‘Happy’ Sark Dairy couple hope grass will be greener
THE weather has been proving tough for the couple responsible for Sark’s dairy, as they settle into handling the island’s herd.
Jason Salisbury and his wife Katharine moved to Sark from the UK just over 18 months ago.
‘It’s a place we could hardly of imagined two years ago but we have both been really happy here,’ said Mr Salisbury.
The Suffolk couple were chosen from a list of 80 potential people to take on the island’s dairy.
But the pair has not had the easiest time of it due to weather that has proved less than ideal for dairy farming.
‘We had a hard, dry summer and a long, miserable winter. The spring has started off quite cold and we are perhaps a month behind where we would hope to be in terms of the grass growing,' Mr Salisbury said.
‘We are now really hoping for a bright, warm summer with a bit of rain at night.’
After initially only selling milk and cream, the farm is now also producing cheese.
‘We made our first cheese in October and November.
'It’s a mild, delicate cheese with a rich and creamy taste.
'At the moment we are just working on that cheese, but we are considering making a brie and a blue cheese in the future.’
Sark Cheese is available in Guernsey from Surf and Turf at the Castle Pier in Town.
The dairy currently has 18 adult cows, nine producing milk, and 20 calves.
So far this spring they have had nothing but bull calves, all of which will be reared for beef.
Although Sark does not have a vet surgery, problems with calving are not a concern on the farm as Mrs Salisbury is a qualified vet.
In the future she is considering practising on the island, but for the time being the couple are concentrating on the farm.
‘It’s very useful for us,’ Mr Salisbury said. ‘Especially if I have a problem with the cat and dog, I don’t have to go far.’
The couple sell quite a lot of their milk through the vending machine at the dairy, which sells 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
This now makes milkshakes using syrups, and includes all the usual flavours plus a few surprising ones, including cookie cream, gingerbread and fruit salad.
‘We do get quite a lot of sales after dark,’ confirmed Mr Salisbury.
‘The milkshakes do surprisingly well after the pubs shut.’
