58 GAZEGILL ORGANICS OCT / NOV 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk
ORGANIC FARMING
Happy Animals and Diversification Success in the Beautiful Ribble Valley
GAZEGILL Organic Farm is situated just outside the Lancashire town of Clitheroe in the beautiful Ribble Valley , looking out across the stunning Pendle Hill .
The farm has been in the Robinson family for 500 years . I recently met up with their daughter , Emma and husband , Ian O ’ Reilly . Ian and Emma met 18 years ago . Emma was picking monies up at a local pub for pork she had supplied . Ian bought a pig from her and the rest , as they say , is history . As we strolled around the farm talking , I assumed Ian had always been a farmer , but no , Ian is a builder by trade and when he and Emma decided to get together permanently Ian had to learn farming almost from scratch . His building skills and knowledge have been invaluable in the past few years . More of that later .
My first impression of this organic haven was a marvellous one ; good job I was going slow down the farm track , as at the bottom I was greeted by groups of happy pigs scurrying about the yard and as I parked up , I was greeted by a few of their pet goats .
The farm covers some 250 acres . The land is all permanent pasture , they have a herd of 110 Dairy Shorthorns including followers . They average 4,000-5,000 litres per year and 4.8 % butterfat . They are never pushed for higher yields , nor filled with proteins , udders are spotlessly cleaned and sanitised before milking and the raw milk is tested weekly . Nothing is done to the milk after it comes out of the cows - it simply goes straight into the collection tank , where it is cooled , bottled in the microdairy and sold directly to consumers . They have rare breed Oxford Sandy & Black pigs including 16 breeding sows , Hampshire Down sheep who produce strong lambs , they also buy in about 20 lambs a week to finish .
Ian was telling me that they are struggling to get hold of rare breed pigs and are always looking for organic rare breed pigs to buy . To complete this happy animal haven , they have geese , ponies , parrots , cats and dogs . The sheepdogs are all trained by Emma . As we stood and talked , the four dogs appeared , she immediately shouted “ Paddle ” and they shot off the nearby stream and jumped in ! You get a feel of chilled harmony when you are on Gazegill .
Emma ’ s father was passionate about his land with its hay meadows , wildlife and the rare breeds he kept . Ian took me on a tour of the farm to see their Dairy Shorthorns , to my surprise his Polaris Mule was an electric one . I asked Ian how effective it was , “ The Polaris is remarkably agile and quiet . It was one of the best purchases we have made . It always keeps going as long as you charge overnight and has saved us £ 3000 a year in fuel !”
‘ Our aim is simply to put more in than we
take out through lowintensity farming , because in the longterm the animals and soils are better for it ’
As we crossed the fields , you could see the mediaeval ridge and furrows still in evidence . Ian and Emma are just as passionate as Emma ’ s father in preserving and encouraging the natural environment . Ian said to me , “ Emma and I are the current custodians of the land here and we hope to pass it on to our three children , Niamh , Isabel and Oliver , in the best condition as possible . 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 .
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