News
A Northumberland dairy farm is aiming to become cream of the crop - by setting up a quality ice cream parlour with help from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
Wheelbirks Farm in Stocksfield has secured a grant from the fund to help grow its successful Jersey ice cream business by creating the first farm-based parlour in the area.
The parlour will be part of a larger café serving snacks and light meals, and the funding will also help create a shop to sell other products from the farm and from other local quality food and drink businesses in the region.
A new children’s play area has been designed to help put Wheelbirks on the map as a local tourist attraction, and the whole project will build on the educational offer that the farm already makes to schools, youth groups and universities learning about local agriculture and where their food comes from.
Farmers Hugh and Tom Richardson said: “We’re thrilled that RDPE has enabled us to take this project forward on the scale we want to – creating more jobs and expanding our market and infrastructure, along with developing a really high quality resource to help young people get back in touch with where their food comes from.
“Our herd is the last Jersey herd in Northumberland so this is also about preserving knowledge - it’s really important that people can explore Jersey products and see these fabulous cattle, up close, for themselves.”
Gillian Butler, from Newcastle University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, said: “We’ve been using Wheelbirks Farm to help in the teaching of agriculture and animal science for a number of years.
“It’s important for students to experience management on commercial farms, and having the opportunity to see - and sample - on-farm processing of milk into ice-cream is a bonus.”
Redundant farm buildings will be converted to create the new parlour and cafe, which will be able to accommodate more than 40 people and is expected to open next summer.
One North East’s Rural Board Member, Ian Brown, said: “Farm diversification is an important part of RDPE and it’s great to see the fund supporting Wheelbirks in this new venture, particularly given the opportunities it offers to educate young people about farming and rural issues and its potential as a tourist attraction for this part of the county.
“At a time of rising food and fuel costs and the ongoing pressures presented by issues such as climate change and CAP reform, RDPE can help farms explore new ways of generating income and growing their operations for the future.”
Wheelbirks, which has been a dairy farm since 1925, already produces a successful ice cream range. Many flavours are named after the farm’s own cows including ‘Clover’s Strawberry’, ‘Daisy’s Chocolate’ and ‘Buttercup’s Vanilla’.
Wheelbirks has also developed a number of more contemporary varieties including amaretto with honey pieces, wild cherry, chocolate and coconut, blackcurrant, mango, and gin and tonic.
Business Link’s rural account manager Steve Urwin helped the farm to develop its business case for RDPE with financial support from the North East England Investment Centre.
He said: “Wheelbirks has already successfully diversified into the ice cream market and has continued to refresh its produce and services to meet the changes in the market.
“This investment will now help the farm to further diversify and achieve even greater business success.”
The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of delivering targeted support to rural businesses and communities. It is managed in the region by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
The RDPE investment being managed by One North East combines larger projects to help many businesses in different sectors of the rural economy - including bioenergy and land-based skills, and projects adding value to agricultural and forestry products - with smaller investments to help individual businesses to start-up, grow or diversify, and support to develop more sustainable rural communities. Rural community partnerships are shaping how at least 25% of the funding is invested themselves, using the LEADER approach.
For more information on Wheelbirks, visit www.wheelbirks.co.uk
For more information on RDPE in North East England, visit: www.rdpenortheast.co.uk
For more information on RDPE, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/rdpe/index.htm
Ends.
For more information, contact Claire Mason (press office) on 0191 2296429 or 07765220755, or by emailing Claire.mason@onenortheast.co.uk
« Back to list