At long last the sunflower field is open! The wonderful Lauren officially opened our sunflower field on Friday 27th August by cutting the giant ribbon. We received a very lovely email from Lauren’s mom back in April. Tracey explained how Lauren was so pleased that she was able to rescue a bee that she had found on the pavement outside of her house. Lauren and her mom often shop at Becketts for some local honey. We thought it would be lovely for them to open our sunflower field this year. We invite the public to come and visit our sunflower...

We’ve had a full month and a bit now with our Restaurant back open. It’s a slow and steady return to normal and the last 18 months have knocked people’s confidence for sure. We’re trying hard to help build people’s confidence back up, by doing all we can to ensure safe visits to our venue. One example is that our usual Sunday Carvery has been changed to a plated roast. Seeing the carvery become redundant is quite sad in all honesty! It was a real Becketts Farm staple, but I doubt the appetite for food served openly like that will...

Let’s begin with the most important news – sunflower field update! With May heading towards the wettest on record, it is no wonder our sunflower field has taken a battering. Unfortunately, our sunflowers have been attacked by slugs and jackdaw birds. You’ll see from the photos here – a comparison from what the crop looked like this time last year and what it looks like today. This late, cold and extremely wet weather is any farmer’s nightmare, particularly when it affects the crop so significantly. We of course try to prevent the attack of slugs and jackdaw on the fields...

How has April flown by already? As predicted in my last month’s news update, the oil seed rape is now flowering. It’s filling the local area with a sea of yellow. Here you have my official annual apology to any hayfever sufferers out there! It is certainly renowned for setting off a few sniffles. Elsewhere on the farm, we plan to bring back our sunflower field again this year. The field has been ploughed, power harrowed, drilled and rolled. The rain today is welcome, as it will give the freshly planted seeds a nice drink. Wow, how long it seems...

Wow, March has been and gone and it’s almost Easter. Time really flies. Out on the farm it’s finally dried up a bit again so things are beginning to look up. I have mowed my lawns which always makes me feel better mentally, so I’m very happy. There is oil seed rape in the field at my back door, and I saw the first yellow flower last week. Now there’s a scattering of a few of them, and it won’t be long until the sea of canary yellow is back again. Toward the end of April, early-May you can expect...

Hallelujah! The end seems to be in sight and even better, I am off to have my first dose of the vaccine later this afternoon! I often refrain from being political in my monthly news but I am more than impressed with the roll out of the vaccination. I believe it is certainly something to celebrate and shout about and I am all for having a COVID-19 vaccination passport. The most important thing to come from this vaccination programme is confidence. Confidence in the public is what is needed to take us out of this lockdown and lead us forward...

Good god, its ground hog day again. It is a struggle to get motivated let alone motivate the people who work for us. However – today is a new day and a day closer to the happier days ahead. Christmas has been and gone and Santa was wonderful to us all. Lockdown restrictions meant this year was a quieter one for us. The large Turkey turned into a smaller crown but there were still plenty of pigs in blankets. As you will have read in my previous monthly news, I am now a qualified pilot. It was such an achievement...

I begin my news with talking like a typical farmer who moans about the weather, whatever it is doing! It is either too dry, too hot, too cold and this month it has been too wet!! That has not stopped our farming team from being busy though! It is a constant effort to upgrade our farms and last month we invested in some new signage. We have also re-tarmacked Poplars Farm and at the same time we have installed some speed bumps. Interestingly speed bumps come with a mph rating. These are rated 5mph and even at such a slow...

Our sunflower field has now been cut back and cleared in preparation for next year. The reaction from the public this summer was fantastic and so over whelming that we plan to re-plant again next summer and hopefully a bit more. Watch out on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates nearer the time. As we head into the autumn and winter months the next big question is where we go from here? We have already had to cancel our regular Christmas party nights as we see no change in the current guidelines particularly with large gatherings. Peoples perceptions of...

Thank you to those that had the chance to visit our sunflower field. It has been wonderful seeing you appreciate the natural habitat for the wildlife and the beautiful scenery the sunflowers gave. When we first planted the sunflowers in the letters NHS X we didn’t quite think about how high the sunflowers would grow and that the only way for the public to view the letters NHS X was from aerial shots taking via a drone. We will soon be combining the field in preparation for the winter months. We hope to use the seeds as a bird feed...

It is harvest season and as I write this the combine is powered up and harvesting the oil seed rape. The condition of the oil seed rape is not at its best this year. This is because of the very wet weather we had at the time we planted the crop. We have also struggled with flea beetle on the crop. This is a type of insect that feeds from a green on brown plant such as oil seed rape. Plan B for harvest next year is to plant buckwheat amongst the oil seed rape. We hope this will fool...

As you are probably aware by the now, we have been given the green light from the government to reopen our Restaurant doors from Saturday 4th July. The Restaurant team are busily preparing the Restaurant areas. This is to ensure they are safe for both guests and staff on our opening day this Saturday. Things may be a little different for a while, so please bear with us. To help create a safe environment for everyone, we are enhancing our high standards of hygiene even further. Click here for the full safe distancing measures. We are encouraging all guests to...