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| Green Farm - Downhead, Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Green Farm is a dairy farm on the Mendip hills with 300 milking cows and 200 followers (small heifer calves up to animals about to have their first calf). The farm lies between 600 and 900 feet above sea level and has an average of 48 inches of rain per annum. |
| No mains water is available for this part of Downhead and the farm relies totally on spring, borehole and reservoir private supplies, which are closely monitored for purity. |
| The farm also grows 40 acres of seed
potatoes, which are sold mainly in the
South West, but also to France, Spain
and Portugal. The potatoes which measure
over the 55mm maximum for seed are sold
locally for eating and all the potatoes
not reaching retail standard are used
as a valuable animal feed supplement. |
The cows produce approximately 2 million
litres of milk annually which is sold
for local farmhouse cheddar cheese production.
Grass is the main crop grown on the
farm. A dairy cow consumes 10 tonnes
(10,000 kg) of conserved forage (silage
and maize) during a normal 6 month winter
and drinks up to 40 litres of water
a day during lactation!
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