The farm            Ivy Barns is our family owned and run farm located in the centre of Hatfield Peverel, with some fields spread around the edge of the village and down to the Chelmer Blackwater canal.  We also have a small arable farm at Little Waltham.  The farm is based around a Dairy herd, one of the few remaining in Essex.  Arable and forage crops are grown to provide feed for the cattle with any surplus cereals being sold.   The Upson's family have been at Ivy Barns for four generations, the farm is managed by John and Andrew, who both have young families attending the local schools.  The Farm Shop has grown alongside the farm enterprise, becoming a major part of the business in 1987, when we decided to build the purpose built farm shop we see today.   The herd           There are normally around 150 cattle on the farm at any one time, these consist of newly born calves, heifers, cows and one Simental bull.  The herd comprises of 75 cows, mainly black and white Freisans.  Heifers join the herd when they have their first calf, usually when they are about 3 years old.  Each cow produces from 10 to 40 litres of milk per day according to her stage of lactation.  They are milked twice a day, the milk is cooled immediately and then stored in bulk until it is collected by a lorry tanker for subsequent processing.   Milk quotas       Each cow produces approx. 6,000 litres of milk per year.  The farm has an allocated quota of how much milk it can produce, if more than the quota amount is produced financial fines are imposed.  Milk quotas were introduced as a Europe wide policy in 1984, if you wish to increase production you have to buy a quota of another farmer.   Feeding           The Dairy herd and most of the cattle graze outside from mid-April to the end of October, during the dry summer months they often require extra feeding.  Through the winter the cattle are housed on special buildings, lay on straw and are fed a mixture of grass and maize silage with a concentrated protein mix feed.  The silage and the straw is all baled into round bales, the silage is then wrapped with a plastic film to preserve it.  Over 2,500 bales are used at Ivy Barns Farm, the machinery is also used for contract baling for other farmers.             Waste             The farm has its own pollution control system, dirty water from the cattle is collected in a 600,000 gallon lagoon, after passing through the settlement tanks.  The water from the lagoon can be spread on specially allocated fields using a special low volume irrigator, which is operated when crops can benefit from irrigation.   The land          The farm land is mainly sandy loam, its free draining characteristics mean that dry spells soon create drought conditions.  In recent years this has led to an increased area of maize being grown for cow fodder.  Farmyard manure is also applied to the fields to help improve the soil.   The Farm Shop  The farm shop began over 40 years ago, selling eggs and home produced vegetables.  This led to the glasshouses being built, providing tomatoes and lettuce, with surplus production being sent to the London Markets.  Unfortunately, the small scale of production made the market gardening business unprofitable.  The glasshouses are now being used for flowering plants, cacti and succulents.

UPSON'S FARM SALES The farm shop has become a village store, aiming to sell local produce including vegetables  meat products  fruit juices  preserves  ice creams  charcoal and pottery. It sells wild bird feeds along with pet and livestock products, everything you need - feeds, bedding and fencing. It offers probably the largest selection of farm and equine related toys, models, and children's books available in Essex, including pedal powered tractors, model stables and English designed and made wooden farmyards,   The farm shop is open 7 days a week, we have a large car-park making loading your shopping easy. Visit us in Ulting Road near the Village Green, or phone 01245 - 380274 for more information.  We pride ourselves in offering a personal friendly service We look forward to seeing you