Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster

24/07/2024

🦇 Talking Bats with Nick Tomlinson

The Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster met last night for a fantastic BBQ at Higher Brimley Coombe Farm where we were spoilt rotten with a sumptuous BBQ and a chance to all catch up with our neighbouring farmers.

We were then treated to a fascinating talk from the very knowledgeable Nick about all things Bats - Both here in the UK and abroad. We got to take a look at some real specimens and even smell some bat poo, before all heading outside after sunset with some bat detectors and spotted at least 3 varieties flying around the farm that evening.

Overall a fun and educational evening and we’ve all left wanting to plant more hedges for our flying mammals!

10/06/2024

Some more snaps from yesterday’s packed day of agricultural fun!

09/06/2024

Open Farm Sunday 2024 - what a magical and awesome day!

1200 people came through the Bugler green gates and took part in the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster’s second Open Farm Sunday.

Discover Farming had everything from milking a cow to birthing a cow, jigsaws on pigs and jigsaws on cows, butter making and wheat grinding.


We had displays from

The great people from and came to share their knowledge and how they work with our farms.

We had sheep, we had cows and food! Oh the food.
☕️ Hot coffee from Coffee XT
🥘 Caribbean Chicken from
🍔 Smashed burgers from
🧆 Pheseant and Venison from .gametruck
🍦Icecream from

There are just so many people to thank!
for all their support
for the initiative
for lending us their land and tractors

But of course to all our amazing volunteers! Everyone from the tractor drivers and trailer speakers to parking stewards and health and safety officers all generously donated their time to make today so special for us all.

Thank you to all for coming and taking part!

08/06/2024

Tomorrow’s the day!

We are really looking forward to Open Farm Sunday tomorrow, where our team will be supporting friends and clients from the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster and The Melplash Agricultural Society at this event nr Beaminster ☀️ 🚜👩‍🌾

There are tractor and trailer rides for you to enjoy!

You will find us with the dairy cows at Knowle Farm, and we hope to answer any questions you may have 🐄🩺

08/06/2024

OPEN FARM SUNDAY IS TOMORROW!

Are you coming?

Here are some of the highlights from last year.

And this year we have Discover Farming Featuring ‘Dairy area’, activities for all the family, advice on Careers in the countryside and how to become an apprentice as well as displays from Dorset Wildlife trust and the Butterfly Conservation.

In the main courtyard:
Tea, coffee & Ice cream
Food Court featuring and .gametruck
Picnic Tables and seating area
Sheep and Goats
machinery Play and display
a tour of the Grain drier

And you can jump on a tractor trailer tour to Knowle Dairy Farm:
see how cows are housed, fed and milked
Milking demonstration from 2pm
calves and feeding
Milkshakes from Muller

03/06/2024

Discover Farming at Open Farm Sunday

One of our key collaborators on Sunday is who work so hard to help educate young people about this agricultural world and to inspire the next generation of farmers.

Here are some pictures from last year’s open farm Sunday.

This year the team will return with milking a cow, grinding wheat, giant pigsaw and so much more!

01/06/2024

🚜 Tractor Trailer Rides at Open Farm Sunday

Guests will be able to hop into one of our 5 trailers for a fun and informative trailer ride through fields, down hedged avenues and to the Dairy where milking will take place and calves are fed.

STOP 1: ARABLE
Jump off the trailer and take a look at growing crops, soil health and carbon footprinting and how machinery works on the land..
There will be a baling demonstration as well as live ploughing, ground preparation and drilling of maize

STOP 2: THE DAIRY
Guests will be given a tour of the milking parlour, talked through the cycle of a dairy cow and also where it all starts in the calving units. There might even be a chance to feed a calf!

29/05/2024

🍔 Food at Open Farm Sunday 🍦

We’ve got an absolute treat - or should I say treats! - lined up for our Open Day.

are coming to do their mouth watering plates such as Caribbean chicken and Persian Fusion
gametruck will be selling hearty game dishes

Grill Em All Burgers are serving up breakfast sandwiches and meaty burgers

Coffee XTC will be there to provide refreshing hot drinks

will be selling soft drinks from and ice cream from

It’s going to be a great day! Watch this space for more of what’s coming up in just 1️⃣2️⃣ Days!

27/05/2024

So glad the Synergy Farm Health team are joining us on 9th June

Putting farming centre stage 🐄🐏🚜👩‍🌾

We are really looking forward to Open Farm Sunday!

We are delighted to be part of this event nr Beaminster on Sunday 9th June, with friends and clients from The Melplash Agricultural Society and the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster.

