Feltham’s Farm and Broadcaster Nigel Barden at the British Cheese Awards trade show with the award winning cheese
Feltham’s Farm emerged as a standout winner at the British Cheese Awards, securing an impressive tally of seven awards, including Golds, a Silver, and several Bronzes. The farm’s cheeses, known for their unique names and flavours, received awards across multiple categories, showcasing their excellence in both quality and presentation. In the Best Packaging category, Feltham’s Farm’s Rebel Nun, Gert Lush, and Renegade Monk cheeses all clinched Gold, demonstrating the farm’s commitment to creative and appealing packaging. La Fresca Margarita also earned recognition in this category, taking home a Silver award. Additionally, La Fresca Margarita was awarded a Bronze in the Fresh Lactic section, highlighting the cheese’s quality and taste. The Semi Soft Export class saw Gert Lush and Renegade Monk receiving Silver and Bronze awards respectively, underscoring Feltham’s Farm’s appeal to international markets.
The best cheese there The competition was notably fierce this year, with over 600 cheeses entered across various classes. Jem Panufnik, the designer behind Feltham’s Farm’s award-winning packaging, said ‘I am over the moon to have won best Packaging for Renegade Monk – all the Felthams cheeses have such great names and backstories, it’s an illustrator’s dream job!’. Penny Nagle, the farm’s Director, said, ‘We are delighted that our creative design-led ethos for our packaging has been recognised by the cheese industry as adding value to our brand.’ Marcus Fergusson, the Owner and Cheesemaker at Feltham’s Farm, said ‘Our Silvers and Bronzes for Lactic and Semi Soft Export show that we are delivering some terrific cheeses that both professional cheese people and customers love.’ The farm’s success also caught the attention of journalist and broadcaster Nigel Barden, who praised Gert Lush on BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms Show. Barden commended the cheese’s inventive naming and packaging and lauded its taste as ‘the best cheese there.’
Lucy Procter is in the midst of the highs and lows of managing a rain-soaked foaling season
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
‘I’m just so over this wet weather! When will it end?’ It’s a common refrain this winter – and never more so than from those trying to make a living from rain-soaked land. This month, we have had to sacrifice several fields to the ravages of hooves, hoping that the ground will dry up later in the spring and enable us to roll the poached ground flat once more. The youngest foals spend their first few days finding their legs in the all-weather turnout for short spells. Once the foals are turned out in a field, we are careful to continue to restrict their time out – squelching through muddy ground for too long could pull at their joints if they were left out all day. Also foals are less inclined to lie down and rest if the ground is wet.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
In the early part of the breeding season, if it’s raining, the foals go out with special waterproof foal rugs, because if they get wet, the wind will quickly chill them and make them very cold. Once the weather improves and they are older, bigger and stronger, they can withstand moderate rain, but would be brought into stables for a rest if heavy rain persisted for more than a day or so. THowever, once the mares have a foal at foot they have to stay without rugs, as the foal could become tangled in them.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
The foals quickly get used to being led in and out of the field, and it doesn’t take long for a single member of staff to be able to lead a mare and foal together. We use well-fitting, leather headcollars for the mares and the foals, and lead the foals using a ‘slip’ – a length of soft webbing which slips through the headcollar, without fastening to it. If a foal is being difficult, the handler can safely let go in the knowledge that if the webbing is stepped on, it will just pull free and will not get tangled around the foal’s legs.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Next year’s foals March has been busy, with a total of seven new foals born. Most of our owners want their mares to visit a stallion again this year so that they produce another foal in 2025. This involves our vet scanning each mare ten days after foaling to check whether she is in her foaling heat. Mares usually come back into season just a week after foaling, but we prefer not to cover on this first cycle as conception rates are quite low. Once we know she has finished this ‘foaling heat’ we can count forward to when the vet should start tracking the next cycle. However, the longer after foaling that a mare’s foaling heat is, the greater the chance of getting in foal: if it goes beyond 14 days, we might consider covering on a foaling heat.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Tracking a mare involves ultrasound scanning the uterus and ovaries to measure the size of the follicles growing in the ovaries and the amount of oedema (thickening of the lining) in the uterus. Once the vet determines that a mare has grown a follicle that is anywhere between 3.5cm and 5cm and that the oedema score is high, we will book a covering within the next day or so and drive a mare to the chosen stallion. The foal always travels to a cover with the mare. Removal of the internal lorry partition essentially turns the lorry into a mobile stable with a lovely deep straw bed, and the foal is free to feed, wander around or lie down and sleep whenever it chooses. At the stallion stud, the foal is held by a handler in the covering shed, so the mare can see her foal at all times and does not get worried. Then they are both loaded to return home.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Honeysuckle grandparents In other news, we were delighted to hear that Honeysuckle, the TGS-bred multiple Grade 1 winning champion mare, safely delivered her first foal, a Walk In The Park filly, on 29th March. In the same way that we are always excited to follow TGS-bred foals, we feel rather like ‘grandparents’ to Honeysuckle’s filly.
