| Westnorth Manor Farm has been part of the Duchy of Cornwall estate since the early 1950's. As with most other farms in the country at that time it had the 'traditional' mix of pigs, chickens and cows with crops of corn and potatoes and an orchard growing apples for eating and making cider. The latter half of the last century saw radical changes in farming practice and Westnorth was no exception. By the early 1990s over 100 head of cattle grazed the 260 acres, with the orchard grubbed out to make way for grass production.
Over the last fifteen years a 'reviewed' style of farm practice has been introduced - not only for the good of the farm itself but also for the wildlife and environment. Working with the Duchy, new woodland areas have been planted, hedges have increased in height to provide shelter for wildlife and windbreaks created to provide much needed protection. Areas of non-intensive cultivation are only periodically grazed, allowing wild flowers to establish themselves to benefit butterflies, insects, animals and birds. The farm received a gold award under The Duke of Cornwall's Habitat Award Scheme in 1996.
Cider making and farming go hand in hand. It had been common practice for centuries for farmers to give up a small field close to the buildings to plant with cider, dessert and cooking apples. The fruit was used in the house and to make the cider that fuelled (and in part paid for) the labour force. The best trees were often singled out to produce the farmer's own cider - a better quality product than was served in the fields. Any surplus was sold providing welcome additional income for the farmer.
Cornwall may not immediately be recognised as a cider making area but, like all rural areas, it has long practised the art. The county once boasted extensive orchards however these had reduced to small or isolated pockets of trees hidden away, often neglected, unproductive and unprofitable. The Cornish Orchards Project of the 1990's helped with the restoration of old orchards or advised on planting new ones with old varieties. Local nurseries were commissioned to propagate over 60 varieties of apple tree, all traditionally grown in Cornwall. This was an ideal opportunity for the orchards on the farm to be replanted.
In 1993, over 200 trees were planted next to the farm house in Keepscombe. The following year another field (Church Park) was set aside for further planting, then another one (Above Lane). Now we have over 15 acres of the farm planted up with 1,300 trees at different stages of maturity and production.
The first sizeable crop came in 1999. It was wonderful to see hard work bearing fruit but it brought its own set of problems. You can only eat so much apple pie and even eating 'an apple a day' was not going to use up the crop. Apart from feeding it to the cows, some use fneeded to be found for it.
Cider and apple juice were the obvious choices. And across the county thousands of trees that had been planted under the same scheme were also bearing fruit. Before long, from the backs of Land Rovers and Estate cars, horse boxes and farm trailers in rolled Ellison's Orange, Beauty of Bath, Cornish Longstem, Tommy Knight and Colloggett Pippin. Fresh picked under ripe fruit gave a sharp, clean juice. Apples that were ripe or over ripe produced a smoother, more mellow result.
To our delight the juice kept the characteristics of the original apples that were pressed and blended. However, many of the old Cornish varieties of apple are dual purpose, but the bitter sharp characteristics of cider apples can overshadow the traits of the individual or carefully blended and balanced combinations of juice. So after apple juice, we moved onto cider and now we produce up to nine varieties of apple juice and five of cider a year. We take all the fruit made available to us within the county and source harvests from throughout the West Country.
Not only is it satisfying using our own fruit, but being able to provide a source of income to farmers whose old orchards can still produce a crop is wonderful.
Over the last few years, we have been lucky enough to gain recognition for our apple juices and ciders including a number of Taste of the West Awards, highly commended in the Waitrose Small Producer Awards 2004 and most recently a bronze in the Great Taste Awards for our Mulled Apple Juice. The emphasis on the farm may have changed, but the challenges (and rewards) of working with the countryside remain.
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