We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We have produced a small December issue of our Newsletter to enable us to start 2013 with a Jan/Feb issue that will bring you all the latest news and updates in CASP.
We are very pleased to announce that the website is coming along and that we also now have a Facebook page too that anyone can freely comment on and keep abreast of the latest comings and goings throughout the year.
We will be holding our first Christmas party on - Friday
14 th December at St Pinnock Village hall from 7.00pm until 10.00pm and all members and friends are invited.
There will be Christmas wreath making demonstrations and workshops; all children, big and small, feel free to come and make a tree or table decoration.
Please be regular visitors to these sites to let us get to know you better and to share ideas! http://www.casp-cornishsmallholdersandproducers.yolasite.com/ http://www.facebook.com/CornishAssociationofSmallholdersProducers
Chalara fraxinea dieback of Ash
Who’s who at Lostwithiel Farmer’s Market
Cornish Poem
Farmers Weekly Column
Barter/Wanted/For Sale section
Forthcoming Events
Source: alanetsuko.blogspot.com
Do come along and bring a plate to share at this wonderfully festive time of year.
Source: blog.easytobook.com
Issue 4: December 2012

Chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea (C. fraxinea)).
The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and usually leads to tree death.
NOW NOTIFIABLE!
This spread to the local populations has caused DEFRA to treat C.
fraxinea as a quarantine pest under national emergency measures, and it is important that suspected cases of the disease are reported. It is vital that if you suspect the disease in your area that you report it immediately so that action may be taken.
Currently approximately one thousand sites are being surveyed that are known to have received saplings from nurseries where Chalara dieback has been found
Early signs of C.fraxinea visible in the early summer
Outbreak stage
Ash trees suffering with C. fraxinea have been found widely across Europe since Ash trees were reported dying in large numbers in Poland in 1992.
DEFRA reports that in February 2012 it was found in a consignment of infected trees sent from a nursery in the
Netherlands to a nursery in Buckinghamshire. It has since then it has been found throughout Great Britain, where these sites had received stocks of young ash plants from nurseries within the past five years. Further cases have also been confirmed in the nursery trade.
In October 2012, it was confirmed in a small number of cases in East Anglia in ash trees at sites in the wider natural environment, including established woodland, which do not appear to have any association with recently supplied nursery stock. This would suggest that the fungus has taken hold and is spreading throughout the countryside. Further finds were confirmed in Kent, Essex and other counties in early
November 2012.
Evidence of dieback
Confirmed findings - 5 December 2012:
Nursery sites – 17; Recently planted sites - 119
Wider environment, e.g. established woodland - 155
More info: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara
Issue 4: December 2012

The Spierings moved to Talvan Farm in Cornwall in 1998, to go into dairy farming. The original milking parlour was very old and worn and after 10 years they decided to embrace modern technology and purchased a Lely milking robot, featured below.
The Spierings, a Dutch family, run their dairy farm in
Lanreath (Cornwall) producing high quality milk. Due to poor milk prices they endeavoured to improve the sustainability of their business and so diversified their farm with the production of cheese, using the milk produced from their herd.
For years they produced cheese as a hobby and had always received much interest, but unfortunately hadn’t the means to produce at a large enough scale nor the time to spend away from farming duties! However, with the help of family and milking robots they are now able to spend more time elsewhere on the farm and produce Gouda on a larger scale.
They have refurbished a shed which runs on green energy and is now being used to produce and to store the cheese.
They now produce three different cheeses: Honey+Clover,
Italian Herbs and Fenugreek, and also supply Semi-Mature,
Medium and Mild cheeses. They hope to have mature cheeses ready for sale within the next four months!
Issue 4: December 2012
Milking is a very satisfying job to do and very demanding - every day a minimum 2 ½ hours, twice a day. As one of the sons was to carry on the farm, milking not being their favourite of jobs, it was decided to install a milking robot instead of a new milking parlour. The robot helped with everyday life, it goes on throughout the whole day and night, 24/7 and only requires maintenance and servicing.
Both the milking parlour and the robot have pros and cons, mechanical problems with the robot, getting the cows use to it, getting themselves use to it but overall it has saved many hours.
2010 saw a good calving year with around 30 heifers. One robot would not have been sufficient to milk all of the newly calved heifers and a decision had to made! To either sell 30 cows or purchase another milking robot to keep up with the demand; which is the option that was chosen.
The Cornish Gouda Company are now a very successful family business with a herd of 90 cows producing high quality milk fit for cheese.
For more information please visit us them at www.cornishgouda.co.uk
and do not hesitate to contact
They are regular traders at the Lostwithiel Farmers Market and would love to meet you there!

