JAN. 15, 2003
THE REAL MEAT COMPANY , CALNE, WILTS.www.realmeat.co.uk
"was set up by people who believe meat can be produce in a caring, compassionate way- for those who want the best or not at all".

Richard Guy is the first farmer I've come across who does not shun publicity. He is keen on "total transparency" about every aspect of the way his meat is produced. You can have a complete list of his farmers. You can visit the abattoirs. "We have turned priorities for livestock rearing on their head", he says modestly.

JAN. 16
I keep hearing that housewives are the power behind the crimes committed by agro-industrialists and supermarkets. How can you be the power behind something you know nothing about? Silly question. But in this case, housewives are not so much a power as a pawn. Do we need a "Housewives Unite" website?

BRADFORD ON AVON FARMERS' MARKET, WILTSHIRE.
Some old friends and several new. Bradford-on-Avon is the perfect place for this sort of market (unless the river is flooding): beautiful, friendly, good parking and dog-walking. The World Trade Organisation seems planets away.

Veg from V&P COLLINS, FARM SHOP, BROMHAM, CHIPPENHAM, WILTS
Trout, smoked trout, pate, from MERE FISH FARM, WARMINSTER, WILTS.
Apple juice, cider, cider vinegar from K.G. CONSULTANTS, COMPTON DANDO.
Wine and liqueurs from FONTHILL WINES, TEFFONT, WILTS who have just bought up NEW FOREST WINES and TEST VALLEY WINES and were also selling butter and cheese from their neighbour WYKE FARMS, TEFFONT, who have their own cows and do their own dairy work.

Smoked goodies of all sorts from WILTSHIRE SMOKERY, SUTTON VERNEY.
Pork and pork products from BOYTON FARM www.boytonfarm.co.uk who keep Tamworths who play a part in the cycle of their coppicing. Their website is well worth a visit. I haven't seen their farm yet.

Organic and free-range beef and lamb from MARSHFIELD www.marshfieldorganic.com (under construction)
Mushrooms from DORSET DOWN, SHERBORNE. (Very good fact-sheet.)
Organic chickens from WONSTON FARM
Trout and watercress from PURELY ORGANIC
Eggs and all meat from CEDAR WALK RARE BREEDS, CANNINGTON SOMERSET. www.cedarwalk-rarebreeds.co.uk Very interesting website, including a discussion on the state of British agriculture. I hope to see them soon.

JAN. 19
SOUTHSEA FARMERS' MARKET, HANTS
I thought: this resistance movement is so resilient partly because farmers are resilient and partly because the relentless scorched earth policy of agri-business actually breeds resilience.

In the brain-washed first world, we need a cause to fight for and this is a good one. Scorched earth pushes up some extraordinary shoots.

Very rich in local cheeses. I knew all but one. The ones I know are all good:
ASHMORE (farmhouse cheese from CRANBORNE CHASE, SALISBURY area)

TWINEHAM www.twinehamgrangefarms.co.uk (the Parmisan-style winner. I buy it whenever I see it)

LYBURN www.lyburncheese.co.uk from the New Forest
The one I didn't is LOOSEHANGER CHEESES, WHITESHOOT, WILTS made from Ayrshire milk (not their own, but they know and relief-milk the cows.)

They make a Dutch-style cheese, learned at Lyburn, with various flavours. They bought up the equipment from dairies closed down by Dairy Crest. They sell to local shops and farmers' markets. Their blue cheese is eagerly awaited.

SUNNYFIELDS ORGANIC FARM, TOTTON, HANTS. www.sunnyfields.co.uk
Family business, very popular, growing masses of vegetables and delivering them locally.
Two excellent bakers: SLINDON and LONG CRICHEL (organic bread baked in a wood fired oven)

Pork, bacon, sausages, from GREENFIELD PORK PRODUCTS, ANDOVER, HANTS "Our aim is to produce happy pigs in a stress-free environment." Next door was LEWREY'S, from BOTLEY, ANDOVER, selling sausages and doing a hog roast from GREENFIELD pork, deservedly pulling the crowds.

The ISLE OF WIGHT contributed CALBOURNE CLASSICS cakes and sweets www.calbourneclassics.co.uk

ISLE OF WIGHT bacon, butter and garlic

FARMSIDE NURSERIES, LOCKERLEY, HANTS grow all their own plants and sell only at farmers' markets. The cyclamen I bought is healthy and not over-forced.
PETER MUSHROOMS, SLEAFORD, HANTS. www.petermushrooms.co.uk
Pork, sausages and watercress from
MANOR FARM SHOP, SHERFIELD ENGLISH, ROMSEY, HANTS
I can't find them in Sherfield English.

HAMPSHIRE GAME CO. POLLARDS FARM, CLANVILLE, HANTS.
HOLT FARM SHOP, WIMBORNE, DORSET, for free range Hereford beef.

JAN. 20
Sainsbury's in Liphook."Pork from Suffolk." "Lamb from Wales." "Beef from Scotland." I asked "How do I know it's really from Suffolk?" The man behind the meat counter looked down and blushed.

JAN 21
HOCKEY'S FARM SHOP, NEW FOREST, HANTS.
"Our animals' welfare and our customers' healthy diet are of equal importance to us." Their animals certainly look content. They sell their own beef and lamb and have their own butchery. They make sausages and burgers from traceable pigs, and sell their own pies, both fresh and frozen.

They also have a café and make a visit to their farm a cheering occasion.

JAN.22
LYBURN CHEESE, HEMPTWORTH, HANTS.www.lyburncheese.co.uk (a very informative website which also gives the outsider an insight into growing organic vegetables.)

Judy Smales showed me their cows and their cheese-making and I ate generous portions of all their cheeses. They milk about 230 pedigree Holstein-Friesians and their cheesemaking is expanding all the time. They also sell milk to WATSON'S independent dairy, who retail milk in London as well as locally.

The cheese is delicious. I specially liked Lyburn Mature, which is something like Oude Gouda, one of my very favourite cheeses. If matured still further, which they plan to do, it will be like Old Amsterdam, an all-time great cheese.

Lyburn have now designed their own cheese presses, which are being made for them in France, so their cheese will be unique and easily recognisable. They are expanding their ripening rooms.

In season, they sell their own organic veg. and rhubarb, which also go to Waitrose and Farmaround, a company distributing organic boxes in London.

Lyburn is a family business. When it was obvious that dairy farming was being squeezed out of existence, Mike and Judy Smales thought sideways, because their sons wanted to go into farming. Now, it is run very happily by the whole family. They have free-range dogs, which tells me a lot about a farm.

I wonder how we can show housewives the world of Lyburn contrasted with industrial cheesemaking. I am still convinced that it is education that is lacking. The Prince of Wales is certainly doing his bit this week. We shouldn't leave it all to him.

If I am leaving out interesting farms in your area, please let me know. I know this will never be a complete record, but I would like to include all I can.

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