Recent Projects & Events
This page contains information about all of the recent projects
and events involving Cheshire Farms.
Ridley Farm, a new beginning
At the
dawn of the then new millennium, coinciding with an anticipated
change of tenancy, it was decided to replace a rather large and
wonderful but impractical range of traditional buildings with new
farm premises; the first new complete set of farm buildings on the
estate since 1950.
2001 saw the arrival of Stuart Dennison who bravely took on the
old, rather tired farm with inadequate facilities with only
the hope that both the Council's ambitions and his dream of a
modern and efficient farmstead would indeed come true. With Foot
and Mouth, very poor trading conditions and practical challenges
that would see most people run for cover, Stuart, his
wife Julie and family have not only coped with great fortitude but
created a highly acclaimed dairy herd and invested in the long term
environmental value of the holding.
Six years on, planning consent was granted for the
conversion of the old buildings to residential use, providing a
potential funding stream for the completion of the new
premisis; indeed funding of £1.1 million was then approved and
what started as an ambitious aim became a real prospect.
Work on site began in October 2007 and from a green
field site the beginnings of a new farm emerged. How appropriate
was it then that in the centenary year for Cheshire
Farms Service, the dreams of an ambitious and capable young
farmer become a reality, a reality that will serve many generations
of young farmers to come. The images that follow provide flavour of
how this scheme progressed.
From the existing farm that you can see above, the new
premises emerged through to completion in 2008:
For more
information download the Ridley Farm Fact Sheet (PDF,
195KB)
August 2008
Work has now finished on the farmhouse and farm buildings.
Stuart, Julie, Robert and Andrew plus cows have finally moved ‘down
the lane’ into ‘Centenary Farm’ as it’s been
named, in celebration of County Farms Centenary this year.
Centenary Farm 2008
The new buildings provide housing,
feeding and milking facilities under one roof for the whole herd
and storage for 1000 tonnes of silage
Cheshire Ploughing Match
The 85th Cheshire Ploughing Match was attended by one of the
largest crowds in many years. All were treated to a competitive
display of rural skills using a range of traditional &
modern approaches and including horse drawn ploughing and
hedgelaying. Click on the link below to see how Cheshire Farm
Service celebrated its long history, the role that farming plays in
Cheshire and thank the wider farming community:
Cheshire Ploughing
Match (PDF, 212KB).
