LIKE many farmers today, Anne and Mick Meadows are looking forward to a future where they have more control.

It is something they have been working towards for some time and last year they celebrated a landmark in their efforts, the opening of their own farm shop.

This achievement is all the sweeter for Anne and Mick financed the project entirely themselves. It wasn't that they didn't want help but they found the Government grants available came gift wrapped in red tape and they simply couldn't afford the time to unpick the ribbon!

"The paperwork was a minefield. It really did seem unnecessarily complicated."

The conversion took three months and then the building had to be equipped with a cool room and butchery section to meet high standards required by the local authority.

But, a year on, and Anne and Mick are certain the farm shop is the key to the farm's future.

Mick explains: "Last year, we produced 1,000 fat lambs, a third of these were sold directly to the public either from the farm shop or at one of several farmers' markets which we regularly attend. I don't think that's bad going for a first year."

Not only does the farm shop sell the Meadows' own lamb and beef, it also stocks cheeses, eggs, cakes and preserves from other local producers.

Mick, like many farmers, was badly affected by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

"I think we lost about £25,000 that year and that kind of money will take four or five years to get back. You took whatever the abbattoir would give you and the price of lamb dropped from £48.50 to £23.50 and stayed there for some time. Meanwhile the supermarkets were selling the same lamb for £100. You can't help feeling bitter."

Fortunately, lamb prices are better than ever today, with a lamb selling for £60. Mick attributes the good price to a strong euro with British lamb selling well abroad, especially in France.

Mick and Anne run the farm with their 26-year-old son James. "I have to admit you hear about fathers and sons who don't get on when it comes to working together, especially in farming. But he's very, very dedicated and very hot on animal welfare.

"Sometimes when you've been in farming all your life you get a bit stuck in your ways. It's good to have some new blood and James has lots of new ideas and often as not he's right - trouble is it nearly always costs me money," Mick laughs.

Although Mick can joke about ploughing money back into the farm, reinvestment is a serious issue for many farmers.

With diminishing profit margins the couple decided to take action and for Mick and Anne the answer was to cut out the middleman and sell directly to the public. Farmers' markets were the obvious first step and fitted in well with the couple's strong belief in traditional farming.

They are regulars at Worcester Farmers' Market as well as Tewkesbury and Stroud.

"If a customer is not happy, they can come back to the next market and look the producer straight in the eye and tell them so. You try and find someone in a supermarket if you've got a complaint. No one's bothered.

"You'll have a job to buy a decent steak in a supermarket. They don't hang their meat for long enough.

"The artificial lighting in these supermarkets is designed to make the meat appear this very vivid red but anyone who knows about good quality meat will know that this is not the colour it should be.

"The trouble is many shoppers don't know what to look for.

"Beef and lamb should be a dark red. We hang our lamb for nine days and beef for 18 days, it's a selling point for us and people come from all over to our farm shop because they know they will be buying good quality traditionally reared lamb."

The Meadows farm shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 10am-6pm. If you would like to pre-order a lamb telephone 01684 772322.