Ellern Mede is a grassland farm and its fields are enclosed in mainly traditional hedges, particularly at the west end where the same division of land into strips has persisted for centuries. Due to the poor subsoil of heavy clay, the land is not suitable for arable use and the family ceased growing grain in the mid-eighties to concentrate on elite cattle farming. Cattle became the farmers’ mainstay and between 1970 and 1990, and the two pedigree herds of Charolais and Blond Aquitaine visible on the grazing fields were the Stubbs family’s pride and joy. The two herds produced many champion cattle that won prize after prize at The Royal Show, The Royal Welsh Show, and the Royal Highland Show. The most honoured champion, who won the interbreed title, was named ‘Totteridge Coralie’.

Due to the economic climate and, in particular, BSE all but 16 of these herds were sold in 1998. At present there is a herd of commercial cattle with sheep grazing the fields during the winter months. The fields are used to grow grass for sileage. Traditional Hay meadows remain. Chickens are kept on the farm and their eggs sold in the Farm Shop. A solitary horse, Bambi, now aged 38, remains on the farm.

Changing farm practices have been mirrored by the changes in wildlife. Sparrows used to overrun the farmyard and are now seen only occasionally. Sparrowhawks and Buzzards have reappeared and this year for the first time Lapwings have nested on the fields. Swallows and House Martins have remained faithful, rabbits have survived Myxoedema and are now everywhere, as are foxes. Muntjac deer have been sighted, though they are more often seen on the north side of Totteridge Lane.

30 years ago the Farm Shop was open daily and would sell milk, cream from the pedigree herd, and over 3 tons of potatoes a week. The population’s eating habits have changed and we are nowadays more dependent on “Ready Meals”. The farm shop is open all day Saturday and there is a constant stream of purchasers queuing in the farmyard for fresh eggs, vegetables, including giant mushrooms, and fruit, jams, chutney, birdseed or hay for domestic animals. The walls are covered with the Prize Rosettes won at previous shows by the Aquitaine and Blond Charolais herds and are a happy reminder of past times.

Difficult times lie ahead. New EU rulings and Government compliance regulations will inevitably change the face of agriculture both locally and nationally so the future is not clear.

However, I, for one, find it very reassuring, as I drive or walk along Totteridge Lane, to glimpse the sign at Ellern Mede Farm and to know that the land, far from being turned into another slab of concrete, is still being used in a similar manner to the way it has for the last eight centuries.