Lamb, Hogget and Mutton

Customer satisfaction;

conscientious shoppers have a local source of high welfare meat raised in an environmentally considerate system. Bought directly from the farmer a personal relationship can be built connecting the buyer and producer in order to ensure confidence in the food provenance. Because the livestock are slow-reared the meat has time to develop a deeper richer flavour appreciated by discerning foodies.

Reduced Environmental Impact;

Practicing a regenerative pasture only feed system based with hardy breed sheep reduces the carbon foot print of the meat. While hardy breeds might not grow as fast, or to such a size of the commercial breeds they do not require the same level of medical interventions nor do they require any supplementary feed, or access to high protein value grazing. The rough grazing they thrive outdoors on all year is marginal agricultural land not capable of sustaining arable crops, but with careful management can be used to improve carbon capture.

Higher Animal welfare

Being hardy breeds the sheep flock doesn't require as many farmer/vet interventions in their lives, regular rotation and low stocking densities reduce stress and parasite levels in the flock, family bonds are maintained and use of the same sheepdog is carefully managed. Lambing happens in late spring once the temperature and light levels have risen and while there is a flush of new grass. A breeding programme at the farm is working towards a modern hair breed flock moving away from the Welsh hill wool breeds that established it. This introduces the advantages of not having to shear them, reduces the incidences of fly attack and bramble entanglement. The slower grow rate of the hardy breeds means that a lamb can take 3 times of more as long to reach sale weight allowing it to achieve more of its potential than what it would have a chance of in a commercial system.