48 HIGH HURST FARM AUG / SEP 2020 • farmers-mart . co . uk
H . C AIREY & SONS LTD LICENSED ABATTOIR AND CUTTING PLANT
providing a full service for farmers , butchers and the catering industry . We are proud to be associated with High Hurst Farm
Snowdrop Villa , Ayside , Grange-Over-Sands , Cumbria , LA11 6JE regime - myself and Phil from LDF both had to change our wellies , don the waterproofs , wellies and gloves provided then dip the wellies in footbath disinfectant before meeting the animals . Robin was most insistent upon this .
We walked around the various enclosures , most containing rare breeds . Ducks , including Cayuga , Khaki Campbell and Muscovy . The goats , which are bred for milk and meat , were a particularly entertaining bunch - from looking out of the window of the shed to making a huge racket as they came to see us . Their first two goats were rescue animals .
Sheep - they have Devon and Cornwall Longwools , they have Ryelands - nicknamed “ Teddy Bear ” sheep as their wool is very curly and grows all over their faces which means they need trimming around the eyes regularly , and they have Herdwick-Ryeland crosses . Robin intends to start conservation breeding with the Devon and Cornwall ’ s later in the year , as there are currently fewer than 900 in the UK .
Then onto to the pigs - the two breeds Robin and Andrew have , are the Gloucestershire Old Spots and Berkshires . Berkshires produce what is reputably the finest pork in the world and is highly revered as far away as Japan . All the pigs are pedigree registered and some of the bloodlines are very small indeed . They have two boars and five breeding sows .
The pigs , like all the animals at High Hurst Farm , live what can only be said to be a charmed life ; their health is constantly monitored and although only doing it for four years , Robin has an absolute eagle eye and can spot problems and potential problems immediately . All the animals are fed twice a day in measured portions . Their development is tracked for size and shape , and diet adjusted accordingly .
Another example of the charmed life that is led here is that the pigs , unlike the mass market , are weaned at 8 weeks not 3 weeks , then the sow is led from the nursery field but the weaners remain in the nursery field where their health and development is monitored for another two weeks before being led into their own field where they will live together as a herd . No animal is ever left alone . The animals all receive personal care and attention and all the ones who remain for a long time ( which is most ) have names ! I asked Robin how , after investing a huge amount of time and effort and not a small amount of money in re-establishing the farm and animal development , does the self-sustaining / business side work ?
This is where it gets very interesting and really demonstrates what a major achievement Robin has put together . With conservation breeding , the breed guidelines state that every animal has to be as genetically perfect as possible to develop and further the breed . In time , Robin would have animals available for sale to like-minded farmers who have 5-star breeding units and are looking to rear rare breeds and carry on the conservation . To date , she has sold pigs for breeding as far away as the
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