sausage for the Spring, obviously using our delicious rare breed pork, and want you to share your ideas with us …. So if you think you have a winning recipe for a sausage using seasonal ingredients then let us know!! There will be a prize if we use your recipe!! Email your ideas to nikki@jimmysfarm.com

Jimmy x

It’s been a crazy few months for me since the beginning of the year.  For a start, I have been all over the place filming some new projects for the BBC.  Global Farm has taken me to Australia and Brazil and, in-between, we have been working in the UK on Field To Plate, a one-off documentary looking at the import industry and how food from all over the world arrives in our stores.  Finally, the other project in progress is another six-part series for BBC One, Jimmy's Food Factory, looks at the science behind many of the modern foodstuffs that we generally take for granted.  So I have been pretty busy on that front!

In my absence though, Michaela and the team have been working tirelessly to get the farm ready for the Spring and Summer season and Easter saw the Butterfly house reopen with lots of species and an owl moth... which is huge!!  Darwin’s Garden opened and the bluebells in the woods looked so beautiful giving our visitors a carpet of blooms to enjoy as they walked the nature trail.

The orphan lambs are so cute and proving to be a big hit along with our brand new Red Poll calf so there is loads to do and see and we head into another Bank Holiday.  

So the summer is shaping up to be one of excitement, not least because we have a rather special Music Festival on the cards.  Big Wheel Promotions are working with us to bring you an extravaganza of folk music and fantastic food with Badly Drawn Boy, Jose Gonzalez and Seth Lakeman on stage plus James Martin and Rachel Allen cooking up a storm.

Of course, I can’t sign off without mentioning wedding preparations!!!  The most exciting event for me this year is, of course, our wedding and the farm is all a-buzz with plans….. I can’t wait!!

Jimmy x

BIG apologies to those of you who have been waiting for my blog update.  It’s been completely bananas here on the farm and I apologise that it has taken me this long to get in gear!

Well... here goes!

November

It seems like many moons ago but November was a really exciting month for us here on the farm.  We’ve been attending shows up and down the country this year and November proved one of our busiest months yet.  The BBC Good Food Show was a real success as food lovers from all over the country swarmed to the NEC in Birmingham to enjoy the delights of real British Food.  Chris (our Shows Manager) worked like a trooper as well as our dear friend Dolly who is still recovering from his hip operation.  He’s making great progress but if you see him, tell him ‘DO YOUR EXERCISES!’  Talking about good recoveries, Michaela has leapt from strength to strength after her back operation – two weeks later she was on the stand at the NEC!  I don’t need to say anything about stamina and commitment!

Our biggest news this month was that The House of Fraser invited us into their Food Hall in Birmingham to create a full rare breed, butchery counter!  As our first venture outside of the farm it’s been an amazing achievement and we are really pleased with the outcome.    The counters offer our full range of rare breed pork  from the farm as well as locally sourced rare breed lamb and beef from the Midlands.  Paul, John and Steve are the resident butchers who are doing a grand job of introducing our products to the Birmingham audience so if you happen to go in, give them a wink!  We’re trying to set up a cooperative of farmers that produce rare breed beef, pork or lamb on a small scale to supply our shops -  exceptional animal welfare is at the core – so if you know of anyone let us know.

It gets a bit bleak on the farm in November – the leaves have all gone and the mud starts to settle in.  However, there’s always such a feeling of excitement with Christmas looming around the corner and busy preparations in full swing. 

December

What a month it’s been!  Our Christmas Farmers Market was a real success – can you believe that we had clear blue skies!  Local producers from all over the county filled the farm to sell their fantastic produce.  We’ve got some real crackers from Jason and Katherine Salisbury at Suffolk Farm House Cheese to Cyril, the fresh fish guru.  It’s such a vibrant and fantastic day out – please do come and join us whenever you can. (1st Saturday every month.)

The warm up to Christmas was simply bananas and our Butchery Manager, Jamie worked every hour God sent.  Thank you Jamie – you know we couldn’t do it without you.  Everyone worked frantically hard and I feel immensely grateful that we’ve been blessed with the work force we have.  Christmas spirit was really in the air and champagne was drunk by all staff on Christmas Eve in our little farm shop.

