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28. Marshwood Farm
Roy Glanville and his son Mark began supplying Coombe Farm with milk in 2000, when they moved from Devon to nearby Marshwood Farm, at Forton, two miles from Chard.
Their 270 acres of gently sloping land bordering the River Axe is just what many people think of when visualising the English countryside, with a lake that’s home to carp and wildfowl, like Moorhens, Mallard ducks and geese, 3 acres of woodland that is a haven for wildlife, as well as grazing for their dairy herd and the 50 or 60 beef cattle that are also raised there.
Most of the 190 milking cows are Holstein/Friesian cross bred cattle, but in 2008 Roy started introducing Norwegian reds, which he feels are better-suited to the organic lifestyle.
In the summer the Glanvilles grow barley and wheat for the herd’s winter feed, and in the winter they also have ‘keeper’ lambs, on some of their fields.
Says Roy; “One of the most interesting things we discovered when we began farming organically is that our vet’s bill went down. We hadn’t expected that and I think it says a lot about the better, more natural lifestyle that the cows lead when producing organic milk. They are not so stressed, the natural grazing is better for them and the end result is that they are happier and healthier than they would be in a more intensive environment.”