It’s a known fact that 40% of Dorset’s population are on low wages. In the Dorset Council and BCP Council (next door) areas, more than 5,000 homes are second homes, holiday lets or just left empty. There is a housing emergency in Dorset – caused by a failure of the councils’ and government’s housing policies over the last 14 years. Dorset has around 4,500 households on the housing register, and more than 300 families in costly temporary accommodation. House prices are 10 to 12 times a typical salary for the area – meaning many Dorset residents can’t afford to buy their own home. Families and young people feel they have to move away from the communities they grew up in to find somewhere they can afford to live. So called ‘affordable housing’ is nothing of the sort. Rents are tied to house prices, and demand for rental homes greatly outstrips supply. The Government definition of affordable housing is ‘80 per cent of the market rent’. Housing inequality is changing the demographic of Dorset and damaging the viability of local services. At current rates we can expect well over half of the population to be over 65 within the next ten to 20 years. Those Labour councillors elected this coming May will seek to ensure that Dorset Council: recognises that good housing is a universal right and produces a new housing strategy within that context works with the incoming [Labour] Government to enable Dorset Council to build more council homes through a different funding process significantly increases the proportion of new homes for social rent for local residents supports community-led and co-operative housing programmes works with the incoming [Labour] Government to strengthen restraints and restrictions on second homes and Airbnb acknowledges that the private rented sector currently provides much of the non-owner-occupied housing in Dorset and will work with good landlords towards raising and enforcing standards reviews the council’s homelessness policies and the housing advice service to ensure that they provide fair, humane and supportive practices for all. Gerald Davies North Dorset Labour Party
The water companies just can’t keep out of the news. The figures for sewage discharges for 2023 were issued last week by the Environment Agency. It’s been a wet year, but has it been doubly as damp as 2022? All sewage overflows have at last been fitted with monitors, and it’s clear that twice as much raw sewage and rainwater has gone into our rivers and the sea this year as in 2022. Discharges into the Stour and its tributaries are significantly up. Wessex Water is spending £3m per month on upgrades, with work continuing at the sewage works in Gillingham and further work planned at Bourton. These investments are welcome, but we are paying for it. Wessex Water has raised bills by 12% this year. If its plans to triple the spend on sewage treatment improvements are agreed this year by the industry regulator OFWAT, we will see bills rise dramatically over the next few years – by up to 50%. The whole industry has been too slow to respond. The Economist newspaper noted that in 2021 the Storm Overflow Discharges Taskforce – a group of conservationists, consumers, the agriculture department, the Environment Agency and water industry bodies – concluded that investment to prevent sewage discharges was not worth the tens of billions of pounds it would cost. Meanwhile, Surfers against Sewage, countless local campaigns and political parties like the Liberal Democrats continue to push hard to change this stinking state of affairs. But where is the haste to fix it? The current government will still allow sewage spills to continue beyond 2040.
