Fresh venison – order before 12th December
Our last fresh venison delivery before Christmas will be on 12th December. Honey and Stourton Estates eggs are also available to order. To place an order please click here.
Louth Market – 17th December
The last time we will be attending Louth Market ahead of Christmas will be on 17th December. A wide range of our frozen venison as well as Taylors Rapeseed Oil, Antler chews and honey will be available.
Frozen Venison
Our freezer is fully stocked ahead of the festive season and our frozen venison is available to order for collection or delivery. To place an order please contact the farm office. Don’t forget, you can add venison onto your log delivery! Our last delivery day will be 18th December, so please place your order before then!
We really enjoyed meeting many customers- old & new at the Food & Drink Fayre at the Walled Garden Baumber recently and sharing samples of our delicious venison ragu. This recipe was developed for us by Richie Stamp-Mason of the Red Lion in Raithby and it is such an easy & healthy warming recipe to enjoy over the winter.
We’ve also improved the packaging of our venison burgers. We’ve always been keen to use biodegradable discs rather than plastic to increase the sustainability of our products. These new discs are much more durable and are easier to remove before cooking. Let us know any other feedback as we look to continually improve our products.
Don’t get caught out in the cold! Our last logs delivery date is Thursday 18th December. To place your order please click here.
We close the office and deliveries stop over Xmas & New Year. We reopen on 5th January and deliveries will recommence on Tuesday 6th January.
We are (hopefully) reaching the top of the paperwork, administration and assurance scheme mountain.
Recently we have successfully passed the ‘Ready to Burn’ Woodsure accreditation. This scheme ensures that our logs have a moisture content of less than 20% ensuring that they are easier to light, burn more efficiently, produce more heat, and are kinder to your appliance and the environment.
We have also passed the Red Tractor whole farm assurance scheme audit. This means that the food you buy has been responsibly produced and you can be sure it comes from crops and animals that have been well cared for.
These audits are just two of many we need to keep completing as farmers and event hosts – others include the SAI Global quality assurance scheme for the deer going to supermarkets, plus a further Woodsure accreditation for the woodchip that we burn in our boiler under the HETAS scheme! It is frustrating for UK farmers to know that imported food and products do not have to meet these same rigorous quality standards.
Other administrative tasks we’re getting to grips with include cash flow forecasting and business planning – definitely some of the less ‘sexy’ sides of farming but they are vitally important if we’re to continue to run a viable business during these challenging times.
At the end of November we hosted Pilgrim School Baumber,who came to see everything that we get up to here on the far and with our ever growing range of animals. Despite the weather having different plans, they all enjoyed it
Storm Claudia has ensured that our winter ‘tidying jobs’ have increased. We lost a few trees as well as some falling onto deer fencing so the fallen trees have been removed and the fencing mended to ensure our deer’s security and safety.
November has been a quieter month on the farm as it has turned wetter and colder. We managed to get just over half of our sugar beet lifted and transported to the factory. We are quite pleased with how it has done so far. Because of the dry conditions in the early establishment phase and growing season we were worried about yields, however we have achieved a yield of 71t/ha on our first harvested field and with good sugar content this has helped the margin for this crop. We have another 25ha left to harvest which will be finished in the new year.
During November we brought the cattle inside to a warm straw bedded shed for the winter. We bring them inside so we don’t damage the ground when the weather turns wetter, also it is better for the growth of the cattle when they don’t have to use vital energy to keep themselves warm. We are feeding them on a diet of herbal ley silage and a blend of home grown rolled barley, home grown rolled beans, additional minerals and some molasses. While they were out at grass during the summer they achieved a growth rate of 0.99kg/day daily live weight gain. We are very pleased with this given how dry the summer was and how slow grass growth was. We hope they will achieve slightly more than this being in the shed and will be ready to go from June 2026.
All the winter crops are in the ground and looking very well, again this year we have applied no insecticide to any of our crops. We monitor very closely for insect pests that effect our crops but none have been found over treatment threshold. This requires lots of field walking and careful searching to make sure we haven’t missed any and are confident in our actions. We will have to keep a close eye on our Oilseed rape crops as they become very attractive to pigeons over the winter time as it makes for a very tasty snack. We will have to set out bird scaring equipment eg. gas bangers or flags if they start to become a problem.
Farm maintenance has been carried out this month focusing on hedge cutting and clearing out water courses. We remove silt and debris from our water courses to improve drainage; if the water can get away quicker this helps to dry our fields sooner in the spring time meaning that timely field work can be carried out on schedule. It will be quite a busy spring as we have barley and oats to drill. The team is glad of a slightly quieter period and ongoing training is carried out during the winter to keep everyone up to date with skills and ability.
Winter feeding has started in earnest so the herds are enjoying our herb rich silage now. We have to supplement their diets over winter as the grass growth and nutrition slows and does not match the demands of the deer.
Will & Ed have now prepared the roundhouse so it is ready for this year’s deer calves that will over-winter in there. The last job is to add some straw for bedding then just need to herd & transport them in there (more easily said than done!). Once inside we will give them a mineral boost for good health over the winter.
The yearling stags (pictured) are relaxing in the shelter of the woods, and they will shortly be joined by Harry and Winston who will deserve some R&R after their recent exertions.
We’re offering a FREE pack of Willoglow Briquettes with every kiln dried logs order in November!
Made from 100% British willow, Willoglow Briquettes are suitable for multi fuel stoves, open fires, fire pits and BBQ’s. Providing approximately 1.5 hours of continuous heat, they’re free from spitting or sparking and are easy to modify to suit the size of your stove. They’re a great alternative or back up to your usual kiln dried logs!
The offer is available on any kiln dried log order placed from now until the end of November. To place your order, please click here.
Fresh Venison- Next Delivery 14th NovemberWe now offer a monthly delivery of selected cuts of fresh venison – directly to your door. Plus if you live within 20 miles of LN9 5PB ( by road) then delivery is FREE. Our next fresh venison delivery date is 14th November, so if you’d like to place an order simply fill out this form and we will get it to you!
We generally have most cuts of frozen venison in stock so if you would like to order anything particular especially in the run-up to the festive season please email contact@Stourtonestates.co.uk or phone Tina on (01507) 578236 Monday to Thursday 9-4.
Alternatively please come to see us at the Walled Garden Baumber’s Food & Drink fair on Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd of November where we will have plenty of venison on offer.
Beautiful nordmann fir Christmas trees are available to order now.
Plus, you can get your tree delivered for FREE if you order kiln dried logs or landscaping products at the same time.
If you’d just like a tree delivering it is an additional £5 delivery charge (included in the price below), within 20 miles of LN9 5PB.
Orders will close on Monday 24th November at midday and deliveries for Christmas tree orders will take place on Friday 28th November.
Click here to place your order.
It was great to see so many runners and families at our open day in early October. We spoke to many regular visitors; some sharing venison recipes, others telling us how much they enjoy coming to Stourton. One couple even gave us a thank you card which was so thoughtful and really appreciated- particularly at the end of a very busy season!
Since then we’ve been carefully getting ready for winter, removing outdoor features such as the picnic benches, ceremony benches, the fire pit and logs. These will be safely stored under cover over winter with any maintenance or repairs completed ahead of next season.
Looking ahead we’re busy planning our events calendar for 2026… it’s shaping up to be an exciting one as we’ll be celebrating 100 years of farming at Stourton. We’ll share our plans with you soon!