It’s been a busy month for me personally too.  I’ve been filming a new series with the BBC about global farming and I’ve been away on location a great deal.  It took me to Australia at the end of December for a busy spell of back to back filming which was extremely tough (it’s not all lights, camera, action believe me!).   I felt pretty lucky as I managed to drag Michaela away from the farm for a few weeks too... and that’s where my big news lies...   Yes, I popped the big question and thankfully Michaela agreed to be my wife!  HOORAY!!  I thought I did pretty well with the sunset, the warm breeze, the ring – not bad for an Essex boy.  Either way,  we’re getting hitched and I CAN’T WAIT! 

So the New Year started up in a flurry of excitement and I think that everyone at the farm was really pleased.  There were a few ‘it’s about time too’ – but all good things come to those who wait.

January

The credit crunch is no doubt hitting everyone hard this year.  We’ve had to make some difficult decisions regarding our business too just like a lot of other people out there.   We’ve got some fantastic offers both in the shop and on line – www.jimmysfarm.com – we can deliver direct to your door too so if you can’t make it to the farm (or to House of Fraser Birmingham) just give us a call or order on line! 

January is our time to prepare the farm for Spring and Summer.  Nathan, our Farm Manager has been busy making the place look WONDERFUL (you’ll notice the improvements every time you visit I promise!).  Andy, our Stockman has created a fantastic breeding programme.  The price of feed has come down so we’re back on track after last year’s pig farming disaster.  My mate Jamie O is currently heavily involved in the ‘SAVE OUR BACON’ campaign championing British, free range pigs so all in all it is looking really promising.  It’s all about buying British and Free Range – so PLEASE come and see us if you can.

Other preparations include ‘Chicken Safari’ – our new attraction this year.  It’s an encounter paddock where all our rare breed chickens can run and visitors can get up close and personal!  It will open at Easter with the Butterfly House.  Darwin’s Garden is almost ready too.  This stunning ornamental garden is FREE to visit and has been created by my brilliant gardener friend, Peter Sugar from Cutting Hedge.  The garden has been created in celebration of Charles Darwin and his 200 year anniversary.  I’ve been filming a documentary about his theory of evolution and the garden will provide a comprehensive look at some of the experiments Darwin created and of course his life story.  We’ve got the most fabulous Chair of Evolution, so come and have a quiet sit and ponder about the beginnings of mankind.

October – what a month!

The Autumnal weather has finally hit the farm with the woodland turning from the glorious emerald greens of Summer to the stunning golden yellows, browns and reds of Autumn.  Michaela and I have already been sweet-chestnut hunting with some success – we’re trying to beat the pigs to it which is proving quite a challenge, the greedy little tykes!  I’m not too worried about it though as our pigs seem to taste as good as what they eat, so the proof will be in the black pudding…!

It’s been a pretty good month all in all for us.  I went to the Rockbourne Fair with Michaela which was fantastic!  Some incredible producers from all over the country attended with great footfall.  Our Show Manager, Chris Day was selling our sausages and bacon – he’s got the NEC (Birmingham) Good Food Show coming up at the end of November so I’m hoping he’s saving his voice!  Do have a look at our show schedule if you can’t make it to the farm to buy your monthly/Christmas meat - or we can even deliver it direct to your door – it’s up to you!  http://www.jimmysfarm.com/shop/.

We’ve just finished a fabulous Halloween half term with lots of little ghouls, witches and goblins descending on the farm.  Our Eco-Skating Rink has been a phenomenal success – and we’ve got it well into the NEW YEAR too!  If you can make it after school for skating, private parties or birthday parties it’s a great giggle – especially when you’ve had lots of hot chocolate (or mulled wine!).

Some exciting news too.  After my series of ‘Jimmy’s Farming Heroes’ I was lucky enough to be invited to the Farmer’s Weekly Awards.  I couldn’t believe it when they called out my name for ‘Farming Champion 08!’  I’m just so chuffed – can’t believe it!  Of course, none of this would have happened without the incredible work of our country’s farming community and farming heroes.  I always feel unbelievably proud and humbled to have met just some of our farming heroes and be part of this fantastic community – LONG LIVE BRITISH FARMING!

