Spring Newsletter
Updated: 5 days ago
Visit our Open day on 1st June, livestock updates, asparagus and farm shop news, showing success for our Farm School students and more.....
Sheep Racing and Family Fun Day 1st June 11 am - 3 pm
Join us at South Brockwells Farm for our fabulous Sheep Racing & Family Fun Day!
Sheep & Goat Show
Meet our sock lambs and friendly farm animals
Children's Races
Novelty Dog Show
South Brockwells Farm Riding Team Display
Arts & Crafts
Face Painting
Spinning demonstration with our wool
Great food - sausage sizzle and home produced burgers
Pop-up farm shop full of our delicious home grown and local produce
Local beers
Local ice creams
Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite or in the farm shop.
Farm and livestock update
As you have no doubt seen in the news, it has been a tough Spring for farmers across the country. Unfortunately, it has been particularly difficult for us here at South Brockwells Farm as aswell as the constant rain, we have also been hampered by a major gas mains leak on the farm. As a consequence our grazing has suffered and additional work has been created due to having to move our livestock continuously to ensure they have a access to the grazing they need to thrive.
Our fields were so sodden that to prevent our heavily pregnant ewes standing in deep mud we had to bring them in early to the barns . As a result this spring has proved to be very expensive with much more bedding and hay used due to the weather. We are in desperate need of some sunshine!
Despite this, we have had lots of lovely lambs born. As well as our lambs born to commercial ewes we also have native rare breeds - Badger Face, Hebridean, Greyface Dartmoors, Ryelans, Southdown and some part bred Swiss Valais - aren't they gorgeous!
Our goats and their kids are growing well and have been happily munching on hay in the warm barns. We also sold our yearling cows and now have two new calves to rear on. Our piglets are growing like weeds and our sows are due to farrow in late May. We also have a foal due in late May.
Farm shop news
As the days grow lighter and we come to the end of the busy lambing season, we turn our attention to asparagus. We are now open daily from 9 am (10 am on Sundays) for our freshly cut asparagus and all the trimmings!
Our Farm Kitchen grows from strength to strength, providing delicious dishes cooked by our chef Angela Carter. Our menu moves with the seasons. With warm sunny days on the horizon, we are excitedly looking forward to our asparagus season and our delicious spring menu.
Would you like to receive our Farm Shop specific newsletter?
We will shortly be producing a newsletter focussed on the shop and Farm Kitchen - if you would like to be added to this mailing list please click here and let us know if you would like the Farm Shop specific email only or both our quarterly farm newsletter and the Farm Shop edition.
Asparagus update
We are now open daily from 9am (10am on Sundays) for our freshly cut asparagus and all the trimmings! The cold spring has meant that the crop is starting slowly but we are not alone. As soon as the temperatures rise and the beds warm up we will be away. If you would like to place an order please e-mail 24 hours in advance and we will put some aside for you.
Thanks to Phil Winter Sussex Rural Images for this fantastic picture of our asparagus.
Look out for our delicious free range pork and grass reared Dexter beef
We have bred more pigs this year, they enjoy a fabulous free range life wallowing and clearing the ground next to our vegetable patch. We collect waste vegetables from The Sussex Peasant (a mobile Farm Shop) so they eat really well and this winter we have been preparing our own food for them to eat too.
We are excited to announce that we will have our Dexter beef in the shop later in May. It has been several years since we have had cattle on the farm and it is great to have them back. The Farm School children have enjoyed working with them and they bring many benefits grazing alongside the sheep. Grazing sheep and cows at the same time or consecutively increases pasture usage, animal growth rates, and reduces parasite burdens, particularly in sheep.
We have a new direct line for the Farm Shop and a new look too!
If you haven't been in for a while we hope you will like our new look! We have created a cosy seating area in the shop and have magazines and a Sunday paper for our customers to enjoy over a coffee or brunch!
Every weekday you can rest for a while over a freshly ground cup of coffee, hot sausage roll and home made cake. At the weekends we offer delicious brunches - using our home grown produce of course!
As we head into our busy asparagus season, the best way to contact us is via email, as we are not always able to answer the telephone if we are serving customers. However, we have an answerphone so do leave us a message if email is not your thing! Alternatively, you can e-mail farmshop@southbrockwellsfarm.com
South Brockwells Farm Kitchen - Spring Menu
We are excited to announce our spring menu which will be served every weekend between 10 am - 2 pm. Angie creates mouthwatering dishes using our home produced ingredients. Expect asparagus to feature strongly over the coming weeks, together with our delicious home produced beef, lamb and bacon. Have you tried Angie's smoked salmon and duck eggs? Our free range duck eggs, with Arron's home smoked organic salmon, on locally baked sourdough. the perfect way to start your weekend!
Look out for traditional favourites like our Farmer's Ploughmans, Chef Special salad using our freshly picked salads and delicious desserts. Booking is recommended so please email in advance.
Opening Hours
We are now open every day for the duration of the asparagus season (May and June) for our freshly cut asparagus and our shop full of delicious home grown and local produce.
Monday - Saturday 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday 10 am - 3 pm
We serve delicious brunches every weekend from 10 am - 2 pm.
Farm School news - not all learning is done in the classroom!
What a fantastic day we had at the South of England Agricultural Society #SpringLive Pygmy Goat show in April.
With massive thanks to Ruth and Jack from Hale Farm Campsite, we took 10 goats and 9 Farm School students to go and show in the young handlers classes and they did us so proud!
Our students have been preparing for weeks; practicing their handling skills, bathing, lead training, learning key information about their goats and it was all worth it as we came home with an abundance of rosettes and pride in our achievements.
Not only was this a great experience for students to demonstrate their livestock skills, but they also showed great life skills; coping with nerves, being in front of a crowd, communicating and making eye contact with the judge and managing emotions when it doesn't always go to plan (cue naughty goat practising their acrobatics!).
We are thrilled for our students and Hale Farm Campsite Pygmy Goats to have come home with:
⭐️2nd and 3rd place in the Junior Handlers (5-10yrs)
⭐️1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th place in the Junior Handlers (11-16yrs)
⭐️1st, 5th and 6th place in the pet class
⭐️6th place in the female kid class
⭐️5th place in the adult female class
Well done to all our students who came along and a huge thank you to the South Brockwells Farm School Team at both South Brockwells and Hale Farm (including chief Goat trainer Jack), the wider team of parents/carers and professionals who helped make this happen and the team of lovely judges and stewards at the show who welcomed our students and took the time to give us positive and welcomed feedback.
Our newsletter will now be sent quarterly so look out for our Summer edition in the coming months.