The estate is 550 acres including the 70 acre Loch Arthur and 60 acres of woodland. Our mixed organic farm has been run under Biodynamic principles since 1985 and has full Demeter status. Our boundary takes in some of Lotus Hill, which has a mixture of woodland and heather moor.
We run a dairy herd of 30 dairy shorthorn cows plus followers. Our cows are milked twice a day and the milk runs directly to the creamery next door to be turned into a range of produce.
We also have a suckler beef herd which provides meat to be processed in the butchery and sold either through our own shop or other organic outlets.
Our 100 breeding ewes and their lambs are Scottish Blackface, Easycare and Zwartble breeds. These provide organic lamb and mutton that is sold in the farmshop. In early summer the sheep are shorn and the strong, coarse blackface wool and the dark, soft zwartble wool is processed in our weavery where it is spun and woven into rugs.
As the ground at Loch Arthur has a tendency to be too wet and heavy for organic pig production, we currently buy in organic pigs to provide pork and bacon for our butchery counter and cafe.
As well as preparing silage and hay as fodder for the winter, we also grow arable silage and potatoes.
It is a large farm with many different tasks through the changing seasons and Scottish weather so there is work to suit each member of our mixed ability team.
Our work in the winter includes ensuring the animals have clean, warm housing and enough to eat. We also process 100 tons of wood a year to provide fuel for our houses.
In the summer as well as the ongoing care for the animals, we can be found tending to the fields, managing the grass and crops and sometimes planting new trees. We also take the chance to do maintenance work on our barns and machinery
