Open Day 2015

Stocks Farm Open Day 2015

The gates opened to the public at 2pm on 12th September, for the second year running. The morning started cold and very wet but brightened up about midday. The grey clouds in the might have put some people off however 75 visitors was pleasing to see.

“We love talking to so many interested people who genuinely want to hear all about British hops & apples. Speaking about the farms highs & lows is quite emotional but educating our visitors about life on the farm & the bigger picture on the future of British hops & apples is so important to us, which is why we open the gates & share what we know.” Said Ali

It’s amazing to meet the range of different people who visit. Families with small children, very well behaved they were, home brewers & our oldest visitor was 93 years old! Not only locals but also visitors as far away as 4 hours drive, travelled to Stocks Farm for the hop farm experience!

This year was exciting as it was our first year of selling ‘green hops’ to home brewers who couldn’t wait to get home and brew their beer!

We raised over £350.00 for the local church SPACE project & Fledgling Nursery, both extremely grateful for all contributions! Plans & new ideas for next year’s Open Day on 10th September 2016 are now under way.

Testimonials

Mr & Mrs Hearn ~ “Thank you from Ian and I for a very interesting and informative tour on Saturday afternoon.  We both learnt so much and had no idea of the effort that goes into the growing, nurturing and harvesting of both the hops and apples!”

Mr Wrightson ~ “ …how much I enjoyed the open day at your farm yesterday. You were engaging hosts and I applaud your work to raise public awareness about your branch of farming. It is good to see such dedication to quality crop production combined with obviously effective stewardship of our countryside and rural heritage. As a townie myself I learnt a lot about commercial apple and hop growing, and will seek out some Red Windsor next year.”