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The farm promotes a healthy soil, aiming for a balance of minerals, trace elements and microbial activity. This pioneering work on our soils is managed by our Soil Nutrionalist, Jo Scamell, a Nuffield Scholar.
We analyse each field to assess its health status in order that we can grow crops that are more nutritionally balanced, that in turn produce a food of very broad nutrient spectrum. This work is far from an overnight sensation, requiring highly technical interpretation of the soil analysis and addressing specific imbalances, and can take a considerable time to correct.
The soil then becomes the first port of call with regard to animal health. Once we know what is happening within the soils. our vet (who also happens to be my brother) Stephen Turner analyses the nutritional aspects of the grass and fodder fed to all our animals. Again any imbalances can be corrected using organically approved products which has led to our farm having an astoundingly high herd health status, with cases of illness and lameness at well below the national average.
As the years have passed and the food we grow for the animals ever improves, our reliance on trace element supplementation is now very low - that can only be beneficial to the health of the people that choose to eat our products. Jamie Oliver described Clive, myself and Stephen as amazingly humble in our approach for excellence, but we are very aware that the pursuit of excellence in food production comes from a basis of teamwork, when each and every member of that team has something very special to offer.
There are very few farms that have access to such good practicing scientific minds as those of Jo Scamall and Stephen. However, our food produce is very simply improving in flavour all the time and we put this down to the work on our soils. An article in the Weekend Review section of The Times reported on this work and so sparked a good deal of interest. We are now interested in analysing the meat that we produce from the farm to find out just how high the levels of Omega 3s, Vitamin E and trace elements really are, as our soils improve.
Well, the beef was good in 2001 but many years on it is even better – more flavoursome, richer and extremely tender. This we put down to our long term work on the soils – as it becomes more balanced then the food that it grows is more nutritionally balanced – the concept being, not only are you what you eat, but what you eat, eats too.
Of course the same principles apply to the yoghurt . Our yoghurt has been tested at Bristol University and on comparison with other leading brands of yoghurt is much higher in Omega 3s.
Our basis here is to bring you flavoursome healthy food that is proven to be better for you. Why waste money on vitamin and mineral supplementation when something better can be found in the food that you eat?
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