A friend from near Torrington came over today to help us plan our Celebrating Smallholding UK event in September and she brought with her two huge bags of apples, all windfalls from just one enormous tree in her garden. We now have very happy stock, and in particular the pigs. It is brilliant to watch them eat, and to hear the satisfying crunch as they bite down and start to chew at the inside of the fruit!! The sheep and goats have also benefitted as have the poultry. In a stark reminder of the 'rules' we are keeping the apples outside: if they were to travel to the smallholding via our kitchen, it would no longer be legal to feed them to our stock!! All part of DEFRA legislation to prevent any meat products entering the food chain and so stop nasties such as BSE and foot and mouth re-occurring. Some people think it a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but the mere thought of the devastation that would be caused if we had outbreaks such as these again, makes the use of the sledgehammer pretty justifiable we think!!