48


photography by Tim Scrivener


HOME GROWN HERD AT WHITSAND


An increase of almost 10 fold with no bought in replacements and a strong desire to keep moving the business forward are driving Cornwall member Peter Blake and the Whitsand herd to the next level.


P


eter and his wife, Sarah, set up the Whitsand herd at Stone Farm Whitsand Bay, Torpoint, Cornwall with 37 of his late father’s commercial cows on 100 acres in September 1997. Through hard work and a clear focus on moving forward and never standing still, Peter now runs 350 cows on 800 acres of owned and rented land. “A business must always be moving forward. The current issues dairy producers are facing mean there is an even


greater focus on tightening up the business. And despite the issues, I still feel it’s necessary to make investments to ensure the business isn’t left behind,” explains Peter.


This mind set has meant that he took over a neighbouring farm in September this year. “An opportunity arose for land closer to the steading and also a chance to be almost completely self sufficient.”


The herd has grown from the original 37 cows through the


Peter moved to 100 acres at Stone Farm in 1997 with 37 cows.


Stone Farm is only 300m from the coast in South East Cornwall.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108