Constructive plan needed OFWAT has demonstrated its toothlessness. The Environment Agency lacks the resources to monitor effectively, police the spills and penalise the spillers. Here in Dorset, we understand that Wessex Water performs better than most other water companies. Yes, governments before privatisation spent hopelessly little, but that does not mean the present system is right either. The water companies have run up excessive debt to pay holding company dividends and many are now in deep financial trouble. Little will happen as long as the industry structure and the way it is regulated remains unchanged. We need positive, constructive measures to be put in place to solve the whole challenge of river and sea pollution. This must involve the water companies, agriculture, transport, house building and construction interests, all working together. The next five-year asset management plan period (AMP8) for water companies will start in April 2025. A new government needs to review and change how water utilities are run, to ensure a rapid end to sewage dumping and better value for bill-payers. Liberal Democrats will be down and dirty, campaigning to staunch the sewage flows and their costs. Gary Jackson North Dorset Liberal Democrats
Although I’d only ever voted Conservative before, I remember the sense of anticipation that things were going to change for the better when Tony Blair swept into power in 1997. Sadly it didn’t last. Blair’s New Labour introduced important social reforms, like the minimum wage, but in the end it became too conservative, supporting market economics where the markets control decisions on the allocation of capital to provide goods and services. While there is absolutely a need for businesses to help inform debate on government policies, they must not be allowed undue influence over policy decisions. They will naturally focus on obtaining the maximum benefit for themselves, whereas the government must consider the bigger picture. As Labour moves increasingly to the right, guided by organisations like the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, it looks to be heading for electoral victory. Vested financial interests are circling, eager to maintain their influence on government policy-making through lobbying and media campaigns. The fossil fuel industry has influenced government policy so well that Shell and BP are reducing their already half-hearted support for transitioning to renewable energy, and instead expanding their oil and gas operations. All with a total disregard for the planetary consequences, not least the climate change already affecting millions around the world. Meanwhile the government is aiding and abetting the industry through taxpayer-funded subsidies, a wholly inadequate windfall tax, and stoking a deliberately divisive culture war against a bogus ‘war on motorists’. The Tory party’s largest donor, Frank Hestor, hit the headlines recently with his appalling remarks about a Labour MP. Less well publicised was the fact that his company makes an excessive 50 per cent profit from supplying software systems to the NHS. Nice work if you know how to get it, but not a good deal for our cash-strapped NHS, is it? To any previously Labour or Conservative supporters who are disillusioned by their parties, can I offer the suggestion that your next vote is for the Green Party? You will then send a clear message, and help to raise awareness of the true level of public support for the green policies we so urgently need. Ken Huggins North Dorset Green Party
Most native wildflowers rely on insects to pollinate them – former president of DWT Tony Bates explains how the flowers are designed to attract them
Cow Parsley with Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)
nectar and, in many cases, to eat the pollen – an important source of protein. Flowers produce lots of pollen, so that there is a surplus available to attach to an insect’s body and legs, facilitating the transfer of pollen to the next flowers they visit. It’s a happy relationship – the insects get fed and the flowers get to reproduce. Wildflowers come in an amazing range of shapes and sizes, and insects favour different flowers depending on their colour, scent, design and ease of landing. For example, beetles prefer buttercups and daisies which are easy for them to land on, while smaller flowers such as speedwells are particularly attractive to small flies. Flowers such as flax have a long spur containing nectar, which makes them particularly suited to butterflies and moths – those with a long proboscis, enabling them to reach the nectar source.
A female thick-legged flower beetle (Oedemera nobilis) on a yellow buttercup
Most flowers produce a scent – and no two scents are the same. Insects will often travel a long distance to find their favourite flower because of its individual scent. Another family of plants, the umbellifers, have a wide head with multiple small flowers, each with only a small amount of nectar. Visiting insects enjoy a ‘feast in small bites’, taking small quantities of nectar from each individual flower.