We’ve also just employed a new Stockman – Andy Gready.  He’s fantastic and his family has been breeding and showing Essex, Wessex and Saddleback pigs for three generations!  We’re even thinking about having a pig show in 2009 – what do you all think about that I wonder?

Oh yes – last but not least, all the best to my darling other half Michaela who is in for a back operation next week.   She’s been working like a trooper on the gardens for years and I think it’s just taken its toll.  However, here’s to a quick recovery lovely lady!

So, it’s the warm up to Christmas.  As always, we need your support.  Please do place your Christmas orders now – get em’ in early!  We’re doing everything on line from Kelly Bronze Turkeys to our own Rare Breed Gammons – make it a Jimmy’s Farm Christmas to remember. 

All the best to you and yours too – enjoy November, the lull before the storm!

Jimmy x

September – at last Summer has arrived.  It’s been glorious on the farm with some lovely long hazy days.  The harvest is almost complete and the countryside is making that natural transition from Summer to Autumn – I just love this time of year.  The local parish is madly preparing for the Harvest Festival – I hope they like pumpkins and marrows as they seem to be coming out of our ears!

Our big news this month is that we’ve got an exciting new outlet!  The Orchid Group have taken us on as a new supplier so you’ll be able to find our lovely free-range, rare breed sausages in a variety of their restaurant carveries across the country.  The Orchid Group are celebrating British Food Fortnight in great style by launching a fantastic British menu which we are really pleased to be part of.  We’re pretty chuffed as it makes our lovely sausages a bit more accessible to everyone across the country.  If you like them enough we can then deliver right to your door!

We’ve just had a glorious September Wedding in our beautiful ancient barn too.  Champagne and canapés in the herb garden and then beautiful farm food in the barn followed by a live band and Spinney, the Rodeo pig! 

September is a real planning month for us and great plans are afoot for the barn restoration.  We’re planning on giving all visitors to the farm a warm and dry place to sit, eat and enjoy!  It’s been on the cards for a long time but fingers crossed that work will start this January 09 and we’ll be open for August.  We’ll keep you up to date with all the ups and downs! 

Our Essex sow and litter have just been returned from Colchester Zoo in the pink of health.  I think they must have enjoyed all the company!  The piglets will now be weaned and put into the woodland for a whole new adventure.  Goodness knows what mischief they will get up to!

We’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all our visitors and customers who have supported us over the last five years.  We simply couldn’t do it without you.  If you fancy coming to visit there are some lovely places to stay.  Ickworth Hotel has supported our Farmily Fun Days and is a fantastic place to stay for kids, families and adults.  Check out their website on http://www.ickworthhotel.co.uk/ 

It’s been an astonishingly eventful month here on the farm.  Of course, I’m a bit biased in that respect as every day here seems like a bit of an adventure!

Michaela is still working like a Trojan – can you believe it, she’s already prepared for Christmas!  Kelly Bronze Turkeys, Gammons, Christmas Chipolatas -  you name it, it’s on our on line shop so please place your orders now or give us a call.  Our Christmas Hampers are fantastic too both to carry you through Christmas or to give as a present. We’re getting better and better at this every year so why not enjoy a Jimmy’s Farm Christmas!

We’ve also had some VIP visits to the farm which have really got all the girls hearts racing! Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) enjoyed a tour of the farm.  He owns a local brewery in Bury St Edmunds called The Red Rat Brewery.  He is now brewing three types of Jimmy’s Farm beer for us to sell exclusively in our farm shop.  They’re excellent and well worth a try.  We’ve also had an exciting visit from John Torode (Celebrity Masterchef) who is now President of the Royal Agricultural Society.  We put the world to rights over lunch in our field kitchen and a tour of the farm.

We’ve been going through a real change in the butchery too with lots of new and exciting products.  Our Butchery Manager, Jamie Willows has just launched a GLUTEN FREE Lamb Gurkha Chipolata for those of you who are gluten intolerant or coeliac.  They’re delicious so please do give them a go –you’ll also find these on line.