The weather has certainly changed — rain has arrived and temperatures have dropped. All our drilling is up to date, except for one field of wheat that will be sown once the sugar beet is lifted and we get a few dry days.
We’ve applied all our pre-emergence herbicides to the wheat, giving us the best control of blackgrass, our most troublesome weed. Drilling went very well this year, with lovely seedbeds and dry conditions that allowed everything to be completed on time. As the saying goes, “well sown, half grown.”
This year we also direct-drilled some wheat using the Avatar drill, which has done an excellent job. The drill disturbs very little soil — just a narrow slot to place the seed before closing it again. You can see from the attached photo how little disturbance there was when drilling into a five-year-old herbal ley that had been sprayed off with glyphosate. This direct-drilling method helps reduce fuel costs and preserves the strong soil structure built up during the herbal ley’s five-year break.
In October, we brought out the combine to harvest our sunflower crop, which performed very well thanks to the great summer weather. Being a late crop, it needs a few dry days to allow the heads to dry enough for combining.
The cattle are still outside for now, though they’ll soon come into the shed for winter as the ground gets wetter and grass quality declines. They’ll be fed a diet of herbal ley silage, home-grown cereals, and beans to maintain good protein and energy levels for growth.
We are also taking advantage of British Sugar’s sugar beet growing ‘holiday’ for the 2026/7 season. As sugar prices are currently so low British Sugar are allowing contract holders to take a year’s break on a first come first served basis. We plan to grow spring oats instead — a crop we can easily harvest and store using our existing equipment.
All of the deer have now been wormed and supplemented with copper, which is vital for their bone and coat health . This supplementation process involves handling them all through the crush and giving them a copper bolus and a dose of wormer to keep them healthy.
All the boys have also been de-antlered so they are no longer a risk to each other – or us! And our two main stags Harry and Winston have moved into enclosures with their ladies ready for the rut.
It won’t be long until we bed down this year’s calves for the winter in the roundhouse.
It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks here, and we wanted to share a little roundup of what’s been happening — from weddings and fayres to venison, logs, and life with the deer.
Thank you to everyone who came along and supported our Food & Drink Fayre. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the day and, most importantly, celebrating the brilliant local businesses who took part. Your support makes all the difference to these producers, and we’re delighted the event was such a success.
Our final wedding of the season has now taken place – what a lovely way to round off the year! We also recently attended the Wedding Fair at Walled Garden Baumber where we met some fantastic couples. We’re now taking bookings for next year and beyond. Whether you’re looking for full venue hire or an inclusive package, we’d love to help create your perfect day, do take a look at what we offer at Stourton Woods and get in touch to find out more. With the colder months arriving, we’ll soon be “de-wintering” the venue to prepare for the new season ahead.
Our final open day and mini farmers market takes place on Sunday 5th October. There will be meats from The Gleeson’s Good Life, heritage fruit and vegetables from Top Farm Enterprises, artisan loaves from Bread & Cheese and home-made preserves from Heather’s Kitchen; all producers that are less than 10 miles from the farm gates. Our lovingly reared home grown venison will also be available; it’s the perfect time to stock up on hearty winter-warming cuts and steaks.
We’re open from 10am – 4pm – however, if you’re feeling energetic you can join Horncastle running club at 9am for a 5km or 10km trail run. All are welcome, children with adults please & well behaved dogs on short leads / canicross are welcome (one dog per runner).
Post-run you can refuel and relax with tea, coffees and cakes from The Dancing Dungarees and as well as breakfast rolls, hot-dogs and burgers from The Ginger Pig which will be available to purchase and enjoy in the grounds.
Throughout the day we will be running our signature farm safari tours at a special price of only £3 per person. You can book your slots now.
It’s your last opportunity to visit us in 2025 – we hope to see you here!
Unfortunately, there will be no Enchanted Lights event this year. We had hoped to bring back this much-loved attraction, but without a partner to run it alongside us, it’s not possible for 2025. Fingers crossed it will return in the future.
With the temperatures dipping, Tina has been hard at work processing log orders, while Ed has been busy delivering them — and lending a hand with building the new chicken house!
Our log order book is open so please place your order here to get stocked up for the winter
The recent rain has been a blessing for our oilseed rape, which is growing strongly with very little cabbage stem flea beetle pressure. That’s allowed for a solid establishment this season. The challenge now is keeping the pigeons away through winter!
Alongside the rape, we’ve planted a companion crop of buckwheat. This clever addition not only deters flea beetle but also scavenges phosphorus from the soil. Once the frost arrives, the buckwheat will die back and release that phosphorus, providing a nutrient boost for the oilseed rape in spring.
Our cover crops are looking healthy too. They’ll protect the soil from winter weather while improving its structure, before we move on to drilling spring barley.
Winter wheat drilling has also begun. We’ve chosen fields with lower blackgrass pressure to tackle first, and where blackgrass has germinated, we’ve sprayed it off with glyphosate ahead of drilling. Pre-emergence herbicides are also in place, targeting grass weeds before they compete with the wheat. The goal is simple: protect yield and quality for harvest.
The cattle are still making the most of a late flush of grass brought on by recent rain, and we expect them to stay outdoors for around another month, weather depending. As the nutritional value of the grass declines, we’re giving them supplementary feed to maintain steady growth. Soon, that ration will be home-mixed: our own barley and beans combined with molasses and minerals, ready to be fed with silage once the herd moves indoors.
There’s also been some new arrivals in the pasture — thirty brown laying hens. These busy workers are already scratching around the fields, spreading cow manure and enriching the soil with their own contributions. With access to bugs, grubs, pellets, and grit, we’re hopeful they’ll soon reward us with high-quality eggs. The chickens will also feature in our educational visits we hold here, allowing our visitors to see what ‘Farm to Fork’ means.
Finally, we’ve said farewell — for now — to Jamie, who’s headed off to Tungamah, Victoria in Australia for their summer. While it’s quieter here over winter, he’ll be gaining valuable experience combining on large-scale farming operations with Bourke Harvesting ‘down under’. We wish him well on his travels and look forward to welcoming him back in the spring time with fresh stories and new ideas.
Life with the deer is as lively as ever. The herds are being separated ready for the rut — and to stay safely out of the way of the upcoming 5/10K run.
All of this year’s calves are being weaned from their mothers and moved into the roundhouse to keep them cosy ahead of winter.
Now that the deer’s velvet has come off their antlers, we will begin de-antlering. We do this ahead of the rut to minimise the chance of injuries to the deer and to ourselves in any handling that we may have to do. Our placement student, Will, will be getting hands-on with this new task!
That’s all for now — thank you, as always, for supporting everything we do here. From weddings to wildlife, and from logs to local markets, it’s a joy to share these moments with you.
As we soak up the last of summer, things are full steam ahead here at Stourton! From sunflowers to the artisan market and open days to woodland weddings and log deliveries, there’s been plenty happening both out in the fields and behind the scenes in the office. Here’s a little update on what’s coming up soon…
Our Food & Drink Fayre is just around the corner – please join us for a delicious celebration of local food, drink, and artisan produce in the beautiful setting of Stourton Woods.
Make a full day of it with:
Alongside stalls selling artisan food, drink, and gifts to take home, you’ll also find a tempting selection of street food and drink vendors serving fresh flavours to enjoy on the day.
With gentle live music around the roundhouse, the event is all about slowing down, relaxing, and soaking up the atmosphere while discovering some of the best produce our region has to offer
Farm safari spaces are limited and we recommend you book in advance to avoid disappointment! Click here to book your farm safari now.