The yellow spot of the eyebright flower acts as a landing zone, with purple lines guiding to the nectar. The upper lip protects the style, which projects forward so it touches visiting insects and receives pollen from another flower. As the insect enters, pollen is showered onto its back from the stamens above, ready to share with the next flower
Insects’ eyes enable them to see a much greater range of colours than we do. They can see ultraviolet light, which makes the flower stand out clearly from the surrounding plant structure. This ability helps them to aim more accurately at their food source. Smaller flowers also often have markings or guidelines to entice the insect into the nectar source. These include speedwell, tiny blue flowers with a bright centre, and late summer’s eyebright, with its yellow landing zone (see image, right). Insects may use pollen, nectar or both as food, either as adults or to feed their young. Hoverflies, for instance, enjoy a good meal of pollen. On a sunny day in springtime, emerging insects will make a buzz of activity around bluebells, primroses and celandines.
Wild arum (known as Lords and Ladies and Cuckoo pint) has a unique method of attracting pollinators
Wild arum, with the wonderful common nickname of Lords and Ladies, which you may have seen featured in the BBC Wild Isles series, has a bizarre way of attracting small flies for pollination. It has a distinctive purple or pale green sheath surrounding a central ‘spadix’ with a spike of tiny flowers on a fleshy stem. Unlike the fragrant scent of most flowers, it produces the smell of rotten meat late in the day. Tempted by this, small flies become trapped in the bottom of the sheath by a shield of stiff downward-pointing hairs. The next day, the hairs wither, which allows the flies to scramble out over the pollen stamens to visit another arum. Recent research suggests that in the UK, flying insects have declined by 60 per cent in the past 20 years. The serious decline in insect numbers is one of the greatest challenges we face – it is causing a loss of wildlife right at the bottom of the food chain. It is crucial that habitats are provided to allow the plants upon which insects depend to thrive. As well as planting and encouraging wildflowers, it is important that we provide more undisturbed ground, dead wood piles and decomposing vegetation – key places for the life cycles of insects. Learn more at wildlife.trusts.org
Rural Dorset gains from NHS dentistry reforms, more support for local farmers and record social care funding for rural Dorset
A few months ago, the Government announced its plans to recover and reform NHS dentistry, and I am glad to see that rural and coastal communities, such as West Dorset, will receive specific benefits this year. I know just how difficult this situation has been – and continues to be – for many constituents. The reforms will see the introduction of new mobile dental provision to bring dental care to the most remote and underserved communities where there are no NHS dental practices operating. It also includes the introduction of incentives to retain and encourage dentists in areas like West Dorset, starting with the first cohort of dentists later this year. And we will also see an uplift to the minimum payment for units of dental activity (UDAs) rising to £28 per UDA this year. While I welcome the fact that these measures will improve accessibility, I still want to see West Dorset recognised as a priority area for further reforms. It’s vital that any reforms account for the geographical, demographic and economic challenges we face in rural West Dorset. I’ve raised these views directly with the Dentistry Minister. And I have also raised my concerns about access to NHS dentistry with the Integrated Care Board at Dorset NHS, which has the ultimate responsibility for commissioning NHS dental services in West Dorset.
Youth gender identity In the past few months, a growing number of parents have got in touch with me to share their experiences of how exposed and vulnerable their children have been when it comes to discussions around gender identity with third parties. Dorset is in the top 10 per cent of NHS areas for referrals of our children to a Gender Identity Clinic in the UK. This became very apparent a few weeks ago, after NHS England announced it was taking the decision to ban the prescription of puberty blockers as there was not enough evidence that they were safe or effective.
