A fresh search has begun to find farmers to take over Sark's only dairy.

The Sark Community Dairy is looking for new tenants to produce 100 litres of milk per day in the island. 

Katherine and Jason Salisbury moved to the island in 2019 to take over the farm following a nationwide search for suitable tenants to restart local production.

After five years, the couple have decided to return home to Suffolk.

Jason tells us how he came to this decision: 

"When we started the dairy before Covid, our brief was to put Sark dairy products onto the island and get their dairy going, and really our mission is accomplished. We've managed to do that.

"We've got our milk into the shops and hotels, our double award winning cheeses that have gone out..cream and butter. So that's now done we've got all the products.

"Our Suffolk farm is calling and we want to go back to our Suffolk family, and our parents aren't getting any younger as well so we've decided to do that."

Katherine and Jason Salisbury

The Salisbury family were chosen to start up the Sark Community Dairy following a public appeal to find a dairy farmer with the right skills and knowledge.

Prior to this, the island went years without its own milk supply after a local farmer retired and nobody could be found to continue with the business. 

It's hoped the island will luck out again and find a new farmer to grab the bull by the horns - or rather, the heifer by the udder.

This time, there's a buy-in of £70,000 for whoever is successful, to cover the cost of cattle and processing equipment. 

Jason says those looking to takeover would benefit from being "easy going, with the knowledge of processing and cows" and also ready to "enjoy island life and up for getting involved in the community."

Jason tending the cows

Although excited to pursue familiar pastures, Jason tells us he will certainly miss Sark: 

"Gosh - going down to the beach in the afternoons, that's the main thing. I'll miss all the people especially at this time of year when most of the tourists are gone.

"It can take you an hour to walk to the shop because you just talk to people along the way. We'll miss the changing of the seasons. It's just a lovely, lovely place to be."