NICOLA RAYNER visits a village shop selling the produce from grassland which has been farmed by three generations of the same family

THERE are many pleasant things to do in Dorset in the summer, but spending an afternoon at Stevens Farm Shop in Martinstown must be one of the nicest.

Located at the top of the Winterbourne valley, the 110 acres of grassland has been farmed by the Barnes family for over 30 years and through three generations: Edward Barnes, his son Norman and his son Christopher.

Now there is a thriving farm shop on site, which opened in 2005, and a bustling coffee parlour whence it is possible to drink in the view as you sip your tea or coffee, or, as I would recommend, consume something more substantial. And there is plenty to choose from.

The farm shop includes a fresh food section of fruit and veg, an alluring deli counter, a vast variety of local produce and, the pièce de résistance, meat produced on the farm.

Norman explains: "80 to 85 per cent of the food comes from Dorset and the surrounding counties.

"Our farm produces all the meat, the lamb, beef, pork, sometimes veal. We make our own sausages and cure our own bacon, and it's the house faddle."

To which, of course, one must ask, what is faddle? "It's an old Dorset word that means group of' or collection of'," explains Norman. "It's a faddle of savouries; sausage meat, stuffing and bacon."

While Liz makes the cakes for the café - a favourite with the customers is the caramel slice - Norman and his daughter Nicola make the sausages on the farm. The Dorset Stodger comes recommended.

"It's a pork sausage with six different spices and a wee hint of warmth in the background slightly akin to a Cumberland sausage," says Norman.

"Then we've got plain pork sausages, pork and herb sausages, venison sausages and venison burgers."

"Venison is more popular than the beef burgers at the moment. I think people think game is healthy because of the lower cholesterol and lower fat," Liz interjects.

Norman continues: "Then there's beef, which we hang, and the lamb we do boned and rolled with a little bit of thyme and parsley stuffing, although you can put anything in it."

The farm shop is currently developing freezer packs, a development that will help customers with rising food prices.

Aside from the meat, the produce in the deli and the rest of the shop is as local as possible. Having done the rounds of farmers' markets since 1998 - they still do them seven or eight times a month - Norman is well acquainted with other local producers.

"I got to know who is making local preserves and all the people who make all sorts of different things. The shop gives them another outlet. We have a lot of very good produce from local producers that the customers have faith in and we have faith in."

The olives come from Olives Et Al and the coffee comes from the Dorset Coffee Company at Duck Farm in Bockhampton. There is Purbeck Ice Cream, milk from Craig's Farm Dairy and cordials from the Yarty Valley Provisions in Somerset.

There are Bridport Gourmet Pies and local fruit and veg. Among the cheeses, there can be found old favourites like Denhay Farm Cheddar, Dorset Blue Vinney, a locally made Stilton, Cornish Yarg, a Somerset Brie and Barber's 1833. ("One of his farms is on the skyline," says Norman).

"There's the odd interloper like Barkham Blue," smiles Norman, "which comes from Wokingham, but it's so damn good that it is an exception to the rule."

Before I leave, Chris, Norman and Liz's son, takes me on a tour of the farmyard animals, some of which are kept close to the shop for visiting children to meet.

I am introduced to two baby rabbits; Bruce and Charlie the cows; Jill the ewe (Jack got a bit frisky and had to be sent away) and Billy the kid and his friend Sundance.

Then there is the bigamous pig Apple Sauce whose two wives, Salt and Pepper, have both recently had litters.

The piglets are a cross between the breed of their father (large white) and that of the two sows, which is Oxford Sandy Black.

Norman explains that a modern breed like large white is less fatty than a rare, but flavoursome, breed like Oxford Sandy Black.

The combined result is pork that has the best qualities of both breeds. Will Chris feel sad when the time comes to say goodbye to the piglets? "Not really," he shrugs.

"I've been brought up on a farm; I've been doing it all my life."

I suspect that farms are no place for sentimental lapsed vegetarians like myself.

But the meat in the farm shop looks succulent and fresh, and has zero carbon footprint. "We talk about food yards rather than food miles," jokes Norman.

It is a happy place too. The family is cheerful and welcoming.

I rather suspect I will be back for a Dorset Stodger in a bun, but I daren't tell my new porcine friends.

Stevens Farm Shop in Martinstown is open Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 5.30pm, and Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

Call 01305 889216, email barnesnje@aol. com, or visit www.stevensfarmshop.co.uk