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“ Farming in a sensitive manner means we only cut meadows for hay once everything has gone to seed , and the birds have left their ground nests . This is better for nature , and the hay contains numerous grasses and herbs , so it provides a rounded winter feed for our Shorthorn cows and rare breed sheep , supplying essential nutrients and medicinal herbs as well as being a natural diet for ruminants . What little feed we use is UK grown , with peas , pulses and lupins the protein source , and being organic it ’ s GMO-free . Gazegill ’ s ancient meadows contain over eighty species of wildflowers , herbs and plants . During the summer months , our cows have free access to pastures , where they forage for different plant types and even selflimit any potential illness . This natural , healthy way also means that the vet visits a lot less and it has a direct effect on the quality of the milk , which is higher in Omega 3 than that from intensive silage-based systems .”
The Shorthorns average 4,000-5,000 litres per year and 4.8 % butterfat . The higher butterfat content means the milk has a beautiful taste . Son Olly won ’ t drink any other milk than milk from the farm . Emma is highly allergic to all antibiotics & medicines . It was partly this that pushed Ian and Emma to produce organic milk . For the past 8 years , the cows have not been treated with antibiotics at all . You can tell how the family treasure and look
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after their herd as they all have their own names which is usually the family name followed by a character name such as Zippy , Sharwood , Patsy , taken from the cows temperament or personality .
Gazegill are one of only a handful of farms in the UK that is licensed by The Food Standards Agency to sell raw drinking milk .
Emma has always been ambitious and eager to push forward , she has always wanted a retail operation as well as just the farm , whereas her father was more of a traditionalist in many ways and wasn ’ t so sure .
In 2008 , the wholesale milk price not being good almost forced Ian and Emma
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into the bold step they took . They had seen an increasing demand for local produce as people wanted to know more about where their food came from and how much better food straight from the farm tasted . They began by putting together meat boxes to sell from the farm gate and at farmers ’ markets . This made them early pioneers of farm diversification . It was hard work doing this as well as running the farm , however this intrepid duo made a great success of it , so much so they converted an old piggery and opened one of the earliest farm shops to capitalise on their new opportunity .
The shop only opened two days a week , but soon moved to seven days
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due to its popularity . Eventually , doing farmers ’ markets was not really viable with the amount of time travelling to and from etc . Never ones to stand still , they took another bold step in 2013 and jumped on another bandwagon early , opening their online shop . This included a big investment in a new preparation facility .
The online shop has really taken off , with 750 or more boxes a week now going out nationwide . Internet orders are now delivered by APC couriers , all in special fully liveried packaging . They have an automated process that arranges
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