On Sunday 21st September, we’ll be attending the Walled Garden Baumber Wedding Fair. We’re the only other venue showcasing there, so if you’re considering tying the knot in a woodland setting, do pop by for a chat. We’d love to tell you more about our magical woodland wedding packages, just the other side of the wall!
This year’s couples that have held their weddings here have been blessed with sunshine – perfect for outdoor ceremonies and bell-tent camping beneath the trees. We still have availability for 2026, so if you’d like to start planning your big day, now’s the time to get in touch.
Our venison freezers are fully stocked with everything from:
You can pick some venison up at our Food & Drink Fair on 14th September, at the Food & Drink Festival in Louth on 28th September, or at our final Open Day of the year on Sunday 5th October.
Alternatively you can order directly from us for collection from the farm. To do this please contact Tina on 01507 578236.
Dare we say it – Christmas isn’t too far away, and stocks are limited, so don’t leave it too late!
August has been a busy month for log deliveries. We launched our kiln dried logs at a special rate, and demand has kept us on the road five days a week!
Now that first rush has settled, prices will increase in line with inflation. To make sure your home stays cosy this winter, we recommend ordering online through our website. Alternatively, if you prefer to order by phone, Tina in the office will be happy to help (please note, there’s a small surcharge for phone orders).
Neve, our agricultural placement student, has left us to return to Harper Adams for her final year. It’s been fantastic having her here – she has turned her hand to anything and everything. From corn carting to deer management, log production, grain loading, shovelling & burger making plus school visits, direct sales & wedding set ups – it’s definitely been a varied placement! We wish her all the very best and will hopefully see her back here again soon.
Guy, our delivery dude and al round good egg is has left us this month. We’d like to take the opportunity to thank Guy for all his hard work over the last 6 years and hope that he can enjoy a slower pace of life and see the sights that Norfolk has to offer. We are delighted to welcome Ed Caush to the team to replace him and you will meet him if you order logs and landscaping products from us over the winter months. He has hit the ground running as you have kept us so busy with log deliveries – in fact he’s been so busy we haven’t had the chance to grab a photo of him yet!
The dry weather has continued throughout August and this helped us to finish combining early in the month with little crop to dry in store. However, the dry weather has meant that the cover crops and the oilseed rape that have been drilled have struggled to germinate.
Historically August is, believe it or not, one of the wettest months of the year on average due to occasional very heavy thunderstorm. Our rain gauge on the farm collected 13.8mm of rain this month compared to a long term average of approximately 55mm. The soil is still extremely dry and hard which has made cultivations difficult but through perseverance we have managed to make good progress and with just 50ha of land left to cultivate the team have done extremely well.
For cultivation we have mostly used a set of discs to incorporate the manure that has been spread on some fields as well as a low disturbance subsoiler. The subsoiler lifts the soil without mixing it which relieves compaction via fracturing of the soil profile which the roots of the crops/cover crops can then exploit, helping them to build structure into the soil. Small areas of drainage have also been carried out to help move water off fields in areas that were identified last winter. One of the aims of our regenerative farming journey is to cultivate less land each year and instead use diverse cover crop mixtures to maintain and improve soil structure which as the added advantage of reducing fuel and labour requirements.
As many of you will have seen our sunflower crop has done extremely well due to the dry, sunny year and we are planning to combine these when they are ready, we anticipate this to be late September/early October. A crop that has not enjoyed the dry year is our sugar beet, the yield predictions for this year are not very good and with quite a low price being paid for sugar beet this will not be a profitable crop at all this year.
We also have drilled some legume fallow mixtures and a new herbal ley that will be used to make silage next summer that will feed the deer and cattle in the winter of 26/27. We are always planning a few years ahead with our feed requirements and crop rotations to try and achieve the best outcomes but with so many variables that are out of our control farming can be extremely difficult at times!
As mentioned above, Neve has now left us to return for her final year studies at Harper Adams, as an important member of the team during the past year we wish her all the best for the future, Thanks Neve!
It’s been a dry summer here on the farm, and our deer have been spotted in some unusual spots as we’ve moved them around for fresh grazing. We’re crossing our fingers for some much-needed rain this week to green things up before autumn arrives.
The stags are also beginning to shed the velvet from their antlers – rubbing it off on fences, posts and trees; sharpening up their weapons in preparation for the rut. It’s a fascinating time of year, but it does mean they’ll soon be a little more fiery, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on them!
We’d love to see you at one (or all!) of these events. Keep an eye on our social media for updates, photos, and reminders.
We’re enjoying watching the sunflowers popping out at the moment! We will open the sunflower trail at our Mini Farmers’ Market on Sunday 3rd August – and we plan to keep it open until 4pm on Friday 8th August
Here’s everything you need to know about our Sunflower experience:
The sunflower field is only accessible via our main entrance gate in our woodland car park.
This is a family-friendly event in a beautiful countryside setting – perfect for capturing summer memories. There’s no need to book – just turn up and enjoy the blooms!
Once in the field there will be trails marked through the field of sunflowers. You can enjoy the trails at your leisure taking photos along the way. Well behaved dogs on leads are also more than welcome to come and enjoy the sunflower experience with you too!
Please note that our usual self-guided walking routes (Red & Blue) will be closed for this event.
For more information please click here.
On Sunday 3rd August, as well as opening the sunflower field we are hosting a Mini Farmers Market.
The following will be available to buy on the day:
Our famous farm safaris will be running shuttles to she sunflower field on the day – however they may well take a detour so that you can see the deer and our Angus cows (if they haven’t escaped again!) all whilst finding out about how we do things here on the estate.
To find out more please click here.
Looking a little further ahead, we’re delighted to host the Lincolnshire Makers’ Summer Artisan Market on Sunday 17th August.
With over 90 talented local creatives, artists and food producers, it’s going to be a fantastic day. Held in the Roundhouse in the woods, with views over the red deer parkland, you’ll find everything from cheeses and chutneys, to metalwork and macarons, leather to liqueurs – and plenty more!
These events are so much more than just a fabulous market, you can really make a day of it with:
PLUS a great selection of quality hot food & drink vendors on site so you can enjoy food to eat whilst shopping!
With relaxed music playing throughout the day, it is an event for you to relax and soak up the atmosphere.
For more information please click here.
We want the couples who celebrate here to be able to have the day of their dreams and encourage all our couples to choose whichever suppliers they wish for food, music, celebrant services, photography and flowers.
We recently welcomed Hannah and Claire who had many of their family and friends involved in their day – from the celebrant ceremony to decor and styling as well as the cake, such lovely personal touches which made the day so unique to them.
If you or someone you know is looking for a wedding venue then we have pulled together a Woodland Wedding Package that can help as a jumping off point for planning their day.
If you’d like to talk to us about any aspect of our wedding service, or want to come for a look around and a chat then please con’t hesitate to contact us.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been hard at work kiln drying logs, ready to start log deliveries again in August.
On a more bittersweet note, our brilliant delivery driver, Guy is retiring at the end of August. We’re very grateful for all his humour & hard work over the last 7 years and we wish him a very happy (and well-earned) retirement. Interviews are currently underway for his replacement, so we hope to have some good news to share on that front soon.
We recently welcomed students from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Alford for an educational visit. Jamie particularly enjoyed demonstrating subsoiling… not so long ago he was at the school!
On the wider estate, the team’s been busy mowing the arboretum, open areas, verges, and trails. We want everything looking its best for our visitors, especially with the mini farmers’ market and summer events just around the corner.
