TURKEY
How to orderThere are 2 breeds of turkey at Partridge Hill Farm both reared free ranging between woodland and pasture in small flock numbers for the highest welfare. More...
LAMB, HOGGET & MUTTON
Hardy breeds, grass fedPartridge Hill Farm is home to, Welsh Mountain Badger Face sheep, Beulah Hill Sheep and Westcountry Exlana Hair Sheep breeds as well as Berkshire and Middle White pigs breeds. More...
PORK
Rare breed, slow rearedThe pigs are kept in their family groups all their life. The natural outdoor system they are kept in at Partridge Hill Farm enables them to slowly grow while expressing their natural behaviour like bathing in mud and digging up roots. They have a very happy life. More...
A Story of Growing Success
Since establishment in 2015 Partridge Hill Farm has carried on growing at a managed rate, stock numbers have crept up as the customer base has grown and as neighbouring pastures have become available to use. The motivation to set up the farm is based in wanting to contribute to the local food network in a environmentally conscious way and by being 100% confidenet in the welfare standards used on the farm.
“The soil gives us everything, when managed sustainably it sequests carbon from the atmosphere helping to mitigate against the threats of the Climate Crisis, and provides the nutritants that sustains our lives; we can't lose it!”
My eyes where openned to the legally acceptable animal welfare standard by The Animals Film (1981) during my childhood, then revisited during my Agricultural degree. I came to the conclusion that a lot of people wouldn't find what is legal is acceptable but it's all hidden behind clever marketing and distracting packaging.
What makes us different
Keeping the feed local
Our pigs and turkeys are fed a local diet; supplementary feed that is bought in is grown and processed in the district, the merchant is able to tell me the orgins of all of the ingredients and mix them according to my requirements Buying locally grown and processed feed reduces the "food miles" in the end product. Being able to moderate the protein composition of the feed means I'm not pushing the livestock to grow as fast as possible, perhaps this reduces my profit margin as they must spend longer on the farm but they have more of a life and taste better for it. This is slow-food.
Welfare Standards
Though the farm enterprise is too small at the moment to justify the expense of certification the welfare standards of animal husbandry set out by the Soil Association and RSPCA are a guiding mantra.
Grass-fed Sheep
The sheep's diet is entirely foraged from the ancient meadows and hedges. The pastures are not improved by anything other than the sheep's own fertilizer. A low stocking ratio means there is plenty to go around for the benfit of the livestock, crop and soil. The breeds on the farm have been thoughtfully chosen that they will be best suited to enviroment and system they are kept in. The thin soils and rough grazing of the steep valley slopes means the hardy breeds do best, Welsh Hill Buelah and Mountain Badger Face established breeds run along side the very modern Exlana and thrive with us.
Off Farm Services!
Keeping a small scale farm functioning isn't easy financially, so to keep the show on the road we offer garden services building all kinds of fences, cutting all sizes of hedges, and managing paddocks and orchards.
Transparency
For those who are interested a farm newsletter is emailed out every quarter keeping friends and customers informed of what is going on throughout the year. Maintaining a relationship between customers and where their meat is coming from.
The Abattoir
Fortunately our closest abattoir has been held up as a model of good practice winning business awards glore and featuring in TV shows such as Countryfile and Kill It, Cook It, Eat It. They have the highest expectations of their customers' of all who offer this service in the area, and make the best job at butchering and presenting the our customers orders for us. They might cost a little more but knowing how they fulfil their role with dignity and repect is reassuring.