All over the UK farmers are opening their gates as they firmly believe that the public need to connect with where their food comes from.

Synergy are supporting by being present at events across our area, helping visitors to
🚜connect with farmers & the countryside
🦋learn about farming with nature & food production
👉inspire the next generation

15/05/2024

We’re so happy to be working with the The Melplash Agricultural Society again this year on that great day out!

We are just over 3 weeks away from Open Farm Sunday on 9th June 2024. A fantastic event celebrating all things farming. This year it will be held at Francis Buglers DT8 3PP in conjunction with Cooper-Dean Estates, Knowle Farm and

https://www.discoverfarming.co.uk/news/open-farm-sunday-sunday-9-june-beaminster-dt8-3pp/

15/05/2024

OPEN FARM SUNDAY 2024
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Join the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster, the Cooper-Dean Estate Knowle Farm and the Melplash Agricultural Society for a day of fun on the farm at Francis Bugler Ltd in Beaminster.
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There will be tractor trailer rides, animals, farm machinery and lots of displays and demonstrations showing the diversity of life in the countryside and where our food comes from.
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We have food trucks lined up as well as Baboo Gelato Ice cream amongst other tasty treats.
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This is a great FREE family day out.
Open 10am - 4pm Sunday 9th June.
at Francis Bugler Ltd, Broadwindsor Road, Beaminster, DT8 3PP


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28/03/2024

Today we joined the team in their classroom at for a visit from Sir Ed Davey.

The Lib Dem leader came to hear about the work Discover Farming do to educate children on all things farming, and how they do so by working with the schools’ curriculum.

The MP, joined by Dorset’s candidate, Edward Morello , listened to Discover Farming organisers William Bowditch and George Streatfeild before taking a tour of the Farm Shop with Simon Holland.

17/01/2024

Talking Orchards!

A great kick off to the year for the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster. We had a great talk from Prof Tom Brereton about the birds and insects that live and help our Orchards grow and flourish. Although the number of Orchards in the UK have diminished massively in the past 100 years, they are now slowly on the increase.

Then followed by Nick Poole who runs the fantastic west Milton Cider Co. He told us about the ancient UK apple trees, the different ways orchards are planted and even gave us some samples of a variety of his ciders.

And we have exciting plans for our upcoming events that we shared with group. Keep and eye out!

22/11/2023

We had a super steering committee meeting last night and we’re now full of great plans for 2024!

We then joined with the wonderful team that make Discover Farming what it is and in congratulating them on not only another fantastic year of educating young people about farming, but their part in the KAVS (King’s Award for Voluntary Service) being awarded to the

What a wonderful collaboration between the and and they deserve this recognition

07/11/2023

🌳 SFI Hedges Management Explained

This evening the Marshwood Vale Cluster gathered to listen to the Hedgerow enthusiast, John Calder, on how farmers can record and manage their hedges for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This useful breakdown of the rules and guidelines in the latest government scheme will spur on more of us to apply and thereby encourage the below work on our farms, as well as receive funding to assist with land management and diversification:

🏞️ maintain and strengthen the contribution of hedges to landscape character

🦔 🪺 provide shelter and nesting cover, as well as flower and berry food resources for insects, birds and mammals

🌅 increase resilience to climate change and contribute to improving local air quality

🐄 provide shelter from wind and the elements for livestock and crops, which can help improve productivity

🪲 form part of an integrated pest management approach

Huge thanks to John for taking the time to explain, to Nick from for arranging, for the excellent food and for hosting

06/09/2023

🦋We had a wonderful day learning more about butterflies and how they help our farms and wildlife by pollinating- and we can’t forget about moths! The nighttime butterflies who pollinate 5x as much!

An underrated insect indeed!

Huge thank you to the Butterfly Conservation for a very educational walk around

22/07/2023

The Cluster doing what it does best - sharing knowledge!

Some members of the Marshwood Vale Farmers Cluster gathered yesterday evening to learn more about the Government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and how we can make the most of this. Huge thanks to the knowledgable Ben from Pearce Seeds who broke down the 100 page document to something more bitesize and relevant to the farmers of the Marshwood Vale.

And thanks to for providing the venue, and much needed beer and burgers after!

02/07/2023

🪲The Marshwood Vale Cluster are very excited to host the fantastic Claire Whittle who will share with us her knowledge on how dung beetles play their part in regenerative farming

12/06/2023

OPEN FARM SUNDAY 2023

What a wonderful day we had! These pictures don’t cover all that was going and all those who were part of it - but it’s a snapshot of the activities, animals, people and vibe of the day.

Thank you everyone who came - you were fabulous guests and we loved meeting you.

