Westcombe: Community Economy

Ten years on from the programme’s first visit to the celebrated cheesemakers at Westcombe Dairy, On Your Farm finds out how a high-tech investment helped kickstart a dramatic process of diversification at the Somerset farm.
In 2016, Tom and Richard Calver installed the world’s first cheddar turning robot in their cheese cave, saving them from a backbreaking and time consuming part of the cheesemaking process. This allowed them to focus their efforts elsewhere.
Over the past ten years the father and son have transformed Westcombe Dairy into the cornerstone of a community of businesses based at the farm, including a charcuterie, a flourmill and bakery, and an ice-cream maker. Each enterprise is in some way connected to another business – Theo Whyte finds out how.
Presented and produced by Theo Whyte.