Community Smallholding Meeting - 3.6.2011
Apologies received from Tony & Juliette
Company Registration
A letter had been received from Robin Don reiterating the fact that no tenure existed to the Orchard contrary to what was said in a leaflet at the fete. This leaflet was incorrect and Ali must vet any future publicity material before use in order to ensure compliance.
Parish Council and Allotments
A report was given of the months Parish Council meeting (specifically the running of the Annie Mary Smith Allotments) which was very positive and they are prepared to consider the proposals of NECS with regard to the 4.25 acres that are becoming vacant later in the year. A letter of application was discussed and distributed to the meeting applying for plots on the upcoming land. By the end of the meeting there were sufficient forms to apply for the full 4.25 acres.
Finances
Joy (our Treasurer) was introduced to the meeting and a brief report given on the 1st Pig Group accounts. In total £1300 was the total cost so far and receipts in on the 7 pigs slaughtered and now in freezers, matches the total cost, leaving a profit of 2 pigs. This is effectively a 20% return on investment. It must be added at this point that the meat did not end up cheaper than the supermarket, however the quality was far in excess.
The fete mad £200 plus £70 on cider and there is a meeting within the next week to discuss all aspects of insurance for NECS.
Animal Welfare
Warren gave a brief report about general standards for the animals, the environment of the pigs at the moment is good even though they are not outside, it is hoped to get them onto the Meadows as soon as it is possible. Their current environment is far better than normal commercial operations and we have recently been praised for the standard by DEFRA.
Pig Group 1
This group has been very successful and it is hoped that it will be taken as a model for future projects. The main concept gained at the meeting was … mmm, very tasty which appears to speak volumes. There are 2 pigs left that will be left to fatten a bit more before going for slaughter and will be primarily destined for bacon, sausages etc.
The actual cost price of the pork equated to £3/kg
Pig Group 2
If you have an interest please let Mark know ASAP. A share will be approximately ½ pig (£120.00), however you could organise your own small group to take the ½ pig.
There is a need for a price list for things like the meat from the last 2 pigs (bacon, sausages etc).
A question was raised as to whether we are a member of Anglian Farmers or similar in order to take advantage of cheaper feed prices etc – this is to be looked into.
Bullocks
Beef is a good common sense choice; the Red Polls are a native breed and are good for both beef and milk production, even on poor grazing. If we do more with beef we do have to be organised in order to show a good return (73% of a Red Poll is saleable – this is a lot of beef and is far more that the group could consume internally) – hence we do need to get sales outlets organised for the future.
The animals will be housed at the farm during the winter, and slaughter can take place at any time from 15 months up to 24 months. It is anticipated that this will be phased over a period in order to avoid an unmanageable glut to handle.
With shares, 1/16 is probably the minimum share and costs have to be fully evaluated.
The Red Polls are not actually on the Rare Breed list but they are on a Watch list to ensure their survival.
It was mentioned that the Red Poll Cattle Society would accept a NECS membership for £35 pa and it was agreed that we should take this up.
Bees
The Bee group is progressing well, there are currently 2 hives (2 swarms caught) situated at the bottom of Eastgate St. The main worry is how does the group be part of the Smallholding financially – this was answered with a brief introduction to the concept of Projects and how it is intended they will work.
Projects
A project (Produce Group) will be worked out in theory and costed (both costs per group member x No of group members and projected profit on the Income side against overall costs on outgoings) in order to see whether a project is financially viable (there will be forms available for this. The return to the group member would be a share of the final product (1/2 pig, x jars honey, 1/16th bullock or similar, depending on what the group terms were) – the remainder would go to NECS. It is to be hoped that profits per group would be in the order of 20-30%. Pig Group 1 will get together to go through the exercise in retrospect shortly.
Chicken Group
Using the Project forms has shown that small-scale production is expensive, chickens would cost in the region of £7-9 each – it is all a matter of scale. Chris is looking into this further and heading up the potential group.
Trade between Groups
There was a suggestion of turning the monthly meeting into a mini trading market or extending it to encompass the whole village although there were questions raised as to legality and the fact that it may have to be barter or donation based.
Duties Rota
This will be placed on the website as soon as the information is forthcoming. The conversion of chicken sheds will go ahead if the group is formed, there is no point until then.
Church Fete
This was an excellent event and raised £200 with very little advance planning. We do need volunteers for the Flower Festival in August as well as ideas as to what to do – this probably warrants a sub group to organise. There is a possibility of providing bacon and sausages to the barbeque at the festival and this is to be investigated further.
Marketing, Communication and Image
A couple of concepts were shown as to possible ways to brand the group and give it a cohesive feel – Mark asked for more to be prepared.
Group leaders contact details are to be placed on the website and also to be available in leaflets although no further discussion ensued on this.
Roles
There is a need for a liaison role to be filled to keep the group in communication with the School, Community Plan, other groups in the village etc – volunteers were asked and it was left for people to consider.
It was also decided that there must be a clear definition of Roles in order to prevent Role creep.
Cider
The cider project has been shelved for the present (at least 12 months), as it is a large project that would involve a lot of people, which could potentially take away resources for what is underway already. As a project it need doing properly with good organisation as there would have to some very careful handling of Revenue and Customs involved and peoples reputations would also be at stake and for this reason we have to defer the project.
AOB
Tony’s bike rides are to take place every Wednesday evening starting at 7pm form the Railway, and will take in a gentle route of about 10 miles, stopping wherever refreshments are available!
The possibility of other Social Occasions was also discussed in principle.
The meeting finished at 9:05pm
Mike Wyatt