Burglary at Fordhall Farm

Unfortunately, for the first time in years Fordhall Farm has been burgled. There is not much machinery on the farm, but what there is has extreme value for the people that use it. (Farmer) Ben doesn't have a tractor or any large machinery, but he does have a quad bike, and on Sunday night it was stolen from our barn along with a number of power tools.

Thieves broke through the door, leaving the padlock untouched, on the farms dutch

barn. The quad bike was the first thing to go and unfortunately, the most valuable asset on the farm. Ben manages the livestock on our 140 acre farm himself and the quad was the one thing that helped speed up his daily jobs and allow everything he has to do in a day possible. Other tools taken included a stihl saw, chain saw, welder and more.

Ben said "Its really disheartening to know that people could come and steal from such a small business when everyone is working so hard to try and make it work in todays climate. It is an especially big blow at this time of year when it is so busy in the run up to christmas. With all the Christmas orders to organise not having the quad bike to help look after/feed the animals will really slow things down. We have now installed cctv and extra security at the farm to help safe guard against future problems."

Ben has felt de-motivated and disappointed from the incident but this does not just effect him. Regular volunteers at the farm, such as Chris Tither, rely on the tools for their work. Chris has been helping at Fordhall for over 18 months, building up his confidence levels whilst having the sense of being involved in a worthwhile project. But, when he turned up today there was little work he could do.

You never know, someone may read this and at the same time notice some cheap power tools for sale..... But, more than likely they are lost forever.



We urge everyone to be extra vigulent in the run up to Christmas this year and to watch out for buying cheap items that could well be stolen.

Fordhall Farm attracts University Students.

Last weekend saw Fordhall's biggest volunteer weekend to date. A massive 55+ people attended, most of whom had never been to Fordhall before. On the Friday evening one girl even asked '.....But where do I plug in my hair straighteners in a field?!'

The weekend was part of our 'Get Mucky' project where we wanted to attract younger people too to Fordhall as we felt this was a generation really lacking from the weekends. So we got in touch with Keele and Liverpool Universities and the response was amazing. The weekend was funded by the V Project , so a big thank you must go to them for all their help.


The weekend was lots of fun with lots of people 'getting mucky' as the jobs available included clearing ditches, clearing out pig pens and building fences (amongst other things!). Although it was a really cold weekend and most people were camping, it was dry and we warmed everyone up with a campfire with lots of delicious Fordhall food - we really showed them what Fordhall was all about!

Everyone had a great time and learnt a lot about the farm as we took them on a guided walk to round off the weekend. Our next working weekend is on the 21st-22nd February and is open to everybody, there are plenty of spaces to camp at the farm and also some space still available in the yurts. So if you are interested in booking on to this weekend please call Hannah on 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Hannah

WINNERS - Morgan Foundation Awards

WOW - The Fordhall Community Land Initiative is the WINNER of the 'Against All Odds' Morgan Foundation Award, winning a staggering £25,000 towards the trusts work. The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards are designed to find a new generation of role models - whether they are new businesses, young entrepreneurs or social enterprises. They were also looking for a special person or business that has overcome obstacles and succeeded 'against the odds’ and the competition was tough.

Steve Morgan presented the award to Charlotte on behalf of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative last Thursday evening. He said the competition had been extremeley tough and the decision for this category was particularly difficult. Other finalists included Tom Dowling, All Together Now, Sara Murphy, Macey and Bond Marquee Company, Peter Cousins, Brighter Futures Workshop, Dan Cundall, NMC Design and Print and Clare Molyneux, Open the Doot Theatre in Education.


The award was given for the recognition of all the hard work and effort that went into saving Fordhall Farm from development and placing it into community ownership in 2006. Charlotte Hollins, Project Director for the Initiative said “This will make a substantial contribution towards the future development of the Initiative mainly through the renovation of the old farm buildings. Saving the farm from development was an amazing achievement by so many people - a gigantic thank you to all. I can not believe we won this award. I am completely amazed."

It demonstrates that people do care about our farmers, they do care about their food, and they do care about our beautiful English countryside. We hope the Fordhall Community Land Initiative will go on to teach many more children about their food and where it comes from.


The funds will help with the progression of the Intiative at Fordhall, continually utilising it for community benefit. One of the biggest forthcoming projects is to renovate the farm buildings. The hope is that this will house a new indoor classroom for school visits and a small local food tea rooms.

The recognition for all the hard work from volunteers and supporters can not go unnoticed. But of course, an enormous thank you must go to Steve Morgan and the judges on the awards panel for giving this award to the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. Social Enterprise can make a difference and great things can be achieved, even when the odds are against you.

Finalists in the Morgan Foundation Awards

FANTASTIC NEWS!

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative is the finalist in two prestigious awards; Best Entrepreneurial Social Enterprise and Against All Odds. The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards are designed to find a new generation of role models - whether they are new businesses, young entrepreneurs or social enterprises. They were also looking for a special person or business that has overcome obstacles and succeeded 'against the odds’. Fordhall fitted perfectly into both brackets.

The Morgan Foundation was set up by businessman Steve Morgan OBE in 2001, founder and former Chairman of Redrow plc and now Chairman of the Bridgemere Group of Companies and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.

With a grant programme of over £1.5 million per year, funds are targeted where they can make a real difference to the lives of the people across North Wales, Merseyside, West Cheshire and North Shropshire.

