Covid helped us adapt, says cider farm owner

Sarah Matlock from La Robeline Cider said her business grew organically

The owners of a cider farm say that they "had to" diversify their business because they could not make a living by only producing one product.

La Robeline are predominantly cider makers, but the firm now also offer outside catering and have a restaurant in the barn on the farm, which was set up in the pandemic.

Sarah Matlock, from the company, said if she was told where the business would be 10 years ago she would have "laughed".

Doug Richardson, from Richardson's Jersey Royals and also represents the Jersey Farming Union, said diversification helped businesses back to their core model with "fresh ideas".

La Robeline began 20 years ago when Sarah's husband, Richard, went to France to learn about making cider before planting two orchards on their property in St Ouen.

Mrs Matlock said: "Over the years that has grown into quite a large outside catering business and then when Covid hit, we started a restaurant in our barn.

"[It] actually has been quite amazing partly because the barn was standing empty for six months of the year.

"Now we utilise it for the cider making from October to March and then it is a restaurant from April through to the end of September."

Mrs Matlock said the evolution of the business had been an "organic thing".

"We had to think of different things to do," she said.

"In some ways Covid, I have to say, did us a favour - although I would never have thought it in 2020 when you thought the world was collapsing."

Doug Richardson says diversifying was necessary in the drive for cheap food

Mr Richardson, who comes from one of the island's oldest farming families, said his business began recycling pallet boards and timber packaging into boxes for potatoes.

"[Diversifying] helps you come back to your core business with some different perspectives and that's really been our story, I'm sure other producers will attest to similar things," he said.

Mr Richardson feels that diversification is "necessary" because of the economic conditions and the "constant drive" for cheap food.

However, he said diversification could be more difficult for larger farms.

"It's more your smaller and medium sized farms that can find the time for the whole operation viable, which is why it is so important to have a mixture of farms," he said.

Mr Richardson said farmers were inherently creative people.

"We're constantly working, constantly thinking," he said.

"We're very weather dependent so you have to think on your feet and we are a hard working bunch."