Sign in
BACK
The farming system
Fordhall operates a system of outdoor grazing called 'Foggage Farming'. This means that most of our cattle and sheep live outdoors throughout the year, making them completely pasture fed. It is a Permaculture based system developed by the late Arthur Hollins, as he tried to move the farm away from a reliance upon costly outside inputs after the Second World War. Established by Arthur, and today adapted by his son Ben Hollins, Foggage Farming continues to be a sustainable and natural way of rearing livestock at Fordhall Farm.
When you visit Fordhall you’ll see our cattle sheds near to the main road. If you look closely you will see the big sheds have doors at the back. During the winter, some of the cattle will feed in these sheds and then graze in the paddocks behind when the weather allows. This means that the growing cattle can have access to the homemade hay we make in the summer as well as free access to the paddocks outside too.
The system relies on a diversity of grasses and herbs in our pastures - in fact over 70 different plant species have been recorded in our pastures! This variety provides a healthy diet for our livestock and the tight root structure of our permanent pasture means that our livestock can be wintered outdoors without ruining (or poaching) the ground.
Fordhall consists of both wetland meadows and sandy hills. This allows the livestock to be rotated around the farm throughout the year; grazing the wetlands during the drier summer months and moving up to the sandy hills near the farm for the wetter winter months.
We do have to supplement with some additional hay in the height of the winter, and Ben is able to cut this from a traditional wild flower hay meadow he rents from Shropshire Wildlife Trust near Whitchurch. We also grow red clover which is baled and used for additional winter feed. The red clover is high in energy and protein to keep the cattle growing but is also great for the land as it naturally brings nitrogen from the atmosphere and fixes it into the soil.
This system means that Fordhall does not have to rely on buying lots of dry feed or grains during the winter months, providing a degree of shelter from market forces as well as a healthier diet for the livestock. The compromise is that our cattle and sheep grow slightly slower than the grain fed animal, however the flavour that develops within the meat is unrivalled and they are living the way nature intended. With age the meat develops natural marbling and a flavour unmatched by commercial beef.
To compliment this system our cattle calve mainly in the spring. Similarly, the sheep will lamb in March; again as the fresh grass is beginning to show, allowing the mothers to develop plenty of milk to feed their newborns.
This system is sustainable, healthy for the livestock and low in embedded energy.
For more information on the development of Fordhall's organic farming system, download the leaflet below. This was written by the late Arthur Hollins in the late 1980's.
Learn more with our download (pdf)
As the demand for our products increases we are very aware we do not want to intensify Fordhall. We will always continue to keep our pigs free range and cattle and sheep reared purely on grass.
Our solution to this is to build relationships with other farmers. We have already built a strong relationship with Rush Farm in Redditch. Rush Farm are also organic and Pasture for Life certified. By buying youngstock from them we can be confident the animals are good stock and we always agree a price each year which we are both happy with to make the relationship work for us both. We buy young cattle and sheep from Rush Farm which we bring to Fordhall and rear them on our grassland. We also have some of their older cattle which we use to produce burgers for wholesale. These older cattle make great burgers as they have a bit more fat in them and the maturity of the meat adds lots of flavour - win win.
