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We are very pleased to be the first Restaurant in the area to set up a partnership with the famous Sheepdrove Organic Farm. We are in the process of introducing this exceptional organic meat to our Specials Menu. The key to organic farming is working with nature. Sheepdrove rely upon ecological vitality and diversity. Soils must be healthy to support the plants they grow, and healthy plants in turn provide nourishment for healthy animals. They also need to look after the biodiversity above the ground, most of which is very helpful to the farmer, such as the birds, insects, spiders and mammals which help to control pests.
This is why they call organic farming ecological in continental Europe. (la agricultura ecológica, l’agriculture biologique, etc.)
Sheepdrove avoid pesticides which are, by definition, substances intended to kill. So they do not spray their fields – they prepare them and care for the soils without chemicals.
Sheepdrove Organic Farm operates in a traditional rotation, which means they change the use of the fields in turn. After creating fertility with nitrogen-fixing plants such as clover, they cultivate those naturally enriched soils to grow their arable crops.
Animal Welfare
The Kindersley family are passionate about animal welfare and Sheepdrove Organic Farm is renowned for pioneering natural farming systems. Examples are their chickens, with their advanced nursery and agroforestry system, Sheepdrove’s pyramidal rubbing posts for their cattle and sheep and specially-designed pig shelters with rubbing posts.
Sheepdrove farm to the Soil Association’s standards of organic production, often called the ‘gold standard’ of farming, especially with regard to animal welfare. So they are continually striving towards the ideal. This sets organic farming apart.
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) favour Soil Association standards and indeed CIWF have visited Sheepdrove Organic Farm on several occasions, because they like the way we care for our animals. Good livestock husbandry (care) is essential on any farm, but nowhere more than organic farming, because they cannot rely on quick fixes – the use of medications is limited by the SA and many are prohibited. They have to manage the animals for good health, minimise stress, and work with breeds that suit organic farming and the Sheepdrove landscape.
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