12 GAZEGILL ORGANICS AUG / SEP 2018 • farmers-mart . co . uk
Commercial Refrigeration & Cold Store Specialists , Installation & Maintenance
12 GAZEGILL ORGANICS AUG / SEP 2018 • farmers-mart . co . uk
FARM ANIMAL VETERINARY SERVICES
Specialist Farm Vets 24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week Flock And Herd Planning
In House Laboratory Faciilities Bull & Ram Fertility Testing
AMTRA Qualified Pharmacy Staff Regular Client Meetings
01729 823538 www . daleheadvetgroup . co . uk
Station Road . Settle . BD24 9AA Main Street . Bentham . LA2 7LE Gisburn Auction Mart . BB7 4ES
WHERE TRADITIONAL FARMING MEETS THE FUTURE
Commercial Refrigeration & Cold Store Specialists , Installation & Maintenance
CO2 Refrigerant - The Natural Choice
Main Agents for Fabdec Dari – Kool & Packo Cooling systems in Lancashire & South Cumbria
DX & Ice Bank Tanks , Ice Builders , Heat Recovery , Enery Efficient Systems
THE 250-acre Lower Gazegill Farm in Lancashire ’ s Ribble Valley combines a long history in the same family with a forward-thinking approach to innovation , conservation and education .
The Robinson family have owned Lower Gazegill for 500 years and championed organic farming long before it became ‘ fashionable ’. The current custodians , Emma Robinson and husband Ian O ’ Reilly , live there with their children Niamh , Isabel and Oliver .
The couple ’ s view is that nature is never wrong and that happy , healthy animals make better , more flavoursome food , that rare and traditional breeds are better suited to the organic system , and that growing them slowly ensures longevity . But while farming in a sustainable , nature-led way , their vision is firmly on the future , with raw milk and rose veal the latest innovations . Most products are sold directly to consumers all over the country , as Emma and Ian have a farm shop and a thriving e-commerce site .
ORGANIC ETHOS
“ My father was passionate about his hay meadows , rare breeds and wildlife ,” Emma explains . “ The farm is all permanent pasture and it ’ s been that way for centuries , the last evidence of ploughing being a small area of medieval ridge-and-furrow land .”
“ Our ethos is simple ,” Ian adds . “ Having been handed 500 years of carefully farmed land , our intention is to pass it on to our children in as good an order as it came to us . Our aim is simply to put more in than we take out through low-intensity farming , because in the long-term the animals and soils are better for it .
“ Farming in a sensitive manner means we only cut meadows for hay once everything has gone to seed and the birds have left their email : sales @ ddcooling . co . uk