![]() ![]() Around 95% of food production relies on soil and healthy topsoil is vital to our existence - it’s a scary fact that half the world’s topsoil has been lost in the last 150 years! ![]() We farm regeneratively one of our aims is to maximise soil health – and in as natural a way as possible. We sowed these root crops in late August in fields that just last summer were a shimmering golden sea of barley as part of our 5-10 year organic rotation. Our lambs from last year (or hoggets as we call them) and ewes stay outside, which is more natural for them and they graze on delicious fresh kale and turnips which they love. Our solution at Higher Hacknell is the age-old tradition of ‘folding roots’. It’s a fairly easy way to feed and finish livestock, but it’s not one that fits in with our regenerative and organic system of farming and not the way to produce healthy food in our view. This concentrate feed is made of manufactured pellets with a whole host of ingredients such as soya, wheat and imported proteins (most probably grown on the other side of the world to the detriment of the planet). Most conventional farmers supplement their hay and silage with bought in ‘cake’ to get them through this hungry gap. We have hay and silage made from last summer’s grass and this makes up most of the animals’ winter diet, especially for the cattle housed in the barns. The farm is suited to growing grass with the plentiful rain and just enough sunshine we get here in North Devon, but that’s a story for another day, although a very important one.Īt this time of year though, the grass hasn’t started growing and we need to protect it for spring when all our lambs and calves are born. The answer to that is grass, well, mostly. One of the most frequent questions we are asked is ‘what do you feed your animals?’ ![]() Having that connection right through from farm to fork has always been at the heart of our farming system, so we are always happy when people want to know about our livestock and how we farm - we are very proud that all of the beef and lamb we prepare and sell from our butchery has been born, bred and fed entirely at Higher Hacknell. We have been selling our produce direct to our customers for over twenty five years even before the age of the internet. ![]()
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