Meet Woodland Valley Eggs, One of Millwood’s Longest-Standing Local Suppliers

A few miles from Millwood, at Ganzell Farm in Woodmancote near Dursley, Dave Bick runs Woodland Valley Eggs, an independent free-range egg business that has been supplying Millwood for around 15 years.

The farm is home to approximately 5,000 hens producing around 4,500 eggs a day, which are graded, boxed and supplied to 27 local businesses. Yet for all those numbers, Woodland Valley remains a remarkably hands-on operation, with Dave still closely involved in running the farm and making some of the deliveries himself.

Millwood was also there very near the beginning.

From forestry to 5,000 free-range hens

Egg farming was not always part of the plan.

Dave had spent around 28 years working in forestry before buying the 32-acre Ganzell Farm site. At the time there was little more than ploughed ground and a chicken shed, and it was actually his bank manager who first suggested that eggs might offer a new direction.

The early years were difficult, with Dave recalling a loss of around £43,000 in his second year, but the business survived and gradually established itself. A particularly important change came when he decided to operate independently rather than supply through larger organisations.

Seventeen years later, Woodland Valley keeps around 5,000 free-range hens and produces roughly 4,500 eggs on an average day. The birds spend their days outside when conditions allow, while the eggs are collected, graded and boxed at the farm before heading out to customers around the area.

Dave now supplies 27 local businesses, but one of the earliest remains particularly memorable.

Millwood was there near the beginning

Dave estimates that Woodland Valley has been supplying Millwood for around 15 years and remembers it as the first local customer he supplied after going independent.

That makes the relationship rather more significant than simply having another locally produced item on the shelf.

Millwood has watched Woodland Valley grow from a relatively new independent operation into an established local producer, while Dave has continued delivering eggs through plenty of changes at Millwood itself.

The farm also takes food safety and traceability seriously, with regular laboratory testing carried out as part of the operation. Dave says Woodland Valley has never recorded a salmonella case during its 17 years in business and makes a point of sharing testing information with customers when relevant.

There is something reassuringly straightforward about the relationship. The eggs are produced only a few miles from Cam, Millwood knows exactly where they come from, and after around 15 years it also knows the person producing them.

Local isn’t something new at Millwood

There’s an obvious reason we’re telling this story now. Millwood has recently undergone one of the biggest changes in its history, with a big refurbishment and the store reopening as Millwood Budgens.

There are new surroundings, a wider range and considerably more choice inside, but some of the relationships worth keeping were already well established long before the refurbishment began.

Woodland Valley is a good example. The move to Budgens gives Millwood the opportunity to combine the convenience and range of a national symbol group with products supplied by businesses rooted much closer to home.

In this case, “local eggs” genuinely means eggs produced just a few miles down the road by somebody Millwood has worked with for around a decade and a half.

Looking to the future

After 17 years in the business, Dave is beginning to think about what happens when he eventually decides to slow down.

His children are not looking to take over the farm, but he would much rather see Woodland Valley continue than simply disappear. Ideally, that could mean finding a younger person, couple or family interested in learning the business and, in time, taking it forward.

It would not necessarily have to happen overnight. Dave is open to helping the right people learn the ropes, understand the birds and get to know the day-to-day operation before he eventually steps away. It could potentially provide a route into farming for someone who might otherwise find the cost and practicalities of starting from scratch difficult.

For someone who entered egg farming almost by accident, Dave has built something he clearly believes is worth preserving. Seventeen years producing eggs locally, around 15 years supplying Millwood and only a few miles between farm and shop.

So, if the idea of taking on an established local egg business sounds interesting, perhaps Woodland Valley’s next chapter is still waiting to be written. As Millwood begins its latest chapter, we’re rather pleased that Woodland Valley Eggs remains part of the story.

Discover more

See more from Millwood Budgens, including the store, its facilities and local produce available in Cam.

You can also keep up with what’s happening at Millwood on Facebook and follow Millwood Budgens on Instagram for new products, local suppliers, store updates and more.

If you’re visiting Millwood, look out for Woodland Valley Free Range Eggs, produced just a few miles away.