J“- “
Rural Life: Keep the bird feeders
f El 2C
', :4r
W P " ’’ V '
wir< J ■ come.
■ counltyforitsspectacu- lar snowfall for years to ' ;■
in many arts of the any pi
, Wliere I live no one had seen snow like it for
20 years. V--; The conn-
tiyside is,!?.;/:
looked magi- ’ cal, but sadly ;i
would have made the difference between too along with the arrival of the spring Last year 1 saw my first bluebell of the
feeders and bird baths; kept ice-tree really
many of our small er birds and other . wildlife will have per ished in the freezing tern- peratures. Well stocked
e-free really too, because those garden birds that did
Great spotted woodp^er Dendrocopus major, ata ne^ hole.
lifeanddeathformanyofourgardenbirds. flowers. Keep those feeders well stocked now.
year at the end of March and the woods
survive the harsh conditions will be prepar- were already full of wood anemones and ing for the breeding season. The Great wild garlic. Spotted Woodpeckers are having drum- ming competitions in my local wood, the
robins are singing their hearts out and the next month. house sparrows are prospecting possible
seeoui We stock a wide range of top brand accessories ^ appliances * v : |u ) ' For Illustration purpose only
This is a truly wonderful time of the year so enjoy it and I look fonvard to seeing you
Kate Blacidtird Turdus menila collGcfang nest materials “ ^ ~ For more information about garden birds and other wildlife and what to do in your gardens
visitwww.rspb.org.uk w .
2BRUARY (2009 will be : remembered
nest sites under the eaves of the house. Blackbirds, one of the earliest of our gar den birds to breed, are already gathering nesting material..
This is also a time of year when we wdl be .
out in our gardens again. Now the ground has thawed its a good time for planting trees and your hard work will be accompa nied by beautiful birdsong. Towards the end of
this month, listen out for the unmistakable call of the cuckoo, a true sound of spring, and to further lift the spirits you might also see a lone swallow, the first of many that will start to arrive in April.
Bees should start to appear again soon
March. 2009
The Archers isn’t the only ^soap’ in agriculture - CLIVE LEIGHTON talks to a farmer’s wife who aims to clean up.
From IT to real life soap star
THERE can’t be many farming fami lies who look back on the last foot and mouth outbreak as a springboard to a
brighter future. Things looked bleak in summer 2007 for
Andrew and Dorthe Pratt on their Cumbria farm at Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales
National Park. Married for only three years and with tod
dler Ella to provide for, income prospects for the pair looked grim at their 120 cattle and 700 sheep hill farm. Andrew - a third generation Sedbergh
farmer - had worked with his father since he was 16. In 2005, the couple took over the farm and needed a new revenue stream -
and fast. Dorthe (pronounced ‘Door-de) takes up
the story: “I have always suffered with se vere eczema and have spent thousands of pounds on products labelled ‘for sensitive skin’. I’d long wanted to create sldn prod ucts for myself, so I started experimenting. “After much product development, the
first batch was made with home-grown lemongrass and lavender and I had finally created beautifully fragrant soap that did not irritate my skin. “Then Andrew had an idea: why not have
a stall on the local market? So on June 13, 2007,1 set up a tiny table - and sold out. “Two shop owners asked if I
did wholesale: ‘We do now’, 1 thought.” And that was the start of Sedbergh Soap Compa ny.
Since then, Dorthe, has
shared her products with other eczema, psoriasis and dermati tis sufferers. “We started the business with £40 and, with free
space in an outbuilding the ini tial outlay was small. We now
Nateby Works • Longmoor Lane • Nateby * Garstang • Preston Tel: 01995 606311
have 50 stockists and supply lu.x- ury hotels and B&Bs. “We have over 100 products ■
and are launching a new Baby and Toddler range this month. We have invested in new equip ment and are converting part of the shippon (cowshed) into a , .
workshop with packing facility,” said Dorthe.
