FARMING
The best kept ladies in Gloucestershire
It is all very well having faith in what you are doing, but sometimes a little recognition – especially from some famous names at a national food awards – can makes it all seem worthwhile. The story to be told of Jess’s Ladies Organic Milk Farm could have been written for a film – we in the media tend towards the heroic, romantic bit (leaving out the early starts, graft, sweat and no doubt watery eyes part). But the story of how, on returning to the family farm from Aberystwyth University at a time of intense pressure and change in the farming industry (when is it not?), Jess Vaughan was able to see potential and value in what her father, Mike, was already achieving, and he in her vision, is a joy. Many friends went in other career directions, despite their agricultural training, but Ms Vaughan’s heart was taken long before university. So on her return in 2006, the family invested in bottling plant and began gently letting their farming methods be known for what they are – simple, organic and delivering quality produce. It was a decision of the kind facing most farming businesses, especially then – not quite life or death, but a little too close for comfort. This had to work. the
And so they rolled the dice in the shared belief their way of farming would be re-understood – as a system built on loving animal husbandry - and judged for what it delivered, quality milk production. ‘Ladies’ is Jess’s affectionate name for her family’s beloved cows. Many of the herd are descended from the first three animals her grandparents began their farming career with in 1955. Rewarded and re-understood they have been, now with the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2019 – a win which promoted this article. And there is acknowledgement too from its real market, not fancy chefs (although they are its customers too), but the growing number of Gloucestershire fans turned onto its produce by word of mouth and the incredible, to-die-for taste. Jess’s Ladies Organic Milk Farm produces so much more than just ‘milk’ as most of us will know it. This is pure unhomogenised organic milk, cream, yoghurt, cultured buttermilk and kefir (more of that latter later). For Jess, it is the low intensity nature of their type of farming, the beautiful, lush, rich grass of the Gloucestershire countryside, and the emphasis on a happy herd which are at the root of such luscious product. And making all those ingredients and more work, the root of her own joy. Whether the recognition will affect how much of her products, including the new increasingly sought after Kefir (a low fat dairy drink packed full with ‘good’ bacteria), is sold when the farm sets up shop at Stroud Farmers' Market and the like, is another thing. She hopes so. Kefir recently helped the farm gain a further nine stars in the Great Taste Awards, to add to a tally of four gold medals from the Taste Of the West Awards – where it has collected some 70 accolades. She sees the recent attention also as positive
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112 | December 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
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