Due to the dry spring and hot early summer we began harvest at the start of July – approximately two weeks earlier than usual. We started with the winter barley and so far the results have been mixed. The yields (number of tonnes of grain produced per acre) have been better on our heavier land as this retains the moisture better, whilst our light, sandier land has dried out too quickly in the heat and dry weather which means that the barley plants haven’t performed as well.
We then moved on to spring barley and are pleased to say the quality has held up well and, after a little drying in the store, will be suitable for malting. We have baled all of our barley straw which is swapped for cattle muck from local farms. This will be spread on the fields before we drill next year’s crop and provides a wide mix of nutrient to benefit the soil and the growing crops. This also reduces our reliance on chemical fertilizer, win-win!
Wheat is the next crop to harvest and from our assessment of the crops as they stand in the field will have some mixed yields. We are growing a mixture of feed wheat and some soft wheats that have the potential to go for biscuit making. We plan to drill more milling wheat for next year, which will go for bread making. This wheat is potentially more profitable than the feed and soft wheats but has to make the grade from a quality point of view, therefore requires more TLC to ensure it reaches its quality potential.
Shortly after the crop has been harvested we begin to cultivate the fields. Cultivation helps to relieve any soil compaction and makes the soil easier to drill. We will soon be planting over-winter bird food, cover crops and Oilseed Rape. It is important to get cover crops planted as early as possible so they have the opportunity to grow for longer before winter hits and growth slows. The more established the plants are the more biomass they build and the more benefit they do for the soil quality.
There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes during harvest and we have to work all hours, day and night whilst the weather lets us. We’d like to thank the harvest team here at Stourton for all their work so far, not just in harvesting but also for the machinery maintenance, breakdown repairs and harvest teas that are brought to the field to keep us going!
We’ve now finished deer calving for the year and we’ve just moved the herd onto some fresh grazing. We’re very grateful for the recent rain, it’s done wonders for the grass and should keep our deer well-fed for a little while longer.
The rain has also worked its magic on our herbal ley silage, which is looking very colourful at the moment. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to get a few more bales off it before the end of the summer too.
We’re excited to invite you to our Farm-ily Fun Day on Sunday, 6th July at Stourton Woods! It’s set to be a fantastic day out for the whole family, with plenty to see, do, and enjoy in the beautiful surroundings of the estate.
There will be activities for all ages, including:
We’ve been working hard to get the estate looking its best, and we can’t wait to welcome you for a day of fun, fresh air, and great memories. It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy the summer, spend quality time with friends and family, and experience everything Stourton Woods has to offer.
Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome to join you for the day
Save the date: Sunday, 6th July – we look forward to seeing you here
We hardly dare say it… but we’re hoping to have a beautiful field of blooming sunflowers in the next few weeks! As always with nature, it’s hard to predict exactly when they’ll come into full flower, but we’re keeping everything crossed that they’ll be at their best just in time for our Open Day on Sunday, 3rd August
The sunflower field is always a real highlight – a stunning sight to see and a perfect backdrop for summer photos. We know many of you love to visit when the flowers are in bloom, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on them over the coming weeks.
Watch this space!
We’ll share updates on our website and social media as soon as the sunflowers start to open, so you’ll know the best time to come and enjoy them.
We hope to see you soon – and hopefully amongst a sea of golden sunflowers!
BBQ season is well and truly upon us, but are you bored of the same old sausages and burgers? Are you’re planning on entertaining and want to impress your guests with something a bit different?
We have a wide range of venison products available, perfect for your summer barbecues and family meals that deliver the ‘wow’ factor.
Call us to place an order for:
Venison is a beautifully lean, healthy meat – it’s high in protein, low in fat, and a fantastic alternative to beef. It’s just as versatile, whether you’re grilling burgers, preparing hearty casseroles, or roasting a joint for a special meal.
To place an order for collection from the farm office, please ring Tina on 01507 578236.
There’s been plenty of activity on the estate recently, especially after the welcome rain we’ve had. With the grass growing quickly, we’ve been busy mowing and cutting back the rides to keep everything looking its best.
Much of our focus at the moment is on preparing the grounds for weddings and upcoming events. It’s important to us that the estate is in excellent condition so that our guests can enjoy the beautiful surroundings at their very best.
We’ve been enjoying a few quieter weeks and ensured that everyone has taken some holiday as we lead up to harvest. June has seen us complete the last of our spraying jobs as well as preparing grain stores and machinery before our busiest time of the year.
We are delighted that all of the cattle have come back as ‘clear’ following their TB tests. This was good news for everyone, not least the cows who have been let out to graze our herbal ley. We have initiated a ‘mob grazing’ system for the cattle. This involves dividing the grazing area into 15 separate paddocks of approximately ½ acre each. The cattle stay in these areas for 2 days before we move them onto the next. Mob grazing has a few advantages. It helps the cattle growth rates by always having fresh grass to eat as well as helping the pasture growth as the paddocks get 30 days to recover before the cattle get back to the first paddock again. Mob grazing also helps the soil by allowing a larger root mass to form within the soil. In grass a larger growth above ground means larger roots below ground. These larger and stronger roots help the soil and pasture to withstand drier weather conditions better.
We are delighted to announce the arrival of Will, our new placement student. He will be with us for a year, having completed his second year at Harper Adams University. Will replaces Neve, who has been with us since June 2024. Neve is however staying with us to help complete the harvest before leaving us to complete her final year at Harper. We wish her all the best for this!
During her time here Neve has completed a carbon footprint for the business. Her project showed we are in the top 40% of farms in the East Midlands, however, we believe we can improve this further and have some plans in the pipeline for further improve out carbon footprint, not least our transition to a regenerative farming model.
One way of further reducing our carbon footprint is to use fewer synthetic fertilsers, but we need orgnanic matter to replace it. In short, we need more animal poo (‘muck’)! Our own herd of cattle will be a great source but we still don’t have enough to cover the whole acreage, so we need to find some more muck! During harvest we ‘chop’ most of the straw that comes out of the back of the combine into small pieces which breaks down and returns organic matter back to the soil. However, we do leave some straw behind to be baled by local farmers and used on their farms as bedding. In return they pay us back by bringing us their animal ‘muck’ which we then spread onto the land. A fabulous quid pro quo and example of the farming community working together!
Grain Store cleaning has commenced in earnest! We clean the grain stores out to reduce the likelihood of pests. A pest infestation could render a crop unsellable, or could require a treatment to eradicate it prior to sale, which adds cost. So, at this time of year we brush and hoover any remaining grain from the stores before using an insecticide that will take care of any remaining bugs. This is the only insecticide that we have used on the farm this year and as it is used inside buildings it poses very little risk to any non-target and beneficial species.
Next month’s update will hopefully be bang in the middle of harvest and our busiest time on the farm. We wish all the farmers a safe harvest and drivers please be patient on the roads when you are sat behind tractors and trailers on the road.
Deer Diary
It’s been a busy and exciting time here on the farm over the past few weeks! We’re now coming to the end of the calving season, and we’re pleased to say it’s been a successful one. We’ve got over 80 lively calves running around, bringing lots of energy and life to the parkland.
The recent rain has really helped to give the grass a much-needed boost, though a little more would certainly be welcome to keep things growing well as we move through the season. Good grass growth is especially important now, as we’ll soon be moving the deer onto fresh pasture at Stourton to give them plenty of nutritious grazing.
It’s also been fascinating to watch the stags – their antlers have almost reached their full size now, and they’re looking truly impressive as we head into the next part of the year.
