Venison from a Vending Machine: Organic Goes Hi-Tech

The village hall in the historic and picturesque village of Chedworth in the Cotswold’s recently installed “The Tiny Farm Shop” from the Manor Farm. The products are sold via vending machines.

The organic dairy farm located nearby, is run by Seb Clarke.

It supplies King Stone Dairy located on the farm, and the dairy produces award winning artisan cheeses sold through the likes of @Paxton and Whitfield and Neal's Yard Dairy and to high-end restaurants around the U.K.

King Stone Dairy was established by David Jowett who quickly earned a great reputation which has resulted in an expansion of the range of cheeses offered to include Cow’s milk and Sheep’s milk cheeses. And, to accommodate the expansion, David has just built a large new maturation facility and expanded his team. ?

Like King Stone Dairy, the Manor Farm also has interests beyond its core business. It employs a game keeper to oversee a wooded area of the farm in which deer, pheasant, partridge, wild boar and other species can be found.

The game keeper's job is to practice good stewardship of the area and the animals within it, which also means controlling the stocks with a limited cull each season. That means a supply of fresh venison to local retailers.

The venison steaks and sausages can also be found in the vending machine, along with the organic milk, organic yoghurts and King Stone Dairy’s most popular cheeses.

Such innovation is to be commended, even if it is partially born of necessity - the result of Brexit and the lack of care for the farming industry by recent governments. ?

As a former city resident for many years (London mostly), but now living in the Cotswolds, I see how important local producers are to the way of life of our nation. That importance extends far beyond meeting our food needs.

Yes, farming may account for a very small percentage of the economy of the UK, but we must understand that not everything we value can be measured in pounds and pence. ?

When you see how things really work, you witness a living, breathing, ecosystem of producers that sustain a way of life, a heritage to be proud of, and a part of our national identity.

They also supply us with amazing food. And they are willing to innovate. We should be celebrating and supporting them, rather than the supermarkets that seem hell-bent on destroying them, except for the few who take a slightly more enlightened approach, but could be doing far more.