Talking of lamb and sheep, our lovely Shepardess, Sheila Innes is leaving Suffolk to start a new life in Cumbria.  Sheila is (and always will be) one of those legendary people who has given our little farm the support and encouragement that has got us through the long winters and hard times.  She has sheared our sheep year on year and supplied our butchery with some of the best lamb and mutton in the country.  We wish you all the best Sheila!  Her parting gift to was a beautiful herd of Balwen sheep that are currently lazily grazing in our car park paddock.  They are really friendly and produce fantastic lamb – if you’ve got a moment, please do come by and see them. (If you want more info do check out our Animal page)

The Butterfly House is now in all it’s glory and we’re on our third generation of butterflies already!  The Zebra Butterflies have gone nuts, as have all the flora and fauna – it’s really starting to look and feel like a jungle!

The Farm Gardens are looking glorious too.  We’ve been harvesting beans, marrows, carrots, leaks, onions, spinach and lots more for the farm shop.  It’s great to be working in ‘food steps’ rather than ‘food miles.’  We’ve also got a brand new, revamped Garden Shop!  Sue Sugar from ‘For All Seasons’ has done an incredible job so your visit to the farm will be made complete with a browse or purchase from the great range of gardening goodies and gifts.

So – onwards and upwards.  Halloween, Kid’s Half term Activities and lots more and come and enjoy our little part of Suffolk!

It’s been a wonderful month – between the showers!

We’ve finally opened Suffolk’s first and only Butterfly House here on the farm! Thank you so much to all those that attended the Grand Opening - it was simply a wonderful day.  Ninette (Our lovely Nature Trail Coordinator) and Nathan (Farm Manager) have worked like Trojans.  They planted, weeded, painted, dug and slaved to make the day a success and indeed, the Butterfly House is looking simply incredible.  It’s a tropical world where you can see butterflies from South East Asia and South America – some are as big as your hand.  Canaries and Zebra Finches fly above your heads and are now starting to nest behind the pond.  Tropical fish dart in the shallows and are breeding like billio!  The wild flower meadow will be in all its glory next year laying host our native butterflies, bees and wildlife.  It’s been a real ambition of mine since I was a child to set up a Butterfly House and I feel so privileged and proud to be finally running my own – please do come and explore it if you have a spare day!

We’ve also introduced some Kelly Bronze Turkeys to the farm.  Paul Kelly has kindly donated four who now roam freely with our pygmy goats – they’ve settled in well and are eating us out of house and home … roll on Christmas!

Our new Chilli Pork Burgers are going down a treat too.  The Chilli Company in Norfolk are now supplying our little butchery to really put some fire into the BBQ season.  We’re even doing a Beef Chilli Sausage and Burger – so if you’re feeling the summer sun, do give us a call or order on line and we can send them direct to your door.

My new series ‘Jimmy’s Farming Heroes’ has finally aired!  From both the public and the farming community, the feedback has been incredibly positive.  I had an amazing experience filming it and feel immensely privileged to have met, worked with and celebrated some of the UK’s leading farmers.  The diversity, determination and ingenuity of the farmers I met were truly humbling – a real eye opener.  What a demonstration of how, against great odds, how formidably well British farmers do their job. 

My little farm back in Suffolk continues to grow with my better half, Michaela, ruling the roost.  She’s done a smashing job – well done lovely lady.  It hasn’t been easy across the board for all farmers with spiralling costs and the credit crunch – we’re just about hanging in there thanks to a wonderful team of employees and volunteers.  If you want to be part of our ‘Farmily’ do just drop us an email! 

Our Kid’s Courses are booking up quick too – we’ve got a few places left so give us a call and turn your kids into the next generation of farming heroes!

We can’t do it without you visiting so please ignore the rain, don your wellies and come and enjoy the farm! 

Take care until next month’s blog entry ……

Jimmy x

As ever, it is great to get so many messages of support from you – the comments made by people visiting the farm, the positive e-mails we get and the messages left through the website really do encourage us in what we are trying to achieve at the farm so thank you all for your love and support and do keep it coming!