There’s always lots happening here, and it’s a pleasure to share a glimpse of farm life with you.
Our next open day on 6th July will be great – We are holding a ‘Farm-ily’ Fun Day with FREE tractor & trailer tours every hour (dependant on demand and availability) around the farm & estate. Come and see the cattle and deer (and some calves!) and find out more about what goes on here on the farm. There’ll also be some FREE kids activities in the roundhouse.
As well as the ‘Farm-ily’ fun, our walking trails will be open to all and we will also be hosting another mini farmers market with produce available from The Gleeson’s Good Life, heritage fruit and vegetables from Top Farm Enterprises, artisan loaves from Vines Bakery and home-made preserves from Heather’s Kitchen.
We are also hosting 2 FREE guided walks. Places are limited so please book your place(s) online!
Refreshments and hot & cold drinks will be available all day from The Very Cool Coffee Bus and The Ginger Pig. We can’t wait to see you here!
It was super to welcome Zoky Woodfired sauna here at the weekend. The retreat day organised by Sarah Hardy held on Saturday was a great success and all participants left with a feeling of having been on a weeks holiday! Catch Zoky sauna around Lincolnshire& beyond – why not have a solstice sauna at Huttoft – here’s the link to book!
Our first mini farmers market was very well received alongside the wedding fair, with runners, visitors and couples enjoying the grounds here. The sun shone and the safari tent and arboretum looked stunning with many couples looking around, speaking to suppliers & hopefully getting inspired to hold their wedding here. Thanks to all the suppliers who attended this event!
Amy Lauren Weddings,FAB Bar, Steve the Food Dude, Shelley Wills at Larkspur Ceremonies, Emma Lane Designs, Fran from WildatHeart Tipis, Tim from FloorfillersEntertainment, Sue from Finishing Touches, Ricci from Your Moment Photography, Osh Gosh Gowns, Wilderness Ways, Zoky Saunascape, The Gleeson’s Good Life, Top Farm Enterprises, Bread & Cheese, Heather’s Kitchen,Venison!
Earlier this year during the parkland restoration project we identified several trees that would be suitable to make some benches. These trees were felled, cut to length and taken to Dan Emerson sawmill in Horncastle where they were cut into beams. After a period drying, they were carefully shaped into benches and sanded before positioning in ‘the view’ where many couples choose to have their celebrant ceremony. We love them and they are a beautiful addition to the wedding venue here & are very locally sourced!!
Elsewhere we have been busy mowing, strimming, trimming back grass on the verges, tidying overhanging branches on walks and within the grounds of arboretum and Old Hall Lawn ready for our events & weddings here.
May madness! It’s been lovely to talk and share our venison with you this month – whether you came to the Lincs Makers Artisan Market, Outdoor Festival launch at Gunby Hall, Louth Farmers Market, Waddington Food & Drink Fayre or our Celebrating the Outdoors Open Day at the weekend.
We are now stocking up ready for events at the end of June, although we still have a good range of venison joints including fillet, haunch & sirloin as well as some prime lean mince and burgers available. To place an order for collection from the farm office please ring Tina on 01507 578236
At last we have had some rain! 27mm of rain fell in May with 26mm of this in the last week. Couple this with an exceptionally dry April and we have had crops struggling in the lighter/sandier areas of the farm. These crops have lost tillers on the plant as there was not enough moisture to support more, as each surviving tiller produces a seed head this means less seed heads therefore lower yield. There is a photo of a poor area below.
Spring crops especially sugar beet have struggled to germinate in places but now we have rain they should catch up quite quickly given the warm damp conditions. In the more forward areas of sugar beet we have used a tractor and hoe to pull up weeds that are growing between the rows of beet. This reduces the reliance on herbicides and will pull out any “weed” beet that is growing between the rows.
Our SFI and Countryside Stewardship agreements has been renewed for another year, every year we have to declare what we have done and what we plan to do the following year. This requires some office time and thought as to how best fit in the environmental benefits we bring to the local area and combine this with viable areas of production. These schemes are vital for the financial viability of the farm and fit in well with our regenerative practices going forward.
This is also the time of year where we plan ahead for next year’s rotation, we try not to grow more than 2 crops of wheat or barley in a row before planting a break crop such as Oilseed Rape, Beans, Sugar Beet or Grass. This approach gives higher yields and adds diversity into the rotation, spreads risk and helps spread the workload at harvest as different crops come ready at slightly different times. We are introducing some quality wheat varieties that will hopefully be used in bread making and biscuits if they meet the specification. These require some more attention to grow that a lower quality animal feed wheat but are more valuable to sell.
We have also made our first cut silage that will be used to feed the cattle and deer this coming winter. This is made from a mix of grass, clovers, and herbs in what is termed “herbal ley.” This diversity of species provides more protein and better quality silage. It is not quite as high yielding as a straight grass mixture but requires a lot less fertiliser to grow as the clover fixes nitrogen from the air and puts it into the soil where the other species can use it.
The next big job on the farm will be harvest and due to the weather this spring it is looking like it will be slightly earlier than usual. The preparation for harvest has started by getting the combine serviced and ready to go. Trailers have been serviced and brake tested so we know they are safe. It is vital for farms to be safe especially when everybody is busy and on the road a lot at harvest.
The calving season has begun! So far we have seen about a dozen calves in the mums’ favourite hiding spots of long grass and nettles. Luckily, red deer are very good at giving birth independently but we check the deer enclosures at least twice a day to ensure that all is well with the calving hinds.
We have been struggling with grazing; the lack of rain has prevented grass from growing quite as much as it ordinarily does at this time of year which also hampers nutrition levels. As the historic parkland that is home to our deer is protected we are unable to apply fertiliser to help with grass growth. Thankfully the recent rainfall has helped.
As mentioned on the farming update, our first cut of silage was good quality and we now have over 400 bales stock & stacked ready for the winter. After baling by Fricks the bales were very quickly & efficiently moved by Neve & Jamie before the crows had a chance to peck them & break the wrap and reduce the quality of the feed. Good work team!
Events are a go! We kick off this season with several events both on and off the estate over the next month, alongside the activities taking place as part of the Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival there’s certainly plenty going on for everyone to enjoy….
On Sunday we welcome back to Stourton Woods the Lincolnshire Makers Spring Artisan Market.
These events are so much more than just a fabulous market – with not only a wide selection of Lincolnshire creatives, food producers, makers and artists showcasing their goods in and around the Roundhouse in the woods and you can really make a day of it with:
PLUS a great selection of quality hot food & drink vendors on site so you can enjoy food to eat whilst shopping!
With relaxed music playing throughout the day it is an event for you to relax and soak up the atmosphere. Portable toilet facilities will be provided near the roundhouse and additional toilet facilities are located near the safari tent, a short (& beautiful!) walk up into the arboretum where there are more picnic tables available too.
There is no entry fee for this event, it is £5 per car to pay on the gate for parking (cash please) which goes towards the upkeep of the venue.
Parking is within the field off Clays Lane, we encourage visitors to car share, fill your car & come in groups which represents excellent value for a day out.
We hope to see you here on Sunday!
Saturday 17th May marks the beginning of the Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor festival – a two week celebration of all that the Lincolnshire Wolds has to offer. There are over 90 walks, events and activities taking place – take a look at the www.woldsoutdoorfestival.com to get booked in and enjoy a guided walk, fishing, water sports, cycling, navigation, dancing or even gliding taster sessions!
