Generations of compassion and care

We all want to do our bit for the planet but sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming. In her new series for 2020, KATE HASKELL talks to people and businesses doing their best to make it easier to live The Green Life. This month: Mary Quicke, MBE, of Quicke’s Cheese

- KATE HASKELL

Mild, mature and sometimes a little gooey; whatever your preference when it comes to cheese there is no doubt it is a staple part of many menus (dietary intolerances aside of course).

Personally, I could happily live on French bread, a good scoop of salted butter and suitably mature slice of cheddar for the rest of my days. But there is a concern that cows are not good for our environment which is how I get to talking to a Member of the British Empire about cow burps!

Mary Quicke, and her farm which produces Quicke’s Cheese, is known throughout Devon and beyond. What perhaps you don’t know, however, is the time, thought and passion that is put into that slice of cheese you pick up from your local deli counter.

Home Farm in Newton St Cyres has been nurturing the land since 1540 and the 14 generations of family since have all farmed in a very similar way, as Mary shares with me: “We do things as they used to be or rather as they should be. Our cows are grazing-based, getting most of their diet from grass.

“We have also adopted a technique from New Zealand which allows us to harvest that grass effectively. We measure the grass rate so we can put the right number of cows into the right area and that way the cows harvest more grass.”