My new Butterfly House is nearly complete! This is a project I have been wanted to do at the farm for so long and I am so excited that we are nearly there. The building work is complete, the planting is underway and it will soon be full of butterflies! The grand opening will take place during our Farmers and Craft Market on Saturday 2nd August so please put the date in your diary and come along to witness the completion of my dream of creating a haven for butterflies on the farm.

We are beginning to gear up for summer activities at the farm. This year there will be a kid’s course taking place most weekdays from 28th July to 29th August so if you are beginning to panic now about how to keep them occupied over the long summer holidays sign them up for a course now!

There are loads of other activities going on both at the farm and out on the road – just check the events page on the website for more details of how you can join in all the fun.

On a serious note, the news always seems to be full of doom and gloom these days with stories of the credit crunch hitting people hard. Farming has always taken the brunt of hard times and things do not change. At Jimmy’s Farm we do struggle with rising feed prices, fuel prices and lots of other price increases but we remain committed to the farming industry and I would urge you all to do everything you can to support your local farming industry.

Finally, I can’t believe it but I now have my own range of beer! We have teamed up with a local brewery who has brewed three types of bottled beer especially for me! There is a Bitter called Jimmy’s Flying Pig, a Stout called Jimmy’s Large Black Pig and a Golden Ale called The Same Again. They are great so when you are next at the Farm pop into the shop and buy some bottles!

Cheers and until next month’s blog entry ……

Jimmy x

Isn’t the weather in this country fickle? I am sitting here writing this in temperatures that are apparently hotter than Athens and it was only a few weeks ago that people were battling through snow to try and get to the Farm!

I talked to you last month about the new Jimmy’s Farm Butterfly House that we are building. Work has continued and you can see pictures of how the project has developed if you go to the Butterfly House page of our website under the Garden section. I am so excited about this and can’t wait for the project to be finished – we are on course for a grand opening at the end of this month and more details will posted on the website when they are finalised.

So many of you are interested in what goes on at the Farm that we have designed some really exciting new events for you. Firstly you can sign up for an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the Farm. Our very own TV celebrity, Dolly, will take you across our many fields and into all the nooks and crannies that the general public never gets to see. Also, we have a lot of activities for the kids and we thought it was about time we set something up for the adults. We have launched a range of Masterclasses on subjects such as “Sheep Keeping and Wool Spinning”, “Veggie Patch or No Veggie Patch?” and “Butchery and Sausage Making”. You can get more details on all of these through our website but do sign up soon as they are really popular and places are running out!!

Our Farmers Markets and Farmily Fun Days continue each month and are a roaring success. The next Farmily Fun Day on 31st May will feature Sheep Olympics – I can’t wait for the laughs that will cause!We continue to go out “on the road” and details of when and where we are listed on the Events Page of this website. This month, Jimmy’s Farm will be at the Suffolk Show from 28th to 29th May so we hope to see many of you there.

All of this keeps us really busy! Do come and visit us, or order from the on-line shop, or just keep in touch through the website – it is great to hear from so many of you and we really do appreciate all the support.

Until next month ……

Jimmy x

Hello to you all from my first Blog entry! The idea of me writing this blog is to keep you up-to-date with all the goings on from Jimmy’s Farm. We’ve had the most amazing support over the 4 years we’ve been going and get so many people asking … what happened next!

Last year was a very challenging year for the farming industry as a whole and we were lucky that we didn’t have to close to the public during the Blue Tongue or the Foot and Mouth outbreaks. The whole farming industry took a huge financial blow and we were kept on our toes financially, living month-to-month as usual!

So at the end of 2007 we resolved to have a really good Christmas on the farm to give us a boost before the New Year. We hired a great new head butcher, created new systems, a new online shop and many more developments to make sure we got our Christmas orders really slick. I’m extremely pleased to say that all the hard work by the Jimmy’s Farm team paid off hugely and Christmas was much, much smoother than the previous year! Lots of happy customers, no huge queues and lots of on-line orders. We were very proud to give all our customers great service and provide them with delicious food over the festive period.

