Teens unsuccessful in bid to run Sark dairy

BBC News

3 days ago

A teenage brother and sister from Sark who had hoped to restart the island's dairy have not been successful in their bid.Cerys, 16, and Harry, 15, wanted to take over the tenancy of the island's only dairy, which closed in April, and had raised more than £5,000 to buy cattle for the project.However, Cerys said she found out on Thursday they would not be able to proceed with their plans. Maj Christopher Beaumont, chairman of trust which runs the dairy, applauded the siblings' "huge dose of enthusiasm" but it was "not enough on its own" as cattle farming needed "significant experience".
Maj Beaumont, who is also Sark's Seigneur, added: "We always said they have a place in our plans for the future, but not now."He said the trustees had a responsibility to make sure the island's only dairy was in the hands of experienced people and insurance was also a factor to decline the bid."Either we wouldn't get insurance or the premiums would be through the roof," he said.
Cerys said she had wanted to run the dairy to give herself and her brother a future in Sark as "a lot of people move away as they get older".Cerys and Harry set out to crowdfund £1,500 to buy one dairy cow, but ended up exceeding that target - raising more than £5,300.She said they were led to believe they "had a better chance of becoming the new tenants than we realistically did"."I'm angry and upset," she said.
She said the pair had given up on the idea of running the dairy, but not their dream of staying on the island as farmers.However, they said anyone who had donated and wanted a refund should contact them so they could process it.Cerys said: "We're going to figure it out one way or another a way to carry on farming."Cerys said they had no previous experience of farming involving cows, but they had had plenty with sheep."I have done sheep farming most of [my life]," she said."But any farming really, me and my brother will happily get stuck into and do it."
'Grass to table'
Maj Beaumont said the dairy's trustees were keen for the next tenants, who were likely to be from off the island, to find a place for the siblings.He said this would allow them to learn the ropes of dairy farming with one eye on taking over the tenancy in the future.Maj Beaumont said: "If anything, dairy farming is harder in Sark because it is a grass to table operation."It's not just about looking after the animals or even the milking, you have to process the milk too - most farmers in the UK or even Guernsey do not have experience of that, they send it off."He said the trustees would "love it if, in years to come, a local family took over dairy farming on the the island" and would be delighted if it were Cerys and Harry.