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As more of us seek to know the origins of the food we eat, the connection from farm to fork is growing stronger. Many local producers are taking this opportunity to introduce consumers to heritage crops or championing rare and historic native breeds. Shire gets its feet muddy taking a walk down on the farm…

Grazing sheep have long covered the landscape of North and Mid Wales, with quality dairy cattle in Cheshire and magnificent beef cattle throughout Shropshire. But in these agricultural heartlands, alongside the well-known Texels, Friesians and Leghorns, you don’t have to travel far to find some more unusual breeds.

Near Corwen, bison roam the Rhug Estate…

Acting upon an idea of Lord Newborough, the owner of Rhug Estate, a small herd of bison was introduced in 2006. Gareth Jones, the farm manager, said that numbers vary but there are approximately 15 in the herd at any one time.

“Bison are classed as a wild animal, but as we have them on a farm they are subject to the usual tests that ruminants require, including TB testing,” he told us. “This can be a difficult operation for a vet to perform, as they are big animals and a bit unpredictable! When entering their field everyone has to be on their guard, and it is not possible to walk through the field – you must be in a vehicle and keep your distance for your own safety.”

Bison are not handled as much as better-known beef cattle, so can be unused to human contact. “They are certainly not keen on drones filming them from above!” explained Gareth. “We regularly have film crews wanting footage of the herd but they obviously dont’ want to be in the same field with them, so they send up drones. The noise baffles the bison and if the drones fly too low it does scare the younger animals.”

DID YOU KNOW?

A male bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, females up to 1,000 – and they run as fast as 35 mph. Best keep your distance!

The estate sells bison meat at the butcher’s counter in the on-site farm shop – not only steaks but bison burgers too. Customers can also enjoy a bison burger ready-cooked from the takeaway.

“I can vouch that they make very tasty burgers!” said Gareth.

DID YOU KNOW?

A cup of quinoa provides twice the protein and about 5 grammes more fibre than the same amount of white rice.

“The Farm at Tatton is a Rare Breeds Survival Trust approved conservation centre – it’s great to be playing a part in educating our visitors about the wonderful breeds of livestock in the UK,” said Jayne Chapman, Tatton Park’s farm manager. “We are also actively breeding them to increase numbers. Many people know about giant pandas and various rhino species needing conservation support, but many of our own native livestock breeds are actually more rare, and they have a real part to play in farming today.”

The eight breeding cows in the Red Poll herd will help to sustain what is considered one of the original native dual-purpose breeds, due to its dairy and beef qualities. Tatton Farm now incorporates Red Poll in its own dairy herd, carrying out milking demonstrations in the Shippon in summer.

Tatton’s pig herd comprises five rare breeds that are on the RBST watch list, including the Tamworth, Middle White, Saddleback and Large White. Each individual has its own unique personality, making them all great characters. You may even be lucky enough to see a newborn litter when you visit!

“We have a very rare breed of goats at the Farm – Golden Guernseys,” added Jayne. “We are starting to breed off our Golden Guernseys and build up a small herd. Our new addition Honey and home-bred Amber and Emily are growing into lovely young nanny goats, and we have high hopes for them in the future.”

Back in 2007 the farm also welcomed a flock of Leicester Longwool sheep, a very attractive breed that was developed during the late 18th century.

Quinoa is fast becoming a store cupboard staple, especially among those seeking plant-based sources of protein. The seed of a plant native to Peru, it is generally considered a South American crop but you can buy it with a ‘Grown in Shropshire’ tag too!

The British Quinoa Company in Hordley, near Ellesmere, is the main UK producer of British-grown quinoa, with the main varieties being British White and British Organic. They have also developed a British Red quinoa.

“The business was formed over ten years ago but our growing of quinoa in the UK predates this by a few more years, mainly for trials and development,” explained director Steve Jones, who founded the company with his father Edward.

Quinoa is a great source of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals and is naturally gluten-free.

Stephen is from a farming background and studied at Harper Adams prior to completing a PhD at Nottingham University.