Charlotte nervously presented to the Judges last week and we will find out on Thursday the 20th if the Fordhall Community Land Initiative has been successful... Quite fitting, as the 20th is also national Social Enterprise Day. If we win, this will make a substantial contribution towards the future development of the Initiative as well as promoting the values of Social Enterprise. It will highlight what can be achieved when people come together for a common goal and how a community and local economy can be enhanced when people support their local producers, food and farming. All in all, we think the Initiative has done amazingly well to get this far in the competition and that is all thanks to the contributions made by the board members, shareholders and all the volunteers who get involved. Thank You.

Wish us luck!!

Bens new Venture!

Farmer Ben has started a new venture this summer at Fordhall Farm, with a new van and Hog Roast machine. He started off hiring a machine and with one of our Gloucester Old Spot pigs he would attend events, weddings or private parties. But, as the requests grew, he soon knew he needed machinery of his own. After reseaching it he found that the machines and a means of transport were going to be too expensive. Then Charlotte came across a grant North Shropshire Distric Council were offering to small businesses to help them purchase capital equipment - perfect!

Ben has now been able to purchase a new Hog Roast machine, a Fordhall Farm branded gazebo, and an ex-Iceland refrigerated delivery van (above). After a lot of cleaning and some new stickers the van, purchased from the local scrap yard, now looks like new. Ben is going up in the world :-)



Ben says "People really like the fact that all pigs are reared by me on the farm, so the pork has excellent flavour, as well as being completely traceable. And, I am enjoying every minute. A big thank you to North Shropshire District Council."

More information is available on our website www.fordhallfarm.com

Barclays Make a Difference

Fordhall Farm recently played host to a team from the Barclays IT department at Knutsford as part of national Make A Difference Day. Make a Difference Day is the UK's biggest annual day of volunteering each October with hundreds of projects across the country. The aim is to highlight the amazing impact volunteers can make just by giving the simple gifts of time, skills or muscle power! It began back in 1995, and has since gone from strength to strength thanks to the army of people across the country who organise and take part in activities every year.

As you will know, there are always jobs to be done on the farm and so there is always plenty of opportunities to volunteer. As a result we certainly welcomed the enthusiastic team from Barclays who spent the day shoveling stone to build a disabled access and push chair friendly path at to our picnic area; allowing more visitors to see the free range pigs and visit the picnic site.

We were lucky enough to be awarded £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery fund earlier this year, and together with the thousands we raised through all our supporters, work on the Farm Trail can now commence. Work will be ongoing throughout the winter ready for when the trail reopens in the Spring. The second tranch of this work will be completed the following winter.

It is an exciting project and Barclays have made a fantastic first step. We could not have done it without their immense effort. They really did work like Trojans all day. Despite the aches, we have been assured that they all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

THANK YOU BARCLAYS

The next volunteer weekends are due to be held on November 22nd and 23rd and then February 21st and 22nd 2009. The majority of work on these weekends will be focussed around the farm trail and improving access around the farm for visitors. Places do need to be booked. If you are interested, please contact Hannah at the farm on 01630 638696 or project@fordhallfarm.com

'Dare to Wear Pink' day!

Here at Fordhall Farm, we have taken part in the 'Dare to Wear Pink' day which is raising money for cancer research - a really worthy charity. So Charlotte and myself....plus lots of volunteers.. have dressed up in pink today - have a look at the pictures! Well done everyone!


Hannah

First snow of Winter 2008

Just a few minutes ago Fordhall saw its first snow fall of the winter and we all got very excited! Winter is the time the farm and nature takes to rest ready for the busy, productive summer months. Although as you can imagine, life as a farmer never really ends.

Ben is managing his winter grazing carefully to ensure there is enough to sustain the livestock through to the spring when the lush grass will again reappear. He is also getting very busy preparing for Christmas orders through his new and improved online farm shop, where he will be supplying free-range bronze turkeys, hams, gammons and the usual beef, lamb and pork. There is even talk of some Christmas geese.

In the office we are preparing the winter newsletter, planning developments for the new farm trail, developing plans for the renovation of the old farm buildings and putting together educational packages for 2009.

Roll on 2009...

Singles weekend and Big Draw event

Last weekend saw Fordhall Farm host it's first ever Singles weekend in association with muddymatches.co.uk It was a real success with people travelling from all over the country to get stuck into some outdoor work here at Fordhall. Lots of fun was had by all and we celebrated a hard days work with a tasty BBQ around the camp fire on the Saturday night. Everyone worked so hard and we even managed to get our new path completed which will allow disabled access to parts of the Farm trail. This is a massive step towards renovating our current trail.
On the Sunday the singles weekend weekend continued with more jobs but we were also joined by local artist Helen Thompstone for our art event 'The Big Draw'. We transformed one of our yurts into an indoor Fordhall forest with people of all ages getting arty, drawing, painting and creating trees for our imaginary forest! It looks great and is still up on display, so if you wish to come and have a look - pop on down!

Our next working weekend , which is open to everybody, takes place on 22nd-23rd November, to book on just email me on project@fordhallfarm.com. Thanks.

Hannah

Strapping Men Needed!

We need strapping men, please, to come and help out at our Fordhall Farm Singles Volunteer Weekend at the farm on Saturday 18th - Sunday 19th October (Although people can arrive on Friday night.)
We've already got lots of women travelling across the country to get stuck in, get their hands dirty and meet a few new people - now we just need a bit of extra male muscle - can you help?
Tickets cost just £10 with all your food all weekend and this event is open to all ages so please grab a mate and come and lend a hand!
For more information and to buy your ticket, log on to www.muddymatches.co.uk/events