And a HUGE THANK YOU to our volunteers who made it all possible and made everyone feel so welcome.

And a final thank you to the organisers and contributors

09/06/2023

🍦Food and Drink at Open Farm Sunday coffee🧋

We’ve got an excellent selection of refreshments this weekend:

☕️XTC Coffee will have their fab trailer and will be supplying freshly roasted ground coffee

🥘 Yum Luscious: Giles and his food truck is a regular at Coppet Hill. He’ll be serving Malaysian Chilli and the classic Persina Fusion

🍖 The Smoke Hut Kitchen will be firing up their grill and cooking smoked brisket, pulled pork and lamb rolls

🫖 The Coppet Hill Purcombe Barn Tea Room will be serving and cake as well as ice cream and sorbet.

08/06/2023

Come on over to Coppet Hill and say hello!

Did you know this Sunday is LEAF Open Farm Sunday? 🐖🐄🐑🐓

It’s the farming industry’s annual open day and offers a fantastic chance to discover real farming first-hand and see for yourself how food (and much more besides) is produced.

Plus it’s a great way for farmers to shine a light on what they deliver and why supporting British farming matters.

There are 6 farms in Dorset opening their doors this Sunday! Find out all the details in our Events Calendar:

https://dorset.mumbler.co.uk/event/leaf-open-farm-sunday/

Open Farm Sunday Gutchpool Farm and B&B Gold Hill Organic Farm Shop Kingston Maurward College Marshwood Vale Farmers Open Farm Sunday 2023

07/06/2023

🚜 Tractor Trailer Rides!

Our tractors & smart open sided trailers will be taking regular tours of the farm throughout the day.

📍Starting at the car park, where we will begin by driving past the newly drilled sunflower field and plots of 15 year old woodland

🌸🌼 Then driving past a strip of wild flowers planted to encourage bees, birds and insects, which in turn feeds more owls and kestrels like the ones nesting in the nearby barns.

🌲🌳 The tour then takes a drive through a newly planted woodland of 3000 trees

1️⃣The first jump off stop is an agricultural educational area next to some herbal lay and where you can ask local farmers about soil health and the pros and cons of ploughing.

Guests can then walk or hop on the next trailer to stop no 2

2️⃣ Pigs and Ice cream 🐽 🍦
Where visitors can meet our two Saddlebacks and their newly born piglets, and buy a refreshing ice cream for the next leg of the tour.

3️⃣ Stop 3 is at the Barn Owl Buildings where there will be demonstrations and presentations from a variety of people and organisations including Dorset Wildlife Trust, Bee Keepers, h**p growers and those who use it for building eco friendly homes, hedge layers and many many more.

You can then take a walk to our beautiful pond with an island of wild flowers, ducks and a stunning view of the Marshwood Vale, before heading back to the Purcombe Barn for some amazing food from and , cup of tea in the tea room, talk to the Discover Farming Team and climb inside a tractor.

06/06/2023

👩🏻‍🌾Discover Farming at Open Farm Sunday

🐄 Inside the Purcombe Barn, Discover Farming are all set up ready to explain milking in the dairy area, how to make butter or even calve a ‘cow’.

🌾 Other activities for younger people include constructing a barn, completing animal jigsaws and grinding wheat.

There will be a team discussing careers in the countryside and how to become an apprentice.

🚜 Kids (and adults!) will also be to climb into a tractor at the Machinery display with farmers explaining what the machines do and how they work,

🍦before stopping at the tea room for a cup of coffee and an ice cream or cake.

13/04/2023

WHAT’S ON:

🚜 FARMING ACTIVITIES:
🌾Demonstrate growing crops, Soil health, how to create a healthy soil
🌾There will be a static machinery display allowing access onto them

🐮LIVESTOCK
Jersey cows, Portland and Dorset Horn sheep, Saddleback pigs chickens and pigmy goats all on display and some to pet. 🐝Beekeeping demonstration

👩🏻‍🌾Careers in the Countryside
• Melplash Agricultural Society’s scholarship team will talk about the countryside career opportunities.
Discover farming
• A range of farming activities for younger people get hands-on experience

🐴Countryside management
• Demonstrations on how farming is becoming environmentally sustainable whilst feeding the nation.
• Hedge laying
• The role of woodland and how to manage it
• Displays from Dorset AONB, DWT, FWAG, Bridport Bird group, Wessex Water and many others.
Rural Skills
• Spinning, uses for h**p, wood craft

11/03/2023

Discover Farming will be with us at our Open Farm Sunday!

Discover Farming’s purpose is to help young people find out more about farming and the careers available in agriculture and inspire a new generation into the industry.