The festival launches at Gunby Hall with an activity day from 10am – 4pm where we will be with the Stourton stand. It would be great to see you and tell you all about the events at Stourton this season and you can also pick up some of our estate produce!
The day will begin early at 9am with a 5 or 10km trail-run through the grounds organised by Horncastle Runners.
From 10am there will be a mini farmers’ market with top quality, fresh local produce available to buy.
We will be running Farm Safaris so you can take in all that the estate has to offer from the comfort of our accessible tractor and trailer. Make sure you book a slot to see our newly arrived Angus cattle and see if you can spot a deer calf or two!
Wilderness Ways will be in the woods hosting bushcraft sessions so you can learn some key survival skills.
Zoky Saunascape will be here with their NEW wood-fired sauna and plunge pool so after you’ve walked any one of our trails (or run them!) you can relax and unwind and enjoy the views from the Old Hall Lawn. Book your space NOW…
Don’t forget to refuel and relax with tea, coffees and cakes from The Dancing Dungarees and as well as breakfast rolls, hot-dogs and burgers from The Ginger Pig which will be available to purchase and enjoy in the grounds.
In the arboretum we are holding a wedding fair in the safari tent with our Wedding Co-ordinator Amy Lauren Weddings on site with a range of suppliers attending. Pop in and see the options – from garden games, décor options, bell tents, food samples from The Food Dude as well as celebrant services, photography and a DJ on site with our FAB bar team so you can see how the safari tent might look set up for a wedding and talk to them about ideas you have and picture your perfect day here. You could also win 50% off a gown from OSH GOSH Gowns – only available to enter on the day!
Please save the date – it’s going to be a great day!
We have been busy getting visitor ready in and around the estate.
We have levelled and graded the farm tracks so you’ll have a beautifully smooth ride on our farm safaris. We have felled some dangerous trees and have mowed the grounds and trails to look neat and tidy.
We have also harrowed and spiked the grassland. This aerates the soil and reduces compaction which all helps to stimulate grass growth for our deer and Angus cattle.
The exciting new additions have arrived! We have taken delivery of 50 Aberdeen Angus calves, these are a mixture of heifers and steers, they are about 4/5 months old and these will be grazed on our herbal leys from mid May onwards. These are in quarantine in a shed in the farmyard so we can keep a close eye on them and until we have substantial grass growth for them to go out onto. The grazing of cattle on our herbal ley will bring diversity to our rotation, cycle nutrients in the soil through them eating and defecating and add organic matter to the soil. We are aiming to paddock graze them so that they will get fresh grass every day, this is better for the animals as they get fresh food and better for the herbal ley as the plants have a short period of being eaten and a long period of recovery. This system should help consistent growth through the year and good drought tolerance if we get a very dry summer.
When we keep them in the shed over winter we can also spread this manure on some of our arable fields that will add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. All of this will improve our soils and mean we have to buy less inorganic fertiliser for our crops. Keep an eye on social media for turn out when they will see grass for the first time this year!
We have had an incredibly dry spring with just 34mm falling in March and April! The winter crops have managed to keep growing as they have an established root system. Our spring crops of barley and sugar beet desperately needed the recent rainfall we had and has now germinated and emerged. The sugar beet is grown in rows 50cm apart and the spacing between each plant is approx. 16cm. We aim for a plant population of 100,000 plants per hectare, this is the optimum to maximise yield. The next job is spraying the weeds in the sugar beet as they can be very competitive against the beet until it becomes well established.
On the 24th April we hosted the upper Bain chalk streams cluster group – a group made up of local farmers and advisors who meet regularly to discuss ideas about improving water quality in the area. Will Marris from Terrafarmer gave a very informative presentation on regenerative farming and how we can apply these principles on farm.
We discussed different methods of feeding plants, soil structure and how diversity specific herbal leys help the fertility and organic matter in soils. After coffee & the presentation in the safari tent and a brief deer spotting mission(!) we moved to a field of herbal ley. Here a couple of soil pits were dug and the structure and rooting depth assessed to decide on the best management strategy. All in all this was a very enlightening morning with everybody having taken away some useful learning to apply.
We managed to turn out the deer slightly earlier this year to coincide with the sunnier & warmer weather at the beginning of April. Remarkably they all left the roundhouse in an orderly way (for deer!) and they enjoyed the fresh spring air, space and lush grass in their new enclosures (see video below). Shortly after the deer were evicted, we mucked out and power washed the roundhouse so it’s ready for our event season.
The stags new antlers are growing apace & Neve is doing a weekly measurement of these to show just how quickly they grow… more on this soon.
Every animal has had a copper bolus to keep them healthy & the calves will have an additional multivitamin when they next go through the handling centre.
The days are getting longer and its getting a little warmer and you are starting to think about giving your garden some much needed love after a long winter.
We have a range of landscaping products to help you with your garden projects:
Play Bark Chippings– sold in 0.7m3 builders bags these play bark chippings are perfect for creating a soft landing space under play ground equipment, whether in your garden or in a commercial setting. Sold in 0.7m3 builders bags, this is a great product if you have a larger area to cover to the correct depth for maximum safety.
Garden Bark Chippings – Whether you are landscaping your garden beds, laying a chicken run, or drying out a wet area such as a gateway or pathway this product is ideal to help retain moisture and prevent weed growth. Sold in 0.7m3 builders bags, this is a great product if you have a larger area to cover.
Kiln Dried Woodchip – Our small Kiln Dried Woodchip bags are bagged in 15kg or 75 litre bags for easy handling and storage. They are made from pure pine chip which is then graded to 10-30mm in size.
Delivery of your chippings is free if you live up to 20 miles from our farm in Baumber, Lincolnshire. Loose loads may also be available to order.
If you want more information about our landscaping products or to ask about a delivery outside of our free delivery area, please contact us.
We currently have our full range of venison products in stock. From joints and steaks to burgers and slow cooking cuts; why not give our lovingly reared venison a try.
We have a special introductory offer on our hand pressed gourmet burgers – £8 for a pack of 4 and also 15% off our venison haunch steaks – a great alternative to a rump or sirloin beef steak.
To place an order please call the office directly and Tina can arrange your delivery /collection for you.
We’re at Market Rasen Food & Drink fayre on Saturday 29th March and at were Louth Market on Wednesday 26th March with our venison, estate honey, antler dog chews & RG Taylors rapeseed oil. We love attending these events and meeting and chatting with our customers. We hope to see you there!
We are delighted to support the Thermomix / Venison demonstration. You can discover the joy of using a Thermomix and the delicious versatility of cooking with venison – a winning combination! This event is free to attend and takes place between 10.30am -12.00pm on 3rd April in Navenby. To book at space please follow this link
It’s not long to go now until our first market of the year. This is so much more than just a fabulous market – with not only a wide selection of Lincolnshire creatives, food producers, makers and artists showcasing their goods in and around the Roundhouse in the woods but you can really make a day of it. You can enjoy:
PLUS a great selection of quality hot food & drink vendors on site so you can enjoy food to eat whilst shopping! There’s live music and loads of atmosphere!
There is no entry fee or tickets for this event; all we charge is £5 per car to pay on the gate for parking which goes towards the upkeep of the venue. Not bad value for a day out!
For more information please click here.
Fo
llowing the work to update both the inside and garden of Gardeners Cottage we are delighted to welcome a new family to live on the estate at the weekend.
The new roof for the safari tent is now in place. It’s really smartened it back up and will look picture perfect in all of the wedding photos of our couples who have booked to get married here this year.