Investing in farming Last month I called for an increase in food self-sufficiency levels in the UK and for Grade 1 and Grade 2 agricultural land to remain in food production. At present, the UK is 60 per cent self-sufficient in all foods, but relies heavily on imports of fruit and vegetables. We should be harnessing highly fertile land to take our self-sufficiency levels way above that 60 per cent and to support the farmers who produce much of what we consume in this country. Food security is as important as any other matter. I shall closely monitor the impact of climate change and global insecurity on supply chains. My comments follow the government’s announcement of £2.4 billion annual investment in farming and a legal requirement to publish a Food Security Index every year, with a commitment to ensure that baseline food production of 60 per cent of food is preserved in the UK.
More funds for social care Also last month, I was pleased to help secure record funding of £408,022 for Adult Social Care reforms in Dorset. The funding, announced last week by the Department for Health and Social Care, will go towards helping unpaid carers, supporting adults with learning disabilities or mental health problems and boosting engagement with the elderly in society. I’ve previously raised with the Minister the unique situation we face in West Dorset regarding adult social care, and the cost it places on local government and the Dorset taxpayer. Funding on this level will help to identify areas for localised innovation and will facilitate learning for onward development and investment. I’m incredibly grateful to all those working in adult social care, and I’ll continue to push for greater recognition within Government.
As always, if I can help, you can contact me by email: [email protected] and you can keep up to date with my latest news by visiting chrisloder.co.uk or write to me at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
A long-time supporter (and judge) of Dorset’s village shops, North Dorset CPRE chairman Rupert Hardy visits Motcombe’s thriving community store
Kay Francis, left, has managed the Motcombe village shop for 14 years
COVID was kind to village shops, which had been under pressure for decades from the relentless onslaught of supermarkets. Government advice to stay home, as well as the fear of infection, drove shoppers to avoid supermarkets. However, much has changed in the last few years. Shoppers are facing a vicious cost of living crisis. Price wars have been intensifying, and we all know which supermarkets are winning: the big discounters like Aldi and Lidl. There is still a clear long-term trend towards online shopping that benefits supermarkets but not village shops. Other factors have been the decline in physical newspaper and tobacco sales – historically, both major drivers of customers for small shops. But what can they do? The bigger ones are in a much stronger position – they can offer a broader range of stock, and can also diversify (if space allows) by opening cafes, which bring extra footfall and generate higher margins. They can sell more local, sustainable produce, which we applaud. We strongly support high quality local food and drink producers, of which Dorset has many. Small shops can still benefit from the post-coved legacy of more people working from home one or two days a week. More shops are joining symbol groups such as SPAR with their greater buying power and marketing support. Overall, there are some shops that seem to be doing all the right things.
Motcombe Community Shop How does a village shop survive if it is only five minutes drive from the supermarkets of Shaftesbury? The answer is it has to try much harder to make itself stand out. It helps that there is a strong village community, and that no less than 35 of the residents are happy to volunteer to support the shop. It also helps to have an experienced manager. Kay Francis, who has been running the shop for 14 years – ever since the community took it over – clearly knows everyone in the village, and also what they want. Community shops may be under less financial pressure than privately-run ones, but to survive they still have to be professionally run, and know how to move with the times. Motcombe’s major innovation in recent years was to cover over what had been a less-than-pretty exterior space with a light and airy gazebo, transforming it into a busy cafe with the tables and chairs for which they have no room inside. The cafe certainly helps footfall in the store. Coffee sales multiplied three-fold as soon as it was opened during COVID. The shop sells more local food now. They have introduced loyalty cards, which seem to work well, and, thanks to the skills of one committee member, have enhanced their presence on social media. Energy costs have been a serious issue for many, but Motcombe avoided the worst, thanks to prescient long-term contracts. There is a comprehensive product range with gifts and cards as well as food and drink – fresh pastries are a popular line. The shop offers a dry-cleaning service, as well as a small post office. Its services and friendly staff are well-appreciated, and it is seen to help the community in different ways, such as their weekly free delivery service to old people in sheltered accommodation. I awarded Motcombe second prize in the Best Dorset Village Shop competition in 2015, when I was a judge, and would happily commend them for another prize now. Do visit them!
