Our Local Farmers
Essex Grazing Project
The Essex Grazing Project, headed by Luke, Roger and Katie provide heritage grazing to many of the County's finest wildlife sites. They have a herd of native breed Red Poll cattle which are grazed on nature reserves and open spaces in Essex.
Red Polls are a traditional breed native to East Anglia. They are lighter than most commercial continental breeds, will happily forage on semi-natural vegetation and have a docile temperament.
Legacy Beef is grass fed and travels a handful of miles from field to butcher.
Essex Grazing Red Polls are grazed on some of Essex’s finest natural landscapes; a diet of wild grasses and herbs makes for a truly delicious taste.
Blythburgh Free Range Pork
Jimmy Butler, with the support of his wife Pauline, took the concept of free range pig farming and made it into a business.
A Blythburgh pig is born in a straw filled farrowing hut located on the sandy earth of the Suffolk heritage coast. Its’ mother has a free range life style with the choice of being outside if it is sunbathing weather or staying inside if it’s raining. Free range is as simple as that really, it’s giving the pig the freedom to choose whether to go outside.
Blythburgh pigs remain on the farm until they are 25 to 26 weeks old. This extra time allows a flavour and succulence to develop within the meat that is not found in today’s intensively reared pork. The natural balanced approach to growth of Blythburgh Free Range Pork gives an enriched cooking and eating experience.
Edward Hull, Turncole Farm, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex
Edward Hull, together with his wife Ann and other family members, run their farm near our abattoir. All the family get involved, including his children! They farm sheep, cattle and cereal crops.
The beef cow suckler herd are calving all year round, supplying us with prime beef cattle. Sheep and cattle are grazed on conservation grassland and salt marshes in Essex and Edward’s father, David’s, farm in Suffolk.
Saltmarsh lambs have a distinct flavour and are very popular with many of our customers.
Joe Lennox, Wick Farm, Colchester, Essex
Wick Farm was established by Richard Lennox and is now run by Joe and his wife Chris. They are based near Colchester, Essex where they raise lambs and cattle. The lambs are mainly Suffolk cross and are bred on the farm.
Joe and his wife pride themselves on providing local produce and full traceability.
Stuart Bosworth, Spains Hall, Ongar, Essex
FJ Bosworth and Sons established their pig and arable farm in 1919, moving to Spains Hall, their current location, in 1934.
Stuart, who runs the farm, left Writtle College in 1983 and has built the herd up over time. He received the Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year Award in 2011 and the farm has won the Essex County Farms competition many times over recent years, including in 2016 when they hosted a farm tour and hog roast.
They have complete traceability of production inputs; all feed for the pigs is grown on the farm. Stuart and his family are committed to reducing food miles by supplying their pigs to local businesses such as ourselves.
Click here for Pig Production Leaflet
Click here for Essex County Farm Competition Leaflet
Website link: fjbosworthandsons.weebly.com
Fergus Howie – Wicks Manor, Maldon, Essex
Wicks Manor was established in 1967 and is now run by Fergus Howie, along with a team of dedicated staff.
The pigs are born and bred on the farm and live in large open straw yards with plenty of space to express their natural behaviour. Wheat and barley are grown and milled on the farm to produce their pig food.
D Kelly – Springate Farm, Danbury, Essex
Derek Kelly together with his wife Mollie, decided to try a new venture and in 2004 they formed Kelly Bronze Beef, based in Danbury Essex, having handed over the running of the Kelly’s Turkey empire to their son.
Initially, 26 weaned Aberdeen Angus calves were delivered and housed in a turkey barn (where else?!).
The cattle live on pastures and meadows and are visited daily by Derek and his team. They are grown to maturity, free to roam in pastures and meadows. This allows them to develop a layer of natural fat that increases the flavour and succulence.
R & K Thornby- Sunnyside Farm, Kent
Ray, along with his wife Kay, started up Sunnyside Farm 47 years ago. They specialise in Sussex cattle which are Ray’s personal favourite! They have a herd of around 180-200 cattle at a time meaning this is a round-the-clock operation.
Their son Roo is also part of the small team, assisting with the haulage and general day to day running of the farm.
The cattle are grazed on the beautiful Kent countryside for around 6-8 months and then brought inside to be fed maize and concentrate; this will ensure consistent flavour and quality beef, something the Thornbys are proud of!!
