The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2014 - Issue 36 | Page 34

SOUTHFIELD FARM At any one time there are also 3,000 ducks on the farm and they collect the day-old chicks from Cherry Valley in Lincolnshire, in batches of 750. The breed is an Aylesbury X. The Mathisons started with ducks after the geese and have seen the market take off - especially in the past decade. Stuart’s wife, Ruth, sees the business from the sharp end as she undertakes the packing and delivering. Ruth explains: “Duck is much more popular than it ever was since TV chefs started using it in their meals. So many restaurants are now putting speciality dishes together. Last week I made five visits to the same restaurant because their latest addition to the menu was going so well. We also attend the Cottingham Food Festival near Hull which is a great annual event. ADM are one of the worlds leading agricultural processors with UK operations including a crushing plant at Erith in Kent and flour mills at Avonmouth, Corby, Tilbury, Liverpool, Knottingley and Edinburgh. ADM Direct offer unique growing contracts to growers for oilseed rape, breadmaking and biscuit wheat. ADM Direct are pleased to be supporting Mathison Farmers of Leven. For further details contact [email protected] 01223265165 / 07785386003 34 Oct/Nov 2014 FarmersMart To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk