TURN OUT DAY
Turn Out Day was a huge success! We had been busy all week in the run up to Turn Out Day, trying to get as well prepared for the event as possible and luckily Easter Bank Holiday Monday was a wonderful sunny day. The last time we held Turn Out Day was Easter Monday 2019, when we had nearly 700 people. We were hoping to achieve the same number of visitors again but didn't really know what to expect 3 years on. By Good Friday evening we had sold around 450 adult tickets, not including children. People started to arrive soon after 9am, by 10.30am we had around 1,000 visitors and cars were still arriving! We hadn't quite expected that many; it was fantastic seeing so many customers, family and friends coming to support our farm and see the cows running out. At 11am, when the milking herd was released into the field there was a roar from the crowd; a little while later the group of 10 bulling heifers (young females around 2-years old with lots of youthful energy and slightly smaller than the milkers) were let out. They were shortly followed by 'Billy the Kid,' a magnificent 4-year-old Limousin steer weighing around 800kg, but he wasn't the main event; last, but not least, was 'Big Billy', our 13-year-old, 1-tonne British Blue steer. He is the star of the show! Once all the cattle were out, we had 2 tractor-and-trailer rides running, taking people on a tour of the farm and marsh, which introduced people to the Pevensey Levels and what it means to run a dairy farm organically on the marsh.
People enjoyed the beefburgers back at the farm and the farmers market was a huge success, with some of the traders selling out. The traders that came down from London had a great day too and have already said they would love to return next year! It was wonderful to see so many of our customers enjoying our cows and our farm. A great big thank you to all the volunteers who helped on the day, and all our staff too who worked so hard to make sure the day went well. We're already planning Turn Out Day next year! Next month we hope to be able to give you the date of our next event which is the ‘Mad Marsh Run’.
ON THE FARM
We've now had a very dry March and April, which is starting to be a concern. The cows still have plenty of grass at present, but the regrowth of grass will slow down if we don't have rain soon, and the fields will start to dry out. The pasture 'overseeding' we did last autumn has worked very well; in addition to the original permanent pasture there are also new rye grasses and clover plants that have rejuvenated the grazing this spring. This shows in the milk yield, which has almost doubled since the cows have gone back out to graze; the best milk in the year is produced in the spring when the cows are on fresh pasture!
ORGANIC GRASS-FED BEEF
In addition to the meat boxes launched last month, we also have 500g packs of beef stir fry. These are amazing, as they are made up from the fillet, sirloin, rump, ribeye, bavette, flat iron and denver steak trimmings. Let us know if you would like to try a pack! Don’t forget we also have our new meat boxes available at a slightly discounted price in comparison to purchasing individual cuts, as follows: Family Box £60.00 (Normal RRP £70.00) Surprise Box £70.00 (Normal RRP £80.00) 1 packs of beef mince (500g) 1.5kg beef roasting joint 1 pack of 6 beef gluten free sausages (500g) 6 surprise packs of beef (500g each) 1 pack of beef braising steak (500g) 1 pack of diced beef (500g) 1 pack of beef flat ribs (500g) 1 pack of beef shin (500g) 1.5kg beef Topside roasting joint or similar
Please note that all weights are approximate and subject to availability. Please contact the office by emailing sales@hookandson.co.uk or calling us on 01323 449494 if you would like a meat box added to your delivery.
PRICE INCREASE
We will unfortunately have to raise our prices from 1st June so please ask the office if you would like us to send you a new price list when this is available. This is due to the ever-increasing cost of maintaining our milking herd where every element is affected by the current economic situation.
Best wishes with thanks for all your support for our farm. From Phil and Marilyn, Steve and Claire, and all of us at Hook & Son
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