Help us preserve Jersey’s greatest asset – new JEP campaign supporting the farming industry

  • New fortnightly series focusing on the industry that made Jersey what it is, looking at agriculture and rural life.
  • JEP launching new ‘Keep Jersey Farming’ campaign to back the industry.
  • Competition: Name a calf and win a farm tour.
  • Do you buy local produce? Take part in our poll.
  • Meet the Producers: Didier and Christine Hellio of Manor Farm

JERSEY’S countryside, in all its variety, is our greatest asset but it is generations of Islanders who have worked its soil that have made it what it is today.

In exploiting the Island’s rich natural assets and ideal growing conditions, local families – many of whom can trace their roots back to William the Conqueror – have created a diverse rural landscape.

Finance may be the dominant factor in the Island’s economy but people don’t come here to see banks and office blocks no matter which top-notch architect designed them.

Nor do they come here because we’ve got superfast broadband or a growing digital sector; they come because of the environment, heritage and a worldwide reputation for top-quality dairy products and fresh produce.

As finance has gained in prominence, support for agriculture has diminished as politicians look outside the Island to further diversify the economy.

However, it is not all doom and gloom in the Island’s oldest industry.

A revitalised dairy sector, maximising the international reputation of the Jersey cow, is also looking outwards to exploit new markets with encouraging early successes.

Help beat knotweed

THE Environment Department is asking Islanders to join in a nationwide project to help eradicate Japanese knotweed, classified as the most pernicious weed in the British Isles.

This modern-day triffid is as rampant in Jersey’s countryside as in the UK and Islanders can help by downloading a free app, reporting sightings and even sending photos of plants to show their extent.

The app is available free from the iTunes App Store and Google play.

For further information call Scott Meadows at Environment on 441600

Seen a grass snake?

ENVIRONMENT is also asking Islanders to let them know if they spot a grass snake on their countryside jaunts.

The grass snake (pictured) is the only snake found in the Island.

It is entirely harmless and is our rarest reptile.

It is often confused with the slow worm, which is actually a legless lizard.

Sightings should be reported to 441600.

The Jersey Royal remains the premier crop and the Island’s biggest export, but its production and profits are controlled by two of the UK’s largest agro-businesses and not in the hands of individual local farmers.

That may upset the traditionalists but it makes sense in terms of brand profile and marketing power in an industry driven by price and consumer demand for cheap food.

The reliance on a single crop has its downsides and a lack of rotation, threats from pests and disease, and the impact on water quality are issues the industry must address.

Integral to the countryside mix – and the Island’s food security – are the farmers who grow a variety of other crops and who have diversified into niche markets such as livestock and egg production.

Together, they will never be able to meet the Island’s demand for fresh produce but their activities are as vital to maintaining the Jersey way of life in an increasingly modern world as they are to keeping fresh local produce in the shops.

And there will always be a market for local produce, and not just from ‘foodies’ who frequent farm shops and roadside stalls, but also from the supermarket chains that dominate the retail food market.

Jersey’s farmers, in particular those who have the confidence to invest in the future, and the young generation embarking on careers in agriculture, need all our support to succeed – which is why the JEP is launching its Keep Jersey Farming campaign to back the industry.

Our campaign is not just about buying local; it is about reconnecting the public with a way of life that has defined and influenced local culture and the environment for centuries.

It will profile farmers, highlight the issues that affect the industry and promote seasonality and provenance.

Farmers are the custodians of the countryside, which is under threat from competing land uses and over-development.

They need your support to survive.

KEEP Jersey farming – a new JEP campaign championing one of Jersey’s oldest industries – is launched today.

Farming has been part of the fabric of Island life for millennia, but today growers need help to ensure their long-term survival.

These are proud, independent businessmen who want to be given the chance to make their farms sustainable without relying on government handouts.

A new approach is needed.

Today, Graham Le Lay, president of the Jersey Farmers Union, is calling for a sensible solution to deal with the many vergées of redundant glass houses which blight our beautiful landscape.

He is not calling for more millionaires’ mansions to be built, but for the opportunity to raise cash to reinvest in the land.

Every Islander can do their bit and buying great, fresh local produce is the place to start.

