Page 74 - Demo

Shorthorns Hold the Key to
Dairying Dream
“The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth” William Shakespeare
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
with sales around 120litres Monday-
Thursday, weekend sales can be double.
“I want to show people that small farms
Florence and Milk Machine
Shorthorn
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