January 2022 at Stourton

New Year, New Faces!

We’d like to take the opportunity to welcome a new member to our office team!  Tina started with us at the beginning of the year bringing with her a whole heap of experience and is making great progress in learning the ropes….there are quite a few ropes! Tina at the moment is focusing on the co-ordination of log and landscaping orders and is taking the heady task of learning which villages are within the 20 mile free delivery radius in her stride.

We know what you are thinking…. where’s Julie gone? Well, have no fear, Julie is still with us and is going to focus on co-ordinating weddings and private events, an ever growing area of our offering, which also allows her the flexibility to work from home.

Our 2022 Event Plans

We’re planning our programme of events and open days for 2022 with the aim of being open far more regularly than ever before so WATCH THIS SPACE for more details.

Our first event, and marking the launch of the Lincs Wolds Outdoor Festival, is the Outdoor Festival Activity Day on Saturday 30^th April. There will be lots of activities and demonstrations on offer including:

• Children’s mountain bike taster sessions and mini race
• Watching fly fishing in action,
• Learn about native hedgerows,
• Going on a guided short / long walk,
• Deer safaris,
• Meditative dance workshops,
• Bootcamp sessions & lots more….

We will let you know more information nearer the time, for now it is a date for your diary!

Log Orders – Maximum 2 bags per order

Whilst it’s not been extremely cold lately we are v busy with log orders. Therefore we are restricting orders to max 2 bags per customer at the moment,  We would also advise early ordering as current lead time is 1 week from order to delivery.

To place your order please follow this link.

Venison:  a low fat, healthy choice

For those of you who’s new year’s resolution was to try to eat more healthily, have you thought about trying our delicious venison? Low in fat & cholesterol and high in protein & iron our wonderfully flavoured venison is reared in the tranquil surroundings of the estate and woodland.

So whether it sausages, mince, steaks or haunch joints, our full range of venison is in stock in our freezers now. We can deliver directly to your door* and delivery is FREE if you’re within a 20 mile radius by road of the farm.

To see our full range and to place your order please click here.

*£25  minimum spend required

Ferry Ales Brewery join ‘Team Stourton’

We are really pleased to announce that we will be working with Ferry Ales Brewery, a family owned craft brewery who will be providing the bar for all our weddings and private events. Ferry Ales Brewery make such a great bar partner, offering locally made beer, lager and cider on tap with the opportunity for couples to brand their own beer as an optional extra! We’ve also found that many are looking for their guests to enjoy a cocktail and we can now offer (through FAB) a range of cocktails perfect for celebrating with! Cheers!

We’re delighted to be showing our venue to so many couples who are looking for a woodland wedding venue to hold their special day.  There are still a limited number of dates available in 2022 and we are now taking bookings for 2023.  If you would like to find out more about our venue and wedding hire options please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Around The Estate

The team have been spending January, traditionally a very quiet month, converting timber to logs.  They’ve been keeping the kiln going non-stop in order to keep up with customer demand.  The added benefit of excess heat from the kiln is that we divert that heat to keep the farm office warm, nothing goes to waste here.  Please keep your log orders coming!

Deer Diary

The herds are being moved around to maximise the grazing potential and are being treated and separated to get us ready for the last couple of wintery months and to make sure that everything is in place, both literally and nutritionally, before we begin calving season in late spring.

We also thought you’d appreciate a Dotty update.  She is still going strong and still proving to be quite the character. She hasn’t lost her interest in us and still loves a fuss every feeding time.

On The Farm

Well, we’re now well through January. Thankfully the days are now drawing out at a rapid rate of knots.

As mentioned before, on the arable farm we use the winter months as time to recharge our batteries. However we still seem to have plenty going on at the moment!! As I write we are lifting a little more sugar beet, we have a lot more left in the ground than we usually would at this time of year. This is down to a combination of things but largely due to British Sugar opening later than usual and the processing factory having some enormous problems this season. It has been incredibly frustrating for growers and hauliers alike who bear the brunt of the risk involved in not being able to deliver our beet in a timely manner.

Elsewhere on the farm, we have been soil sampling to test for nutrient contents ahead of applying sewage cake. This is applied for a number of reasons but is a really useful import of ‘organic matter’ allowing us to store that carbon in our soils.

With the dry conditions we have also been applying a few ‘top up’ grass seed herbicides to our winter cereals where required, as well as on our oilseed rape crops.

We will soon be applying a sulphur and potash containing fertiliser to all of our winter crops to supply their seasons needs for those two crop nutrients before moving on to nitrogen applications in February. Nitrogen fertiliser is certainly focusing the mind this year as we are currently paying up to 3 times more than the usual cost of this incredibly important crop nutrient.

Please pop the Outdoor Festival Activity Day in your diary and we look forward to seeing you later in 2022.

Antony & Helen