13-03-2025
Farmers look at organic farming in the Cotswolds
A 1200-acre organic mixed farm in the Cotswolds area of England is taking a different approach from most conventional farms by creating more biodiversity and producing food direct to the consumer to capture higher prices.
This farm was one of several visited recently by Northern Ireland farmers through the Farm Innovations Visits programme under the theme, 'Lowland Biodiversity Farming'.
Fir Farm is part of Fir Farm Holdings, owned by Sir Alan Parker and Lady Parker, who is also Chairman of the Sustainable Food Trust.
During a visit to Fir Farm, the Northern Ireland farmers noted that one of the novel enterprises on the farm is the installation of a mobile abattoir.
Fir Farm comprises two working farms, at Rectory Farm and Manor Farm, an events venue and a commercial property with units leased out to rural businesses.
In this scenic area of the Cotswolds, adjacent to the village of Upper Swell, the emphasis is on managing the land in harmony with nature, raising native breed livestock, growing heritage grains and producing sustainable timber.
'Always striving to be as sustainable as possible, we take a holistic approach that works with nature to regenerate the environment, creating both agricultural and environmental diversity.
'Our objective is to produce food without diminishing our natural capital,' says the farm's spokesperson.
'Our farm landscape is diverse, from permanent pasture, meadows, and arable fields, to woodlands, orchards, rivers, and ponds.
'We have extensive biodiversity across the farm, as well as fertile soils and lots of interesting history, including evidence of ridge and furrow systems from the Middle Ages and Victorian dew ponds."
The owners describe the farm as an integrated, circular system which means each component has a role to play in regenerating the environment.
The rotation of animals and crops helps to restore the soil and increase natural fertility.
While there is a huge acreage planted in cereals, of mostly milling wheat and malting barley, the diversity is reflected in the mixed livestock farming that they say is central to their sustainable system. It helps to build soil fertility naturally, while the animals enjoy rich pastureland.
Fir Farm has 100 per cent pasture-fed beef cattle and free-range pigs fed on home-grown, organically produced feed.
The native breeds of livestock chosen helps them manage the land in environmentally sensitive ways, protecting soil, increasing biodiversity and enhancing meat quality.
At the time of our visit, there was a small herd of Red Poll cows in the dairy herd, producing high-quality milk for the vending machines and for making ice cream.
The cows are milked once a day, in the morning, with the newborn calves allowed back to suckle for the remainder of the day before taken off in the evenings again.
The calves are raised on milk and hay only, with no concentrates fed.
Phil Gordon-Jones, Farm and Estates Manager, said there were no concerns about mastitis and the cows produced 10-18 litres of creamy rich milk a day, with a butterfat content of 4 per cent.
It is sold through the vending machines at the roadside for £1.80 a litre.
The vending machines also sell frozen meats and ice cream. In addition, a local bakery sells bread from the vending machine site at weekends.
The whole milk is kept as pure as possible by using batch pasteurising, done daily on the farm at a lower temperature for a longer time to preserve the flavour, by keeping it unhomogenised so that the milk will settle, needing a shake before use.
There is a small number of the Sussex cattle – an ancient British beef breed fed on an organic pasture-based diet. They are found to be easy calving and very maternal.
When these animals are fed a forage-only diet, they provide much healthier meat for the consumer.
Much of the pasture is in herbal leys with a wide variety of legumes and herbs which means the cattle do not need anthelmintics for worm control.
Ruminants raised this way have been shown to contain higher levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acids, beta-carotene and vitamin E.
The British Saddleback pigs graze pastures and woodlands, supplemented with home-grown barley and whey from a neighbouring organic dairy farmer and cheese maker.
They are moved to drier ground in winter, and during our visit, were paddock grazing a cover crop dominated by mustard.
Last autumn, a batch of up to 100 heritage and rare breed turkeys were raised for the Christmas market – selling for £22 a kg, or around £180 for an average bird.
The 100 hens provide eggs selling for £2.70 a dozen, although Phil pointed out that the organic hen rations were costing them £800 a tonne, and the organic turkey meal was even higher, at £1,000 a tonne.
The owners of Fir Farm are fully behind the highest standards of animal welfare and are installing their own abattoir on site to reduce any stress in animals.
Slaughtering their animals as close to the point of production as possible was a critical part of ensuring the highest standards of welfare.
There are now estimated to be less than 50 small red meat abattoirs left in England, with the closures due to a combination of issues such as increased regulation and rising costs.
Fir Farm commissioned the design of their own abattoir, which has been fully licensed.
It is based on a mobile model which, in theory, means it can be moved to another farm for use.
During our farm tour, we saw the groundworks for the lairage and the pipework and services laid to connect to the mobile abattoir which has been tested on another farm.
It is estimated the mobile slaughter unit could handle five cattle, 35 sheep or 25 pigs per day to make it cost-effective.
This week, DAERA launched a new Farm Innovation Visit offering farmers the opportunity to learn about innovative approaches and technologies delivering sustainable low carbon suckler and beef systems.
This study tour will take place in England over three days in mid June.
Applications are invited from one member or employee of a farm business that has over three hectares of land with a minimum of 15 suckler cows, or are rearing or finishing 30 calves or more.
Applicants must be over 18 years old on the application closing date, and not in full-time education.
Farmers interested in participating can find out more details and complete an application form at
Applications close at 4pm on Friday, March 21.
