About Us
Marwood Milk
Marwood Milk is located on Chapel Farm just north of Barnstaple in the beautiful North Devon countryside on a dairy farm run by us, Jamie and Clarissa Vanstone. We have been farming here since summer 2018 and in April 2022 we started selling our milk direct to the public, which was always a dream of Jamie's!
About Us
The Farm
We are council tenants on Chapel Farm, meaning Devon County Council are our landlords. We farm 248 acres of land, all used to grow grass for the cows to graze whilst its fresh, or to be cut and preserved as silage for feeding through the winter. The cows are out as much as the great british weather and ground conditions allow, typically early March through to end of October. When the cows are housed they are fed straight from the silage clamp with the grass thats preserved during the summer months and they rest in cubicles. We run a fairly simple system and try and maximise the milk production from the grass we grow on farm.
The Ladies
We have a herd of 120 pedigree Fleckvieh cows which produce the rich creamy milk we sell. The cows are out grazing grass for as much of the year as the weather will allow, typically 9 months of the year. We milk the cows twice a day and then gently pasteurise the milk to keep as much of its natural feel and flavour as possible whilst killing off any harmful bacteria. The milk will also be un-homogenised, meaning if left undisturbed the cream will settle on top!
We also keep all our heifer (female) calves and rear them to join the herd when they are old enough. Our bull (male) calves are sold to our neighbours, Springfield Farm, and reared for their beef boxes.
All our cows and youngstock are kept to very high welfare standards. We are both Red Tractor and Arla Garden farm assured which means we meet a whole range of standards that ensure we are looking after our animals and producing milk to the highest standards. More than this, we have even higher standards for ourselves, we love our cows like pets and so we bend over backwards to ensure they have the best life possible!
The Team
Together the team at Chapel Farm work tirelessly to ensure the cows are happy and content all the time, and happy cows produce fantastic tasting milk! Jamie is full time on the farm, Clarissa helps between work and looking after our boys. We do have relief milkers on hand to cover holidays and time off and help with bigger jobs!
