Developments at the farm

Spring is in the air and change is afoot at our favourite Highfield House Farm Shop, near Chesterfield, and I'm not just talking about the new arrivals in the flock of sheep.

Spot the turbine on the hillside

We took our usual Sunday drive to the shop yesterday and were delighted to hear about some developments - and find a couple of new favourite foods.

We found Sylvia and David Prince, the couple who run the farm with their son Matthew, holding court in a very busy shop. Sylvia introduced me to their newest employee Richard, who started just a week ago. Business, she told me, is booming, thanks in part to the horsemeat scandal. More people are taking time to think about where their food comes from and butchers are cashing in.

Sylvia and David know where all their meat comes from - and much of it is produced on site. They keep several different breeds of prize-winning sheep - Suffolks, Texels and Beltex - and the rest of the meat is sourced from nearby Derbyshire farms. 

With the lambing season in full swing, David tells us that of the 130 ewes, just 40 are still to give birth. It's a 24/7 lifestyle, with the farmer getting up at the crack of dawn to check on the new mums and employing a man to sit with the sheep throughout the night. Sylvia is called in as "midwife" to help with the difficult deliveries, so it's also very much a family affair.

Lovely creamy yogurt

But it's not just the sheep who have new arrivals at the farm. The Prince family have installed a wind turbine on the hillside beside the farm buildings, which David hopes will generate two thirds of the energy needed to power the farm. And apparently a cafe for visitors is in the pipeline too.

It's lovely to see a local business like this enjoying success, and it's definitely well deserved. Every time we visit Highfield House we come away with some new delight to try. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a brand of yogurt I'd not seen before, made by a company called Ann Forshaw's Alston Dairy, in Lancashire. Admittedly it's a little less local than some of the farm shop's products, but these yogurts are so delicious and creamy that it's hard to believe they're also healthy and probiotic.

According to the firm's website, Ann began making yogurt in her home kitchen after attending a day course at a college in Preston. Ann's family have been farming Fresian cattle for 40 years and now the milk from the cows goes into producing the yogurt, which has won a number of prizes.

We also picked up some strawberry jam that Sylvia told us was made at Highfield House Farm by her son Matthew. And Neil spotted something in one of the fridges that made up both smile. Back in January, when the challenge to avoid supermarkets had only just begun, I blogged about my failure to find cured meat despite trawling the whole of Chesterfield town centre. So we were both amused to spot a pack of chorizo at Highfield House - finally we know where to come when Neil makes homemade pizza! 

Matthew's homemade jam

Long-awaited chorizo

Poached duck egg

We ended our shopping trip by throwing newbie Richard into a tizzy when I asked for duck eggs. I'd already spotted the last half dozen at the side of one of the fridges, but it took him several minutes to locate them and find a box.

"I like a challenge," he joked, as I told him how good they are poached. So here's the breakfast that I made with them, which I think proves that it was worth putting Richard to a bit of trouble!