Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2008/January 2009 | Page 71

COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING
It is great to see an increase in ‘farm-gate’
outlets, by this I mean the egg sellers, jam
producers and throughout the season, fruit
and vegetable growers selling carrots with free,
quality top soil still attached and cabbages
harbouring an array of caterpillars. The best
tasting pears I’ve ever had were purchased from
our local village shop, and when I enquired of
their origin, found they had been brought in by
a villager along with other vegetables from his
garden.
On my travels around the island, I spend a lot
of time just looking at livestock and I think
they have a pretty good time. Nice views, plenty
of space, never short of grub and loads of
friends. Ok, so a bit of bullying may go on in
their younger years, but it’s soon sorted out as
the big ones go off to market first!
With all the fresh air and exercise these
animals get, it’s no wonder then, that local meat
tastes so good.
Todd and Jackie Carder, who own Chapel
Furlong Farm at Hulverstone and are tenants
of National Trust owned, Mottistone Manor
Farm, are nearing completion of building work
of their farm shop, with opening scheduled for
mid-December, just in time to meet demand for
Christmas.
They run a mixed farm of 450 ewes and
a heard of British Breed Cattle sired with
pedigree Aberdeen Angus bulls, roaming freely
over hundreds of acres of National Trust land,
blissfully unaware that they are the back bone
to the National Trusts conservation goals,
keeping the area clear of invasive scrub, over
Tennyson, St Catherines and Ventnor Downs.

life

They already sell lamb and beef at local
markets; Brading, Farmer Jacks and Newport
Farmers Market and will be adding turkeys in
the run up to Christmas. With home reared
pork, due for the new year.
I’ve scratched the porkers ears, a ‘Gloucester
Old Spot’, a few ‘Saddlebacks’ and some ‘Sandy
and Blacks’, good old English varieties that I
know will be delicious. Pigs have always been
my favourite, ever since I was a kid and it was
great to see them running around, snuffling in
the soil and looking as ‘happy as pigs.’
Complimenting all this will of course be local
grown fruit and vegetables, ice cream with other
dairy products, stone ground flour, preserves
– jams, marmalade and chutneys and, locally
baked bread and cakes. Jackie tells me that she
would love to hear from readers, interested in
selling their own grown or homemade produce.
The meat is matured and butchered on the
farm, with cooking and serving advice being
promised if required when, buying from the
shop. A game licence has been applied for and
if successful, in season pheasant, duck and
partridge will all be available.
For three years Jackie and Todd have been
producing delicious beef burgers, this year
introducing lamb burgers, that they sell from
their mobile catering unit at out-door shows
and events. These come highly recommend and
will also be available from the shop.
For Christmas orders of yummy beef, lamb
and turkey, give Jackie a call on 741135 or
07727053846 to ensure you can get, quality
home produced, matured and butchered meat…

Photo right: The barn where
Jackie & Todd are building there
new farm shop. The building
work should be finished by the
middle of December 08.

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