Ann and Graham Lund
Owls nest under the roof. Dogs rush to greet you when you arrive. Goats and geese go about their daily activities. This isn't the usual business set-up, not even in a place as diverse as South Liverpool. Yew Tree Farm Shop in Lower Road, Halewood Village, is a thriving concern which shows how imagination and determination can pay off.
Owners Graham and Ann Lund realised that their farm would have to diversify if it was to survive in an age when small farms often lose out. For the last few years they've been pursuing a strategy to do just that. They've upgraded and relaunched the farm shop, adopted an environmentally-friendly approach to farming and thrown open their gates to the public.
The farm shop sells a wide range of their own produce as well as giving other local producers the chance to reach new customers. Beef, poultry, lamb, vegetables and plants compete for space in the attractively-converted 17th century barn. Home-made pies, jams and pickles line up alongside free range eggs.
But there's more to this enterprise. Yew Tree Farm is still a working farm and Graham and Ann are in the fourth year of a country stewardship agreement which involves caring for the countryside and opening it up for the public to visit. Hedgerows and an orchard are being planted, ponds and copses established. It means that visiting the shop becomes a wider experience which varies with the changing seasons and different weather.
Says Graham: "The aims of the scheme are to encourage more wildlife by farming in a more environmentally friendly way. We also give local people better access to local food and we give families the chance to see how and where their food comes from".
Yew Tree Farm Shop
Lower Road
Halewood Village
Liverpool L26 3UA
Tel 0151-487 5165.