We have finished chipping & then mulching the timber from Lodge Wood. This marks the end of our 10 year project to re-create the parkland landscape as it would have been in the 1800’s before the Forestry Commission planted low grade pine plantation trees for timber.
It’s great to feel some days where there is warmth from the sun, the crops are all enjoying the early spring weather. March has been a very dry month which has allowed us to get on well with the spring workload. We have been busy applying fertiliser to our winter crops and drilling spring crops this month. Currently we are cultivating our last field to drill sugar beet. The seed bed needs to be very good for sugar beet so we plough and cultivate for this crop more so than for cereals but it is a very good break crop from our mainly cereal based rotation. We are aiming for as much diversity in our rotation as possible as part of our regenerative farming journey so we now have grass, beans, wheat, barley and sugar beet. We are going to try to grow oilseed rape again but this has been a challenge for farmers recently due to a pest called Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle, this pest eats the small leaves as they emerge and don’t allow the plant to grow. There are a few different ways of establishing this crop which can help so fingers crossed this is successful.
The use of technology is important for us to improve efficiency and better use of inputs, with this in mind we are now using a Yara N Sensor, these are sensors mounted on the cab of the tractor and they scan the crop and will change the rate of nitrogen applied. We then have a record of how much nitrogen is applied to each area of the field according to crop requirements. The map shows a field of winter barley and the application rate varied across it.
We have recently purchased a new low disturbance subsoiler which we have used to relieve compaction before planting a crop of spring barley. This works by a leg with a small wing on the bottom to lift the soil profile but as the leg and wing are small it causes very little disturbance on the surface. The lower disturbance a cultivation is the more carbon that the soil retains as when you introduce air into soil it speeds up the decomposition of the organic matter which in turn releases CO2. The main use of this machine will be before we drill a winter crop when we use the Horsch Avatar direct disc drill.
There will be some exciting new additions to the farm in April, we are currently preparing a shed for their arrival…. more on this next month!!
Both Winston and Harry, our stags have dropped their HUGE antlers. This is a completely natural process which takes place during spring. They cast their antlers once their testosterone levels drop. They will begin to re-grow quite quickly and the new antlers will be covered in a furry skin called velvet. The antlers will be in velvet until until August/September when the deer will rub their antlers clean to reveal the harder bony antler beneath, just in time for the rut! In the wild they’d need their antlers to fight for dominance during the rut, not here though – they each have their own group of hinds!
As the weather brightens up the calves and hinds have been poking their noses out of the roundhouse. They will very soon be released into the deer parks. In preparation Neve has been harrowing the grassland to aerate it, this helps to stimulate the growth and makes the fresh growth healthier. It also takes out any moss that might be growing and flattens the mole hills.
For a limited time only we have a great offer on Chunky Wood Chip. This product is great for drying out a wet gateway or on waterlogged ground that needs to be walked on/ driven over.
We’re offering it at £50 per builders bag (0.7 cubic metre) and this includes delivery*. Supply is limited and we are only taking orders over the phone for this. – To place your order please contact us.
Whilst we are now out of our kiln dried logs for the season you can still keep your fires burning (when will it warm up?) with our Willoglow Briquettes.
Made from 100% British Willow!, and with only 8% moisture content, these logs burn with a long-lasting heat output with no additives or chemicals. Each pack contains 7 full size briquettes. They are packed in re-cycled plastic & are easy to modify in size to fit any multifuel stove, open fire, firepit or BBQ and are free from spitting or sparking. This is the perfect product to use all year round.
These briquettes are on offer at just £8.50 per pack. Place your order now.
Work has been well underway to clear, level, patio, fence & seed the garden at Gardeners Cottage. We’d like to thank Sean from Clark Landscaping & Jake from Jake Clowes Garden Services for all their hard work. Already let, the new tenants are hoping to move in on 1st April, where we hope they will quickly make themselves at home.
The recent wet weather caused an urgent emergency repair to the dam around the bottom of the big lake. Thankfully the aggregate bags we lifted in place have knitted together and have stopped the seepage before we organise a more permanent repair!
We are delighted to announce a new product in our venison range. We are soon to launch our hand pressed Gourmet Venison Burgers. Rigorously tested on and approved by the family, these burgers include a new (secret) spice mix. With 100%venison and absolutely no fillers or artificial colours or preservatives these burgers are tasty, healthy and local produce at its very best.
These burgers will be available at Louth market on Wednesday 26th March and will soon be online – in the meantime please phone 01507 578236 to place your order.
We’ve got lots of venison in stock of all cuts and types. To order from the office please contact us and Tina will put together your order for collection from the farm by arrangement or delivery with any logs or landscaping product order.
We have recently gained our VisitorReady accreditation. This shows our customers and visitors that we are committed to running a safe and trusted business. You can be confident that in the background we have ticked all of our health and safety, fire safety and have all the insurance requirements in place before you visit us. Well done Team Stourton!
All of our main events for 2025 are now scheduled. Please visit our events page to put the dates in your diary! However, we are in the process of finalising a very exciting wellbeing experience which will be held on 31st May & 1st June AND we hope to announce a ?brand new event in October – watch this space.
In the meantime, if you run a hospitality business / B&B or have holiday cottages are would like some of our leaflets to share with your visitors please get in touch and we will happily send some out to you.
February has seen the farm start to wake up from the shorter dark days of winter, we have felt some warm days and the start of spring is here. The farm team have been busy applying the first dose of fertiliser to our winter crops as they begin to green up and start to grow. The day length determines how a plant develops so as the days get longer they sense the change and start to look for more nutrition which we give them in two forms, granular and liquid. The granular fertiliser will then be used in the next two doses to give the crops what they need to grow to their full potential. We have recently installed a N-Sensor on the cab of the John Deere which will be used while applying the granular fertiliser, it measures the amount of nitrogen already in the crop via sensors and changes the rate accordingly, this ensures the plant gets what it needs but eliminates over fertilising thus reducing excessive fertiliser in the soil and helps the crops to use the nitrogen we have applied in the most efficient way.
We have also ploughed some more land for sugar beet, this will be planted later in spring, hopefully from mid March onwards depending on weather. Some spring barley has been drilled in good conditions. This barley is grown under a contract to be used for malting, we have to be careful how we grow this to meet the quality that is required of this contract. The issue is mainly nitrogen content so we must be careful not to over fertilise this crop.
We are continuing to feed our wild bird population in the feeders and also they are sheltering and feeding in our areas of Winter Bird seed mixtures that we have planted around the farm. The next month will be busy on the farm as we increase our work out in the fields drilling, fertilising and spraying crops.
We always knew she was destined for stardom and Dotty has indeed proven us right. Waitrose Weekend Magazine is currently featuring an article about how we rear our deer here at Stourton and Dotty and Antony had to get ready for their close up. We’d like to thank Neve for being an excellent handler on the day and, of course, Dotty for co-operating – all it took was some barley.
The less famous parkland deer have been enjoying the slightly warmer spell of weather we have seen in the last couple of days – the sun has even shone quite briefly – so much so that even Harry the normal grumpy stag was prancing around the parks!
The young deer calves are still settled in the roundhouse as it’s not yet warm enough for them to be out in the parks. They are now very used to poking their heads through the bars for their feed.
We are now coming to the end of what has been a very busy logs season. We are still taking kiln dried log orders until the end of February, so if you need some logs to see you through please place your order soon. There will be a short break in deliveries whilst we convert and dry some more timber and deliveries will re-commence on 17th February for our remaining stock.
