Ten years ago the Dawes family from Foxbury Farm proudly opened their first farm shop in West Oxfordshire.

It was created from an old farm building, large enough to contain a modern butchery as well the usual shop fittings. Despite being situated in the middle of the countryside, off the A40, where cattle and sheep graze happily on lush pastures and tubby little spotted piglets squawk around their pens, Foxbury Farm is situated just a few miles from Brize Norton. Aircraft circle over their land while visitors entering the farm gate are greeted by Marley the Cockerel, and sheep dogs who sit lazily beside the door waiting to be called to work.

During the time that their shop has been open to the public, the Dawes family has successfully managed to balance the best of the new, while honouring sound traditional farming methods that enrich the environment. They have also done a great deal to raise money for the community with their amazing — and sometimes wacky — fundraising ventures. Money collected from selling their manure by the barrowful and providing dog bones in return for a small donation helps the village church roof repair fund and other local charities. They have even run craft fairs, which not only raised more funds but provided gifted local craftspeople with an outlet for their talents.

Indeed, during the past ten years they have both provided a well-stocked farm shop and brought life to the area.

By 2009, their original shop proved too small to contain not just the butchers but more than 100 different local products they stocked. A larger purpose-built shop was necessary. Thanks to, the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE, run by Defra and the EU) who part-funded this enterprising venture, a new shop was built in the farmyard. It now boasts the largest display of local meat in Oxfordshire.

If you ask Colin how many awards the farm and the shops have won, he will scratch his head and, with a laugh, admit that it’s quite a lot. Actually, he says, there was a time when he spent more time changing into his DJ for the award ceremonies (of which there were at least 30) than his working gear.

All this sounds very positive — but there comes a time when winning awards is not enough and getting up early to collect vegetables from the Vale of Evesham, and going to bed late after delivering food boxes around the county is no longer as satisfying as it was. Colin is a farmer born and bred. He is happiest striding round the farm’s 600 acres of grass and arable land, where 120 sucker cows graze and 450 ewes keep him busy during lambing season. Finally, there came a moment when farming won over trading and valued customers received a letter from Colin which included an invitation to the shop’s tenth birthday party.

It read: “When I first thought about opening a farm shop my passion was to combine my love of farming with selling my own meat and local food to people across Oxfordshire and surrounding counties.

“My vision has always encompassed taking stock of where we are after ten years’ retailing. With our son Stuart just about to complete his second year at university and our daughter Rebecca returning to events management work we recently sat down as a family and had that discussion.”

Colin went on to explain that as the shop was really establishing itself as a local food centre in the area, they felt it was time for the business to move into a new era, whether in food education, tourism, leisure or associations with other businesses. They are, therefore, putting the property on the market. He stresses that they will not be shutting the shop, but it is time that they move on and achieve new goals. Most of all he wants to return to being a full-time farmer and find personal time for the family and maybe get to watch a whole game of rugby during the weekend without interruption. This is why loyal customers and producers received a letter inviting them to join him tomorrow for the farm shop’s official tenth birthday party.

This will be followed on Sunday by the annual farm open day, with sheep shearing demonstrations, tractor and trailer rides, cookery demonstrations, tractor rides weaving and spinning demonstrations. There will also be an art and craft marquee with more than 44 stalls selling hand-crafted products, home-made cakes and jewellery. Obviously, Colin will be serving rolls filled with roast Gloucester Old Spot pork and lashings of apple sauce and crunchy crackling. The Dawes family’s decision to move on now is courageous, but be assured farmers like Colin do not just vanish — they have far too much to offer.

For further details about the party and the annual farm open day go to www.foxbury farm.co.uk.