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Our family have been farming around the picturesque village of Upton Grey for 100 years. Today, we operate a 500 acre mixed farm. This means that as well as producing arable crops, we run a herd of beef cattle, a herd of outdoor pigs and three flocks of sheep. Many of these animals are traditional breeds such as Hampshire Down rams, Shorthorn bulls, and Berkshire pigs.
Our animals have complete traceability from field to shop, and are reared under the highest standards of welfare by stockmen with a lifetime of experience. This type of mixed farm, with its diverse range of enterprises complementing each other, is a dying breed, as many farms have been forced to streamline their operations or become more specialised in a modern world.
Our animals have complete traceability from field to shop, and are reared under the highest standards of welfare by stockmen with a lifetime of experience. This type of mixed farm, with its diverse range of enterprises complementing each other, is a dying breed, as many farms have been forced to streamline their operations or become more specialised in a modern world.
Cattle
The majority of our cows are bred using traditional Shorthorn and Hereford genetics. Most of them calve outdoors in the spring and spend the summer out at grass. We bring the calves into warm, cosy sheds for the winter where they are fed a mix of our homegrown cereals and grass.
The hardier cows spend the winter outside in the healthy fresh air eating lovely, sweet fodder beet. The young stock will go out to grass again after the winter, before coming back into the barn where they will gradually fatten to provide quality beef for the shop.
Sheep
The farm runs three flocks of sheep. The first is a flock of Poll Dorset ewes. Traditionally, the Dorsets are used so we can celebrate Easter with 'new spring lamb' as it is one of the few breeds able to lamb out of their usual season. We lamb this flock at Christmas, enabling us to provide the shop at the right time.
The second of our flocks lamb, when there's lots of young, succulent grass for both the milking ewes and growing lambs. These Hampshire Down sheep produce lambs that fatten well on this spring grass, whilst our Suffolks will produce lambs ready later in the season.
Pigs
Our small herd of outdoor pigs are bred using traditional Berkshire Boars to produce a specialist butchers pig. They have a more compact carcass than many modern breeds with a modest cover of fat. This is essential for a quality product, providing both taste and succulence. The sows have warm dry huts, outside, where they give birth to the piglets. These piglets will spend the majority of their lives outside before coming into comfy, straw-based pens to allow them to 'finish' in a warm, cosy environment.
