Moo-over Maz is coming through...

Today, Marie-anne (Ben's girlfriend Maz), ran the Newcastle half marathon in aid of Fordhall. She sucessfully completed her half marathan in a cow suit, which could not have been easy. All of the hundreds of pounds that Maz raised through her sponsorship has been generously donated towards the new classroom that the Fordhall Community Land Initiative hopes to put up this winter. So a big thank you goes to her from everyone at Fordhall. Thank you for the money that you raised, and for putting yourself through all those miles of pain!

Woohoo for Maz

For anyone who still wants to sponsor Maz for her brave half marathon then it is still possible. Follow the link below to donate and choose the 'renovation of the old dairy' as your appeal title and we will add it to Maz's moo-athon pot!

http://www.fordhallfarm.com/donate_fordhall.php

The Fordhall Office has moved...

.. and we now have a much better view! The renovation of our Old Dairy building will begin this winter and so in preperation we have been busy making space for contractors. This has resulted in us needing to move our office... from the farm entrance into the field.

It was a big challenge as the cabins had to be completely empty before they could be lifted and moved - by two JCB's and a tractor and trailer from A.R Richards near Market Drayton (as Ben's quad bike was not quite strong enough!). Everyone mucked in and it gave us a much needed opportunity to sort through and reorganise our cupboards and stores. You can see Charlotte, Becca, Hannah and Beth with the almost empty office on the right, but we also had help from Detlav, Josh, Tom and Bex - a big thank you to them all, we could not have done it without you.

Now safely in the field, a little more organised, and with our broadband and telephone sucessfully reconnected, it is back to work as usual. Our view used to be Ben's butchery and the hay barn, now we can see sheep, cows, pigs and families enjoying the picnic area. We are still without running water, but at least the compost toilet is a little closer.

It's wellies to work for all the staff and volunteers now, but the wonderful views of the Tern Valley at Fordhall make the muddy walk to the office worth it.

On a completely different point, you may be interested in an article published in the Telegraph today explaining how research has proven that organic soils are healthier than non-organic soils due to higher levels of micro organisms. Shocking news since organic farms rely on soil organisms. They help their soils to produce food for the plants which grow on them, where as non-organic farms remove all the food that these organisms live off. However, obvious, all new research helps the cause.

If you want to read the full article follow the link below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/8000399/Organic-farms-have-better-soil.html#disqus_thread

Bread making course at Fordhall

Our new clay oven the weekend it was built.

Come and spend the day at Fordhall Farm learning how to make bread in our new clay oven.

Having successfully built a clay oven we shall now be showing participants how to bake bread in it. Find out about sourdoughs and have fun making pizza to take home with you - if it doesn't get eaten first!

The course will be on Saturday the 18th September from 10 am - 4 pm and costs £30.00 for the day including a light lunch and refreshments. All ingredients will be provided.

If you are on a low income, please ring and talk to Bex on 07875742522 as we are able to offer a reduced rate thanks to funding from Shropshire Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

If you would like to bring children, please ring to have a chat.