Quite ajourney for the high-powered Danish businesswoman, who once worked
_ •
in the officeofanlT company. - “The operation was closed and 1 was
given a choice: take redundancy or mow to
England. My boss said ‘vie need some fiery blood’over there’, so that was it. I was Busi
ness Development Manager which meant foreign travel and being part of a yo™g, fast-paced company where 1 worked a 60-
hour week. “ In 2003, a friend invited me to her wed , ,
ding in Sedbergh. I arrived in this tiny and thought‘do people really live here. ^ Andrew was an usher at the wedding and 1
SOAP COMPANY SEDBERGH J - in demand - shops and hotels are
ringing all the time. Sales and businep de velopment was threatening to drive the
• “Ella is at playgroup some days and sees ’’i . i - - n r n o - W P . V p. trVinCtO
■ “I didn’t move to Cumbria to go back to a 60-hour week, so I don’t do it all myself. An drew helps and I have a girl \yho works near ly full-time, plus other casuals and I work with a marketing agency.. _
business too fast. . . . . „
. 1 ■rublesasastoragearea-we’retjyingto reclaimthe house before baby number two f
olentv of dad on the others - farming has its benefits,most fathers aren’t around in the dav Like a lot of small businesses, my house
arrives
thought ‘what a lovely guy - but he s a farmerl’ I never imaged myself as a farmer s wife, but a month or so later we were en gaged and we married in 2004.” Dorthe describes herself as ‘naturally dri
ven’. “We’re really well matched,” she said, “I’m fiery and full of energy and if Andrew were any more laidback he’d be horizontal.
“ I want the business to become success ful, but not so huge that it affects our bal ance as a family. We have a product
ness? Clean sweep-Dorthe Pratt.
So what is the secret to growing a busi ,
“If the motivation is just to make money, -
you can forget it. You need to work hard ^ and be passionate about what you do. We re very lucky, because I developed the prod ucts essentially for myself, customers trust me and the perception and reputation of the business has so far been bigger than the
business itself.” years?
So where will they be in five Dorthe said: ‘ICustomer feed
, . ■
back is wonderful, it keeps us fo cused. Knowing we can make a difference to somebody’s life is a real privilege. I’m always asked when I’ll open my own shop - 1 can see that happening but not right now; the family comes first. “We haven’t had to borrow money or rent space - the reces
sion shouldn’t be a problem. Peo ple are more discerning, quality IS beginning to count.
^
“We’ve grown organically - 95 per cent of our growth has been
via word of mouth. We have cus tomers who recommend us to shops, and shops who recom mend us to customers. We al
tion leads to a new stockist.”
ways give a gift when a recommenda ,
With a little luck (and a lot of hard work)
the business is likely to outstrip the farm as the main source of income. So how does third-generation farmer
^ ^ .
Andrew feel about that? “I see it as a bonus,” he said. “Tlie soap company is ef-; fectively another grant and, if it keeps us , farming here, great.”
One of the original soaps Dorthe pro- ;
duced is Farmer’s Hands. So how do hardy - farmers react to being offered skin care.
products?
“Tliey love it,” said Dorthe. Anyone m , '^;;if;yStandsirow:^^^^^^^^
' - ; , — • . ■ ^j^es of year from , V 2 d
LEFT: Family affair-Andrew, Dorthe and daughter Bla. [All photos; Wayne Hutchinson of
wm.famHmages.co.uKl
.. . . . m
sheep’s feet and silage. Farmer’s Hands is a bit quirky - abrasive - so it gets rid of the smell and dirt but is kind to the skin. It keeps selling - and keeps the farmers’ wives
‘Tft ironic, because when we were first
married I told Andrew ‘I don’t do smelly jobs’, and here I am running a soap busi
ness.” • This article originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of the NFU magazine,
British Farmer and Grower, North West edition, and is reproduced with permission of the editor. Photos: Wayne Hutchinson of
www.farm-images.co.uk
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