There has been a surge in the number of farm shops opening up over recent years as farmers seek diversification that will produce a good return on investment and their farming skills, growth fuelled by increasing consumer demand for local foods and alternative places to shop. This Award recognises businesses with less than three years’ trading that are demonstrating good growth and strong potential.

The stunning, modern Occombe Farm Shop

Occombe Farm Shop in Torbay, Devon, has already become a landmark for local food in a region that has thousands of small farms and food producers. Situated in the Occombe estate, it is owned by the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT), a land based charity, and received start-up support from a DEFRA grant.

Director, Dominic Acland admits that the farm shop, with its butchery, bakery, café and education centre was an ambitious project, starting from scratch with no history of retailing from the site. Now in its second year of trading, it is demonstrating confidence, with excellent and hard-working management producing a strong financial
performance and utilising its resources in a well-rounded, sustainable and organic farming regime based on a number of farms over a 20 miles radius, including the one at Occombe itself.

The popular bakery counter at Occombe Farm Shop

At the heart of Occombe Farm is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes wet woodlands and meadows, the hub of a conservation scheme which allows grazing for Devon Ruby Red cattle and pedigree Dorset Down sheep, and an environment for a handful of pigs and poultry. All production is destined for the farm shop, which employs two full-time butchers and two bakers in a newly-constructed building, made with timber extracted from the Trust’s own woodlands. Light and airy, the retail unit, including café, is downstairs while a first floor houses an education centre. A
new, larger education facility, using straw-bale construction, is planned for 2008.
The shop is critical to a sustainability strategy for the TCCT. Its profits are ploughed back into the Trust’s work which benefits the wider community of the region. Its farms are all open access, as is that at Occombe itself where a timber board-walk takes visitors onto the land. ‘We also aim to provide a regular outlet, at fair prices, for many local artisan producers and farmers,’ said Dominic Acland. ‘Our range includes cheeses from the south-west, Devon-made pasties, pies and quiches plus home-cooked meats and cured hams. Our products are clearly labelled with a Devon flag, and customers can use touch-screens to tell them about the producers, as well as using map displays on the wall which show where each farm is situated. ‘

Occombe’s plans for the future include introducing a number of heritage varieties of fruit and vegetables into the shop, grown in the Victorian walled kitchen garden at its sister site at Cockington. It is also hoping to expand housing for its growing herd and add to the hen flock in response to growing public demand.‘Our message is simple - the food we eat shapes the countryside we live in and the choices consumers make affect farmers and the way that land is managed. Our location bridges the gap between urban Torbay and rural Devon and the farm has wonderful environmental qualities.’

www.occombe.org.uk

Award kindly sponsored by: