Every cloud has a silver lining. Although it would be crass to apply this most trite of clichés to the Covid-19 pandemic, there are flashes of brightness that have broken through the gloom.
Oliver Lee’s Hownow Dairy, a two-year-old ‘cow-to-cup’ organic milk delivery business in South Devon, has exploded in size since the crisis began.
“We doubled the business in a fortnight, and it’s still growing,” says Oliver, 27. “At the beginning of March we were a growing little business, working hard on gradually increasing awareness and adding 10 new customers a week. Covid-19 came along and, because we went into lockdown, people wanted home deliveries and we had the network.
“The first week we did 25 new deliveries on top of the 275 we already had. The week after we added 200. Now we’re at 700.”
Oliver admits that he had “a brief panic”.
“But I had a five-minute breather, and got on with it — more cows, more grazing, more delivery drivers.”
Oliver rents his cows — pedigree Ayrshires — from the man he calls his mentor, Russell Ashford, for whom he worked for four years.
“I rang him and said I needed 10 more cows tomorrow,” laughs Oliver, who has 40 acres at Ladywell Farm in South Hams, enough for 40 cows, and he quickly rented another 56 acres from a neighbour.
Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
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Denne historien er fra June 2020-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
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Tip the light fantastic
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The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
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A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
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Buying on a tight budget
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Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century