2008 is a very exciting year for the farm. We have plans afoot for converting our lovely old barn to create a restaurant and some tea-rooms for people to enjoy all our produce. We also have major changes going on in our gardens. The bit I’m really excited about is our Butterfly House and Garden. We’ve now cleared the area for it and hope to have it up and ready for visitors in the not too distant future. You can watch all the progress in the gardens through the website which will be regularly updated. We also have a better than ever calendar of farm events for people to enjoy and a much wider range of kids and adults courses.

So all of this is keeping Caela and I very busy and I’ll keep you updated on all new developments on the farm with my monthly blog.

Cheers

Jimmy x

Hello everyone – thanks so much for all the positive feedback you have sent me about this Blog that I started last month. It really is encouraging to know that so many of you are interested in what we are doing at the Farm!

You might have seen from recent press articles that we have had to cut back on the number of pigs we have here – I want to reassure you that the farm is still thriving and we are still open for business! We had to take the decision for economic reasons but we still produce our own meat from the farm and sell it in our farm shop and on-line.

Things have been busy this month getting ready for Easter – which does seem to be very early this year. We have lots of activities going on from Easter Egg Hunts, walks through the bluebell woods, animal petting (lots of newborn lambs around) to courses for the kids on how to be a farmer. You can get more details on all of these events on the events page of this website.

A really exciting development this month has been the revamping of our Field Kitchen which opens for business on Good Friday. We have carried out major repair work in the herb garden so there is now a fully equipped Field Kitchen and an improved sheltered eating area. Our chef will be preparing daily meals using most of our own produce and there will be a salad bar and an extensive range of hot and cold drinks available. We are really pleased with this new venture so do come along and try it out for yourself – the Kitchen is open 6 days a week from Tuesday to Sunday.

We would never be able to achieve all that we do at the farm without all the help (financial and practical) that we get from so many of our supporters. This month I particularly want to thank Jonathan and Sarah Evans at Discovery Recruitment and Training for their financial donation – it really is greatly appreciated.

As you can see things are just as busy as ever and getting more so as next month we start on our annual programme of “road trips” going to various shows and markets around the country. I will keep you updated on everything in next month’s blog. Till then … HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS!

Cheers

Jimmy x

PS:  If it snows, bring your toboggan!  The nature trail has an excellent slope – just make sure you don’t end up in the pond! x

Hi Everyone!

Hey, this blog was a great idea – so many of you have let me have some great feedback on it and it is fantastic that you all want to keep up with the goings on at the Farm. It has been really good to get so much feedback from people in Australia and New Zealand where the first series of the BBC show has been shown recently – keep viewing and keep in touch!

As we all know, Easter was unusually early this year but none of us expected the weather to be so cold and snowy – we all thought it was Christmas and not Easter! That didn’t stop you all coming to the farm, even when cars had difficulty getting down our drive you still came on foot! We really did appreciate the support and I hope you all enjoyed the new experience of an Easter Egg Hunt in the snow!

You might not know this but entomology is one of my specialities. For those of you that don’t know what that is it is the study of insects and I am so excited that work has finally started on the Jimmy’s Farm Butterfly House as it has always been my dream to create a haven for butterflies on the farm. On the wettest weekend of the year the diggers moved in to start work and you can see pictures of the building work on the Butterfly House page of this website. Assuming all goes to plan (which I am sure it will) the Grand Opening will be at the end of May. More details will appear on the website to keep an eye out!

Another exciting development in the last month has been the opening of our revamped Field Kitchen. Simon, our chef, has done wonders and has created a wonderful menu using fresh farm produce (talk about low air miles!).

There are loads of events coming up in the next month: we have our next Farmily Fun Day on 26th April and this month you have the chance to meet all our animals close up and the next Farmers’ and Gardeners’ Market will be on 3rd May. We are also out and about “on the road” in the next few weeks and you can get more details of when and where by looking at the Events page on this website.

Thanks again for all your support and good wishes – till next month’s blog ….

Cheers

Jimmy x