Entrepreneurial spirit!

Today I visited a local farm run by Mr. and Mrs. Quenault in St. Peter in Jersey.

They have been in the local press for their strong views about how the local Dairy is run. The idea on Jersey is that if you have a herd of cows you sell all your milk production to the Milk Marketing Board who in turn pay the farmer a set amount per litre.

They are not very happy about the return that they are getting on their milk, and although it's a lot better than a number of their UK counterparts, they still believe that they can do better if they sell their milk themselves directly to the public.

Now a number of people aren't very happy with this so I went to see them for myself to try and find out what they wanted to achieve. Well I have to say I was in awe of what they are doing.

Julia gave me a tour of the cheese processing area, and showed me where they intended to build their farm shop and told me about all the other products they wanted to sell.

One can't help but feel humbled by this sheer determination. They have spent £100s of thousands on building a proper facility, yet they don't know if people will like what they do or if they'll ever see a return on their massive investment.

At the moment Julie works in a local finance company, because she can't afford to give up the day job, yet to hear her speak, she is in no doubt that they will succeed.

Brave or totally mad? I don't know, but you have to give it to them for sheer passion alone and I do hope and pray that they succeed. If they do they might just start a return of a new younger generation to farming, something Jersey desperately needs if we want to retain our wonderful countryside.

Our community needs these kinds of people, so next time you're in a local supermarket give them a try.