Congratulations to Child Okeford Village Shop – highlighted last year in the BV Magazine. We were pleased to hear that this wonderful shop is a finalist in the Countryside Alliance Best Village Retailer of the Year, South West. Results will be announced in April.
Early in April, Stalbridge’s Olympic hopeful, 17-year-old Ruby Else White, travelled to Croatia for the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Poreč. Fighting in the Under 48kg category, Ruby beat the French junior champion, Mathilda Fragnieres, in the final by RSC*. Reporting on the bout, the French Boxing Federation’s website FFboxe, commented ‘The young Frenchwoman was dominated by an excellent English boxer, undefeated and reigning European junior champion, who surprised her with her left hook and her speed of execution.’
Ruby White is crowned 3 x European Champion
Coming home to Dorset, a swift ‘meet-and-greet’ was organised so the village could show their pride and affection for the teenager who has grown up in their midst, and whose stepdad is the village butcher.
Crowds greet European Champion Ruby Else-White in Stalbridge. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
As the crowd lined the pavement of Stalbridge’s High Street, they couldn’t help but chat about Ruby:
‘What an accomplishment. I remember when she was a little thing at Stalbridge Primary – and now look at her! Second in the world! What an amazing girl she is, she’s worked so hard,’ one Stalbridge resident was heard to say. Another agreed: ‘Its not easy, with all the distractions a teenager faces. What a moment for her! The whole village is so proud of what she’s achieved.’
‘She’s amazing,’ chimed in a third member of the waiting crowd. ‘To come from a little place like Stalbridge, and be second in the world, and that’s really something!’
Ruby Else-White in Stalbridge. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
Ruby walked up through the village with her mum, and hesitated when she saw so many people cheering and applauding – seemingly overwhelmed that so many had turned out to congratulate her on her win. Later, as she signed cards for well-wishers she said, ‘This is mad! It’s like I’m a celebrity!’
In an exclusive interview with The BV last month, coach Shaun Weeks had warned Ruby would find the European tournament tough: ‘She could be coming up against girls who are well into their 18th year,’ he said. ‘She could be giving away nearly two years to the oldest girls in her new age bracket.’
Ruby (left) in the final against Mathilda Fragnieres of France
Ruby is now ranked second in the world for her weight, and has been named Great Britain’s most hopeful Olympic athlete for 2028.
Julian Else with Ruby Else-White. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
Julian Else, Ruby’s stepdad, couldn’t disguise his joy as he wrapped her in a hug. ‘We’re just all so, so proud of her!’ he told the BV. ‘It’s amazing to see everyone out, supporting her. She’s worked so hard, and most of what she does goes unseen, so to have everyone turn out like this, it’s amazing. We just couldn’t be more proud of her.’
‘I’m just so full of pride for her. I’m still not sure she realises just how good she is!’ added Heidi Else, Ruby’s mum. ‘My famous saying is “let’s see what happens” … and it keeps happening! Her focus is now on the Tri-Nations – if anyone will get in the ring with her! – and then it’s her dream, the Worlds in November.’
Ruby White with her family. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
While letting Ruby enjoy her win, Shaun is also looking firmly to the big year ahead: ‘After the Tri-Nations, we have our eyes firmly fixed on the World Championships. We’re hoping Ruby will be boxing for a world title at the end of the year.’
Ruby Else-White Honours: 3 x MTK Lonsdale Box Cup Champion 5 x Western Counties Champion National Cadet Champion Bristol Box Cup Champion Riviera Box Cup Champion National Schools Champion 2 x National Junior Champion 2 x GB Tri-Nations Junior Champion European Nations Cup Junior Champion 2 x Women’s Winter Box Cup Champion National Youth Champion 4 x Golden Girls Box cup Champion 2 x European Junior Champion 1 x European Youth Champion
*Referee Stops Contest: if a boxer, in the referee’s opinion, is being outclassed or is receiving excessive punishment or hard blows, the bout is stopped and the opponent declared the winner of the bout by RSC.
