Page 74 - Shorthorn Magazine

RACHAEL MADELEY REPORTS
Shorthorns Hold the Key to Dairying Dream
“The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth” William Shakespeare
74
Shorthorn
Florence and Milk Machine
True love is not something that flows smoothly and without obstacles but true love does endure the test of time. That is something that all farmers can attest to. You may think this a daft and sentimental statement but one does not choose to pursue a livelihood in farming without fiercely loving what one does. This is something that Florence Mannerings knows all too well having faced obstacle after obstacle in her dream of being a farmer.
Florences journey is an inspiration to all future farmers of her unwavering spirit, strength, determination and passion for the Dairy Shorthorn breed and dairy industry. She has never faltered in her ambition to milk cows, never deterred from her path even after devastating blows and now she has the first micro dairy in Kent.
Having grown up on a dairy farm, Florence has been immersed in every aspect of farming life from the get go. Her parents Susannah and Keith started their own journey from scratch on a tenant farm in Hampshire in 1998, after two 10-year farm business tenancies they were heartbreakingly had to downsize and move to their new farm in Kent. The
newly acquired 80 acre Chilton Farm, Alkham, Dover needed attention but they could see the potential and relished the challenge. You can certainly see that Florence gets her hard work and drive from her parents, taking on a project six years ago that would of deterred many. They spent the first 12months hard labour before a minimal number of Florences beloved Dairy Shorthorns, Susannah’s rare breed Albion’s, dairy youngstock from their previous farm and the family would make the final move.
Moving 140miles meant that the next few years would be spent finding their feet and putting into practise how to utilise the farms potential. Chilton certainly has its own challenges particularly geographical ones; “growing grass on Chalk Downs is difficult especially when we have no rain for six months of the year like in 2022 but we also knew that milk collection was going to be an issue, we were too small and too difficult to access to find a milk buyer.” To start with all the dairy youngstock were served to sexed semen, heifers were sold as they calved, surplus milk was fed to bought in beef calves, dairy heifers were retained but the farm is four hours from the closest
dairy market, Frome, and this did not work as a long term business plan. Florence wanted to significantly contribute to the bottom line of the business and wants to make farming her career and so the idea to sell milk from the farm gate was the next and only logical option.
The decision would not be taken lightly as the investment would be substantial but Florence could see an opening in the market, there is no other venture like this in Kent. Through social media and other platforms Florence has spread a positive and informative view on the dairy industry in a time when misinformation and public knowledge on where their food comes from is at an all time low. There is now a definite increase in the importance of traceability and environmental impact of the food we eat. This shift has been a vital enabler to Florences dream of selling produce direct to the public and in August this year that dream finally became a reality with The Nightingale Dairy, Milk On The Move vending machine. “The decision to go with a portable vending machine meant that I could park it up in the community for locals to have easy access and also venture to farmers markets, agricultural shows and pop up events at weekends.” While consistently increasing public knowledge of where their food comes from and how it is farmed.
Florence milks her 10 Dairy Shorthorns in the morning before heading off to work as an NHS Community Midwife and then milks on her return home. The intention is to continue working in the NHS for the foreseeable as an extra income to put back into the farm and grow the business. The cows are milked in yolks by a portable machine and the breeds temperament is key to the ease of the job. “The cows know when they are next to be milked and come round to the yolk in the same order ever single milking. The Dairy Shorthorns characters are truly second to none”. The vending machine can hold up to 300 litres of milk and the herd are currently producing approximately 160 litres, with calves at foot, at 3.6%F and 3.25%P. Whole milk is sold for £2/litre and milkshakes £3/litre