The Island has world-class produce – such as the Jersey Royal, which is now in seasonDidier and Christine Hellio of Manor Farm in St Ouen

Name: Didier and Christine Hellio

Where do you farm: Manor Farm, Vinchelez, St Ouen

How long have you been farming?

We both come from farming families.

Christine left school at 14 to work on her family farm, but it was another two years before she realised how lucky she was being out in the fields and taking pride in growing crops.

Didier’s family came from France as farm workers, buying Manor Farm in 1978. He left school as soon as possible to work on the farm, and when they married in 1986 they took over the farm.

How big is your farm?

In the beginning it comprised 60 vergées but has grown to 330 vergées.

What do you grow?

Jersey Royals and a wide range of seasonal vegetables.

Where can your produce be bought?

Our veg stall is open seven days a week, and we supply Grande Marché, St Peter, Classic Farm shop, Homefield Growers and the Fresh Fish company. Our Jersey Royals are exported to the UK by Albert Bartlett.

How important is provenance and freshness?

We believe that local and fresh produce is the best produce you can buy.

Farming is hard work so why do you do it?

We just love it. Yes, the hours are long but when you see a lovely crop of veg in your own field ready to pick, you can’t help but be very proud – and you do want your customers to taste that beautiful fresh local produce

Chef Nigel Slater – among many – has praised your Jersey Royals. What makes them so special?

Our lovely Jersey soil. They are unique, with a lovely nutty, yet sweet taste, that cannot be found in any other potato. A potato that we should all be proud of.

Should the States give more support to farmers?

We think that agricultural loans should be brought back as they were a major part for our generation of famers, and a fair system that worked very well. And it could help the next generation of farmers to safeguard our agricultural industry.We need them to keep our industry alive.

Darren Quénault and his wife Julia are offering a tour of their Classic Farm in St Peter to the family which comes up with the best name for a new calf

CLASSIC Herd dairy farm in St Peter is inviting families to name a calf and win a tour of the farm to find out what makes the Jersey cow so special.

Darren and Julia Quénault – and their son, Chas – are the Island’s only independent dairy farmers milking and making fresh dairy products on site at Manor Farm in St Peter’s Village.

In addition to producing milk, butter, yoghurt, cream, cheese and ice cream, they also produce beef and pork.

Every calf born in the Island has to be registered within seven days of birth to comply with EU legislation.

However, the Royal Jersey Horticultural and Agricultural Society (RJAHS) has been recording calves’ births since 1866 when the Jersey Herd Book was opened.

It is the register of the Island’s bovine population, recording the owner, a description of the animal, its ancestry, date of birth and many other facts.

The ancestry of all pedigree Jerseys in the world can be traced back to the Island’s Herd Book.

About 950 calves are registered in a year. Of this total, about 850 are pure bred Jerseys, including around 30 bulls. The remainder are Jersey Angus crosses for beef production.

The naming process must follow a pattern:

  • Each herd has a specific name, in the case of Classic Herd – ‘Classic’
  • Next is a shortened version of the sire or father’s name. As the father is called ‘Respectabull’ the name has to incorporate the word ‘Respect’
  • Lastly comes a female name (or two names), containing up to 15 letters
  • For example Classic Respect, followed by one or two names

To help Darren, Julia and Chas choose a name they would like families to explain why they think their name is suitable for a Jersey cow.

Entries should be sent to: Paula Thelwell, Jersey Evening Post, PO Box 582, Jersey JE4 8XQ or email countryside@jerseyeveningpost.com

The closing date is Tuesday 24 April.

Fresh local produce to look out for at this time of year includes watercress – as grown here by Colin Roche

THE Jersey Royal is the best new potato in the world and we have it available fresh, straight from the ground, and at a farm near you as the 2015 season is now well under way.

Nothing tastes better than fresh produce, eaten on the day it is dug or picked from a field, so the shorter the time between fork and plate all the better.

Royals can be bought for convenience in supermarkets but look out for roadside stalls as they pop up around the Island throughout the season, which lasts into July.

British asparagus is another premier seasonal crop available from April to June and best eaten on the day it is picked, so it is just as well that Jersey has its very own grower, Joe Freire, who starts picking the 2015 crop this week.

Fresh local produce also to look out for includes tasty indoor tomatoes, courgettes, beans and cucumbers, and watercress and spinach.

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