Starring Poseur and Cameron

With the second Bowhouse Food Weekend now over, thoughts have turned to the Christmas food weekend. Held over 9th and 10th December, there is much planning to do with the focus on a mix of food and crafts/gifts. The new layout, extending street food into the lean-to at the back of the farm was a success and it gives us the opportunity to get a few fire pits and roasted chestnuts on the go. Our Shorthorn Bull, Poseur, was a big hit at the September market and so he may have to don antlers and a sleigh for the next one.

The brewery equipment arrived at Bowhouse as part of the new venture with East Neuk Organics. With the licenses applied for and while we wait for the installation team to do their thing, work has begun with Stephen and Lucy on creating the test brews. We hope that when our barley comes out of its dormancy period, the quality will be suitable for the first batch. The borehole at Bowhouse now has a wooden shed over the well head, which houses the pump equipment in order to supply the brewery with water from the 80m-deep aquifer.

Our Indian summer must still be on the way. Progress with autumn planting is unusually slow and we still have a couple of fields of straw left to bale. With only the odd dry day between multiple wet days, it looks as though the baler is safe again for a week.

After the bumper summer grass growth and with silage pits full, the hay stack is bulging and potential is for more grass than livestock again next year. Dave, Ally and Ross have been busy in the sale rings of livestock marts around the country. They have purchased new breeding sheep, fattening lambs and weaned calves. All organically produced, as they will be sold when we have completed our organic conversion.

The Kinneuchar Inn has now closed the doors for renovation works to begin. It is with huge thanks to Kylie, Jen, Charlie, Callum and the team, that they have managed to keep all of the plates spinning over the summer. We await a decision on the planning application to enlarge the dining area, change the bar layout and convert the ground floor of the adjacent house into further seating. This will provide a more relaxed and comfortable space for diners, without losing any of the charm which the Inn has been well known for centuries.

Our first Rural Skills apprentice, Cameron Betts is now sharing is experience with his new employer in the Scottish Borders. Cameron has completed his Level 2 Rural Skills qualification with flying colours and we wish him well in his new venture. As part of the LANTRA qualification, the organisation that delivers training to the rural sector came out to film Cameron on site. An interesting experience, trying to demonstrate 15 months of work in 2 hours.