Nine longhorn heifers joined us here at Cranley Barn Farms in Autumn 2019, we chose them because they are a fantastic hardy native breed, small in frame and and grow slowly compared to commercial breeds of cattle. They are suited to being outside all year and are effective grazers growing throughout the winter on grass, clover and wildflower which makes them a perfect match for our plans to change our grazing methods to a mob grazing approach. In January we introduced our Heifers to a new bull named Bill who, we hope, will play his part in providing calves next autumn and winter and also for a few years to come.

Picture by KATE STODDART-SCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY

We have had a busy few weeks getting the shop up and running and we would like to say a huge thank you for the support so far, along with the shop opening we have also had a busy few months on the farm. Some will already be aware that our pigs come in Batches, they are born outside and then arrive to us at around 4 weeks old when they are ready to leave the sows. They arrive in a big group and grow together for 16 weeks by which time some are reaching required size of 110kgs and we select the biggest each week for around 6 – 8 weeks until they have all gone. Once the sheds are empty we call in the troops and clean the sheds and disinfect everything ready to welcome the next group of pigs in. Our pigs currently on farm arrived Mid July so have been here coming up to 4 weeks and are doing well helped along by the warm weather. Our heavy clay land isn’t suited to keeping pigs outside as it just becomes too wet and waterlogged. Growing them in straw yards is the best solution, as the pigs have plenty of straw to root around in and stay warm, pigs hate getting cold and sleeping in drafts. We are part of both the RSPCA freedom food and the Red tractor assurance scheme so we can be very sure that we are offering the very best care, that we are competent in the care we offer and all the equipment and buildings are of a high standard

We don't want to bombard you, we just want to make sure you know whats happening here. So once a month we will send you an email with a meat cut of the month and how to cook it, a brilliant offer to enjoy in the shop and an update on how we are getting on gearing the farm up for regenerative farming. We have an exciting few months with new piglets arriving, harvest fast approaching, grassland coming back in to management and the arrival of the long horn cattle. We don't want you to miss a thing. We are also hoping to host events throughout the farming calendar to provide a hands on opportunity to see what we are doing and an opportunity to learn more about farming and we want you to be the first to know. If this sounds like its for you then please leave your name and email. We promise we won't share your details and you can unsubscribe at any point, to see our privacy policy please click here To sign up to the monthly newsletter click here , or sign up in the shop one day your visiting. See you soon Mary

Shop Opening 14th June