At Fir Farm we are now milking 45 pedigree Red Polls, of which all our milk is directly sold, either through our 3 milk vending machines, or to a local artisan farm shop nearby. We have also invested in a cream skimming machine with the help from a FiPL grant, so we are now making our own cream which we utilise in our ever-expanding ice-cream business. This ice cream is again, sold through our two frozen vending machines, along with frozen meat from our Red Poll & Sussex cattle herds.
The Farm itself is just over 1100 acres, fully organic, PFLA accredited dairy and beef, and farmed using regenerative methods, such as integrating livestock within our arable rotations, having roots in the ground all year round, minimsing soil disturbance and experimenting with bi-cropping across the whole farm. We also have a big emphasis on trying to improve the wildlife and biodiversity across the whole Estate, with the help from several experts who offer us advice on how best to farm this land with nature at the forefront.
When it comes to our Red Poll herd, we are very much in the mindset that the cows should dictate to us how much milk we can have, rather than us pushing them to demand milk from them. This ethos has shifted our milking patterns to only milking the cows once at day at 6am, and then allowing them to have whole day grazing our lush, diverse organic pastures, resulting in a much creamier, richer and almost sweeter milk.
It is this milk that is now making the brand of Fir Farm a stronger one, and that, I believe is one of the most important attributes to a successful farming business. We have built up quite a strong following with local customers, who come daily to get their milk, and we are lucky to be farming in a very affluential part of the UK, surrounded by tourist.
These tourists visit our vending stations on a daily basis, who then tell their friends about our products, and the circle continues. So it is vital that we have consistency in the quality of the products that we are trying to sell. This is where the Red Poll’s fit perfectly. Not only is the milk off the scales, but arguably, the meat is competing with our Sussex herd every time.
Three weeks ago I had an email come through – we are finalists in the BOOM Awards. I’d been invited to go to the ceremony in Bristol to see if we would win. I couldn’t believe it. I looked at the other two finalists in our category, one of which was Abel & Cole (who were sponsors of the event). How could a small farm like ours compete with such a massive business like Abel & Cole?
So I got myself dressed up, drove up to Bristol, and sat in my seat nervously waiting. It turns out Red Poll cattle do give the best milk – we are now officially BOOM Award winners!