By Philip Clarke on December 5, 2012 9:42 AM
Our friends at the British Goose Producers have been rasing the profile of their favourite dish, issuing a press release with seven interesting facts about geese. Here goes:
* The goose was seen through the centuries as the traditional roast meal for the Christmas table.
* Its popularity in Victorian times is illustrated in novels by
Charles Dickens, including A Christmas Carol describing the
Cratchit family's Christmas meal.
* The goose is celebrated in nursery rhymes such as
'Goosey, goosey gander' and 'Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat'
* In the past goose fat was also used for medicinal purposes, rubbed on the chest as a cure for coughs and colds.
* The goose has also provided feathers for arrows, plumes for hats and quills for writing letters. Down filled onepiece suits and sleeping bags are used by Everest expeditions.
* Goose is the Christmas favourite in much of Europe.
Some nations braise goose in wine or broth, serve it with pears and cognac, or even smoke it like salmon.
* In the Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas geese are featured on the sixth day, symbolizing in religion the six days of creation.
Issue 4: December 2012
I still have a strong mental image of my mother trying to wring a goose's neck with a broom handle one Christmas, and subsequently the rest of the flock looking in through the dining room window as we ate their brother (or sister).
We switched back to turkey after that.

Source:blogs.sacbee.com Nov 24 th 2011
This fine photograph was taken last year – Christmas isn’t all about reindeer – particularly in South Korea!!
A local sheepbreeder took the opportunity to show off some of his flock to celebrate the onset of Christmas at the Everland Resort; Yongin.
(Xinhua/Park Jin Hee)
Issue 4: December 2012
Image from: danroldan.com
Charles Causley
Who's that knocking on the window,
Who's that standing at the door,
What are all those presents
Laying on the kitchen floor?
Who is the smiling stranger
With hair as white as gin,
What is he doing with the children
And who could have let him in?
Why has he rubies on his fingers,
A cold, cold crown on his head,
Why, when he caws his carol,
Does the salty snow run red?
Why does he ferry my fireside
As a spider on a thread,
His fingers made of fuses
And his tongue of gingerbread?
Why does the world before him
Melt in a million suns,
Why do his yellow, yearning eyes
Burn like saffron buns?
Watch where he comes walking
Out of the Christmas flame,
Dancing, double-talking:
Herod is his name.

Do you have a skill you can offer in exchange for something you need? We would recommend that barter hours should equate to around £7.00 per hour, a fair rate we think, although money never actually exchanges hands.
We would welcome your views for this great idea. Please also bear in mind the distance travelled for your barterer
(fuel costs as they are), a little extra to cover costs would almost certainly be appreciated.
Current Barter Opportunities
I have an overgrown vegetable patch / orchard which has got out of hand due to a broken leg. I can offer a selection of home grown meat in exchange for getting it back into some sort of order! Or alternatively I can offer small business advice book keeping etc or perhaps you need an
Energy Performance certificate for selling or renting? I can sort that as well. Call Carol: 07717722221
For Sale:
Heras fencing panels, good condition, including clips and feet. Each panel 3m long. Good for pens etc; £15.00 each.
Can deliver Bodmin/St Austell area
Contact: John 07912178857 or 01726 850287
Wanted:
Occasional Relief Milker for 3 goats Par area Tel:
01726813768
Do you have any left over insulation sheets/rolls , no quantity too small, for outdoor shed. Call 07828555095
FUTURE EVENTS:
Christmas Party - Friday 14 th December
St Pinnock Village hall from 7.00-10.00pm. Many fine stalls plus Christmas wreath demonstrations/workshop; children, big and small, come and make. a tree or table decoration. Bring a plate to share and come and join in convivial company at this festive time of year
Special Christmas Market – Friday 21 st
A stall-packed event with many tasty samples to tempt the palate, plenty of craft stalls for that special present and live music to help to create a festive atmosphere
Knit and Natter group - Jeanette and Erica run the group on a Monday from 4pm - 6pm everyone is welcome ;
St.Pinnock hall. If you would like to join us and need directions the please call 01579321775
Market dates Fortnightly
Friday 7 th and 21 st December
Friday 4 th and 18 th January 2013
We hope that you have enjoyed this newsletter and welcome articles, ideas and suggestions for future newsletters from any CASP member, so please feel free to submit any relevant articles, short stories, photographs etc for consideration. Do remember to advertise in the
‘Come Barter with Me’ and the ‘For Sale/Wanted’ sections.
To contact the editor: e.mail: Jo Vosper caspincornwall@hotmail.com
or post to
The Editor; Overcoombe Farm; St Pinnock; Liskeard; PL14
4NA
OUTSTANDING MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS NOW OVERDUE!
Would all attending market traders, who have not done so, please make payment and also supply an up to date copy of their public liability insurance and pass onto Jeanette or Carol for our files. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE
OUTSTANDING MEMBERSHIP DUES WE SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO SEND ANY MORE COPIES OF OUR MAGAZINE TO YOU
2012 MEMBERSHIPS WERE DUE IN OCTOBER: £15.00 for the year. (not due until 2013 for new members)
Please complete form and either send to: Mrs C White, West Pennant, Lanlivery, Bodmin, PL30 5DD or pass onto a committee member with your payment. We on the committee are all volunteers so please would you help us immensely by returning
asap without us having to send out reminders – Thank you all for your on-going support!
Name:
Address:
Phone: E/mail:
Date:
Please make cheque payable to: Cornwall Association of Smallholders and Producers
Issue 4: December 2012