We’d like to thank you if you placed a logs order with us over winter and we hope that we can help you out with your log requirements in the future.
We are delighted to announce our planned events for 2025. We will once again be hosting Lincolnshire Makers for a spring and summer artisan market and September sees the return of our Food and Drink Faye, following last year’s success.
New for this year is a series of Mini Farmers Markets & Open days being held on the first Sunday of the month from June – October. These will take the form of our usual open days where you can experience all that Stourton has to offer. You can take a 1,3 or 5km walk around the estate, bring a picnic to enjoy in the arboretum or just come and enjoy some peace, quiet and delicious refreshments. This year we are also inviting along a handpicked selection of local producers for a mini farmers’ market. You will be able to buy quality and lovingly created local produce to take home with you. When you visit you will be able to learn about how we look after the land, animals and produce not only to ensure it is top quality but also doing this in the most sustainable way.
Our 2025 events calendar is below. Save the dates!
We are already planning and booking in vendors for our events for 2025 and previous vendors will have heard from Tina already. If you are interested in attending our Food & Drink Fayre as a vendor then please get in touch / apply here.
We have started attending Louth market with our venison on the 4th Wednesday of every month. We had a good first day at Louth Farmers Market on Wednesday 22nd January. We took a range of venison, our honey as well as our ever popular antler dog chews. Whilst it was rather chilly we saw some sunshine (briefly!) and enjoyed chatting to customers about what we do and how we produce venison from the farm.
If you can’t wait until the next market you can buy from us directly. We have a good selection of venison as well as some Winter Warmer Packs in stock which are available to order online. If you’d like a different selection please get in touch & we can make up a pack for collection / delivery.
Delivery of our venison is free if you order another bagged product at the same time or if you spend at least £25 within 20 miles of LN9 5PB. For orders over 20 miles away or if you spend less than £25, additional delivery charges will apply.
We’ll see you again at Louth market on 26th February.
We’re pleased to be able to share details of a property TO LET on the estate. This 4 bedroom detached cottage has been extensively renovated and modernised. Works in the garden are still ongoing but we hope to have these completed very soon. If you are interested in viewing or renting this property please contact Robert Bell & Co estate agency. (hopefully will be live on rightmove soon but particulars attached).
As mentioned in our last news story, work is progressing to replace the safari tent roof which we hope will be completed before the end of March and therefore will definitely be in place and the safari tent looking its absolute best for the start of the new season in May.
On the farm in January we’ve been treated to some extremes of weather! Heavy rain, followed by freezing temperatures and some stormy conditions towards the end of the month. During the heavy rainfall the area of grassland which is part of the Environment Agency’s Horncastle Flood Defence Scheme came into action. This area of grassland is flooded during times of heavy rainfall to help protect the nearby town of Horncastle. As the risk of flooding this area is high we have put it down to grass and this is cut in the summer and made into silage for the deer to eat during the winter. See the picture of the flood defence in action.
Farm activities this month have been getting the rest of the sugar beet up, this is now piled up in the yard awaiting transport to British Sugar in Newark. Remember this is branded as Silver Spoon in the shops so you know you are supporting ourselves and other British sugar growers. We have carried on ploughing this land ready for a crop of spring barley to be planted when temperatures start to warm up and land dries out.
The team have had a couple of outings during January as well. On 15th January Antony and David went to LAMMA show at the NEC in Birmingham, this is a very large machinery show where there was all sorts of farm equipment. We even had to move out of the way of TV cameras filming Jeremy Clarkson and Caleb Cooper for their Amazon prime show!
David and Helen went on an Emergency first aid at work course so we are up to date with the latest advice and Health and Safety requirements. This was a very informative day and will be useful in our everyday lives not just while at work
Jamie, Neve and David also went to John Deere’s UK headquarters near Nottingham to have a look at some old and new John Deere equipment, thanks to Dan at Ben Burgess for organising this. It was a very interesting day to learn some more about their machinery.
We have been completing some drainage works around the yard, getting the combine serviced and ready to go for harvest to avoid the rush later in the year, servicing machinery and we are also having our grain trailers brake tested at a local dealership to make sure they are safe for operation. The farm land work should begin to pick up in February with some land preparation for spring barley and sugar beet being our spring planted crops and fertilizer applications to begin on the winter crops after that.
The youngsters are still w arm and cosy in the roundhouse enjoying feeding on silage through their outer gates. Hopefully it won’t be long until we can let them out into the fields and they can rejoin the herd.
Logs are going out as quickly as we can load them on the van in this final week before closing on Friday 20th Dec. We will aim to keep the kiln running over Christmas to ensure we have plenty of kiln dried logs to go out the first week in January. We open back up on 6th January and our first deliveries will take place on 7th January.
We’re just finishing our tree felling in the woods. Nothing goes to waste here so we are now pulling out timber so that this can be chipped for our landscaping products.
Over the winter we’ve been assessing various parts of estate and its time for the safari tent roof to get a makeover. We’ve been measuring up for a brand new safari tent roof to be fitted in the new year so that we look as smart as can be for our upcoming weddings and events in 2025.
We’re starting to look at our events calendar for 2025. We are planning to open up to the public on a monthly basis, on the first Sunday of each month from May – October. Once the plans are finalised we will be able to let you know more details. Watch this space!
The farm in December is beginning to quieten down for Christmas. We have lifted some more sugar beet so this now leaves us our last 25 acres to lift in the New Year. The team has been busy washing machinery and putting it away until the spring.
At the start of December we began our winter bird feeding in various locations around the farm. Wwe will do our best to get some photos of them being used by actual birds so keep an eye on our social media for these! This helps fill the hungry gap many wild birds experience in mid-winter when there is not much else to eat. The mixture we are feeding consists of wheat, barley, oilseed rape, sunflowers, white millet and canary seed.
We are having an interesting few days this month interviewing students from Harper Adams for the chance to spend a year working here on the estate during a placement year. They will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience of all areas of the estate but, as they will start here in early July, the first job for them will be helping with harvest! It seems quite a long time off during these dark, short days but as farmers we are always planning many months, even years, ahead.
The rest of December has been spent loading grain lorries, of which there have been plenty. We have also had our Red Tactor Audit which I mentioned last month. We are pleased to say we passed! Please support BRITISH farmers by ensuring you buy produce labelled with the Red Tractor, or better still buy directly from local farmers and ensure you know where your food comes from. Food produced in the UK has the HIGHEST quality standards so if you buy local you know you are getting the best quality food with the lowest environmental impact.
We’ve recently taken delivery of 43 more hinds to replace our aging hinds that are no longer producing calves. They’ve settled in nicely and have been busy taking in the sights and sounds of their new home.
Our young deer (this year’s calves) have now been moved into the roundhouse to protect them from the elements. They’ll be kept warm & cosy over winter and will receive a plentiful supply of silage to enjoy.
The stags have been separated and are now enjoying a well deserved rest from their duties..! Fingers crossed they’ve been successful and we can look forwards to welcoming some calves in the late spring/early summer.
We’d like to thank you all for your support over the last year, whether you have attended an event, bought some landscaping products or logs, enjoyed our venison or have simply kept up to date with what we get up to. We couldn’t do it without you.
We will be closed from Friday 20th December until Monday 6th January. Enjoy the break
Antony & Helen
Reared here on the farm, professionally butchered & packaged for us by local butchers and labelled here, we deliver direct to your door in our veni-van across Lincolnshire, freshly frozen venison is also available for delivery nationwide!
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