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HayeFarm-on-RiverTamar
| Once upon a time upon a river upon a rhyme upon a hill still in a land not too far away was Haye |
Haye (an old word for enclosure) nestles in the Cornish bank of the breath taking and breath giving Tamar Valley; the soil being a medium loam over shillet. We started the farm business tenancy agreement with the National Trust in the autumn of the year 2000 at a time when the country was burning pyres of shot cattle due to Defra's way of handling foot and mouth disease and began the dance of becoming custodians of this truly beautiful countryside.
One
of the worries about keeping cows is that people seem to say that these animals
are perhaps the biggest polluters of the planet. There
seems to be some confusion with the emissions created when growing and feeding
the animals cereal and concentrates, rather than letting them graze on permanent pasture,
and that grazing is actually an efficient way of extracting carbon from the atmosphere and
fixing it in the soil. (Please see the link page for more information.)
We are currently responsible
for about 350 acres, farming organically, grazing a herd
of South Devon and Angus X suckler cows and a flock of Lleyn sheep - having
received full certification with the Soil Association in October 2003. Wildlife thrives,
with numerous hedgerows providing natural 'corridors' on the farm and 'field
margins' offer bird nesting areas, as well as somewhere for wild flowers and
bees to
flourish.
We planted an orchard of 100 apple trees and have tried
three different types of tree guards to protect them from the sheep. The
trees have also had a little pruning from some curious cows that broke through
the hedge one day. As the Tamar Valley had been famous for its market
gardening, we thought we really ought to try growing some vegetables. One
of the problems of trying to supply produce direct from the farm was being able
to offer continuity of supply, so we then contacted a localish vegetable growing
co-operative, SDOP, which supplies Riverford,
which has a delivery infrastructure and a few farm shops, and tried
growing purple sprouting broccoli, spring greens and potatoes, using our own
composted farmyard manure and ever learning about our soil fertility and the importance of
rotations.
The co-operative and Riverford have carefully chosen the
varieties we grow specifically for their superb flavour.
We won the National Trust fine farm produce award in
2008 with the
charlotte
potatoes, broad beans and beef and lamb.
We
try to give our animals as natural and happy a life as possible; they are
all born, bred and reared on the holding. Our cows - often still with their horns - live as
a suckler herd with one bull grazing in the hills and
meadows.
They calve with as little intervention as possible.
That the calves are suckling at foot with their mothers for about a year means
they have a good chance of developing their immune systems.
During
the rough winter months, they are housed on the holding where they
are fed on homegrown hay, haylage, and silage (pickled grass).
We
have
a low stocking density which helps minimise risk of
disease and
the herd has never had a case of BSE.
Our flock of sheep grazes
outside all year round and lambing time is in the early spring-
also mainly outside if the weather is dry.
Then its playtime frolicking
delightfully as the skylarks sing and family of barn owls sleep before
their nocturnal hunt.
Haye.......food
for thought: By not spreading neat nitrogen, which fixes minerals
within the soil, we are allowing the minerals from the soil to
be naturally taken up by the grass and absorbed by the
animal. These, in turn, are absorbed by us, as are the protein, iron and
vitamins.
Research by Prof. Jeff Wood, Bristol University, Grassland
Challenge Event Report 2005 shows that vitally beneficial omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E are
found in a higher proportion in grass
silage fed beef compared with concentrate fed beef. Conjugated Linoleic Acid levels (one of the Omega 6
essential fatty acids that the body
cannot manufacture) are also found to be high. (Dr Nigel Scollan Inst.
Grassland and Environmental Research European Commission).
most produce is available through the Riverford vegetable box, meat box or farm shops
Should you wish to place an order, an example of what your Beef box may contain is:
Steaks: 2 x sirloin, 2 x rump and a little fillet!
Joints: 2 of the following: topside/rib/silverside/forerib/brisket.
Braising Steak: 4 x 450g packs.
Mince: 4 x 450g packs.
Availiable through:
Riverford Organic Farmers Ltd
An example of what your Lamb Pack may contain is:
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Shoulder: 2 x half joints (whole if
preferred).
Leg: 2 x half joints (whole if preferred). Chops: approximately 12 (or left as a rack). Breast: boned and rolled as a small joint. Neck cutlets: for stews and casseroles. Availiable through |
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More mature beef and mutton also available please ask.
Riverford can either deliver to you or you may collect from the farm shops; the meat will be fresh and therefore suitable for freezing.
Bon appetit!
| Haye... that tastes good! | ||
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Organic Certification UK6 |
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| Registration Number: 481 |
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Haye Farm St Dominic Saltash Cornwall PL12 6SJ |
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