“In 2006 I read an article about the fantastic nutritional properties of quinoa and thought that it would be great if it could be grown in the UK, and specifically on the family farm in Shropshire,” he said. “Several trials took place, some unsuccessful, but then a breakthrough occurred when trials used a variety of seed that had been developed specifically for the European climate.”

The British Quinoa Company is not standing still. “We are always looking for new crops to try,” Steve said. “We are currently trialling some new varieties of barley and wheat, namely Musu black

DID YOU KNOW?

British Quinoa is keen to take on additional growers from across the UK to help meet demand. If you’re interested, email hello@ britishquinoa.co.uk barley, Piro red wheat and Piccolo wheat for use within the UK salads and food markets.”

Steve is rightly proud that, in March 2022, after a lot of hard work, the British Quinoa Company achieved an AA grade certificate from the British Retail Consortium’s Global Standard for Agents and Brokers, which covers key quality and safety standards throughout the food manufacturing industry.

“We have an online shop on our website that sells our smaller retail packs,” said Steve, “but our main customer base is supplying in bulk to food manufacturers, who then put it into a variety of products for UK retailers and food service companies.”

Over at Whitehead Farm in Tattenhall, Jenny Langford breeds Badger Faced Welsh Mountain sheep…

“We keep both varieties of Badger Face,” she explained. “There’s Torddu, which are white sheep with black markings, and Torwen, which are black with white markings. We also have 12 Belted Galloway cattle alongside our main dairy herd.”

There are 750 sheep in the flock – 500 Torddu and 250 Torwen.

“This is thought to be the largest registered flock of Badger Faced Welsh Mountain sheep in the country,” said Jenny. “I first saw these sheep at the Royal Welsh Show in the summer of 1993. I liked the way they looked and their character. They are smaller than many other breeds and easier to handle. They are very good mothers, too, and tend to have more twins when they lamb.”

Badger Faced Welsh Mountains don’t require any special treatment over other varieties. They are easy to lamb, hardy and the lambs are usually up and suckling their mothers within a few minutes of being born.

“Some of the things I like about the Badger Faces is that they are very inquisitive and friendly and will follow me with my bucket up the road, across the fields to wherever I need them,” Jenny added. “I show both varieties, Torddu and Torwen, at shows such as the

Royal Welsh and have won Breed Championships there and at other shows over the years. I get to meet lots of interesting people and I have been honoured to be asked to judge the breed at the Royal Welsh, Pembroke, Kent, Westmorland, Yorkshire and many smaller shows in Wales.”

Sometimes, said Jenny, these amiable creatures take things a little too far…

“We had a friendly ram that was in a field with his ewes with a footpath running through it,” Jenny told us. “He followed someone though the gate and into the village, eventually ending up in the village pub at 11pm! The police were contacted and the ram followed the WPC back down the road to the farm. She said that it made her day, and gave her and her colleagues a huge boost!”

Jenny sells her breeding stock through the Badger Faced Welsh Mountain website and official auction as well as specialist Welsh and Rare Breed sales.

“My Badger Faces keep me on my toes!” she said. “The only other breed of sheep I would consider would be Herdwicks.”

The Dorking is a very old breed believed to go back to Roman times, with a large brick-shaped body on short legs. The Marsh Daisy is one of the UK’s most endangered breeds of chicken, and originates in Lancashire.

“I’ve been keeping Dorking for 16 years and Marsh Daisy for 13,” Sharon told us. “They are very different breeds to look after. The Dorking are large, slow and heavy so they need low perches, large well-ventilated coops and high-protein feed to help them grow. Marsh Daisy are lighter, smaller and more active, and like to roost high up at night time. Both are friendly and love free-ranging but are happy to be penned up for breeding.”

Sharon loves the Dorking for the history of the breed and its majestic size, but said the Marsh Daisy are great characters.

“I first saw them at the National Poultry Show at Stoneleigh and loved the wheaten colour and the way they showed themselves off in the pens,” she said. She has showed both breeds with great success and had great fun meeting wonderful poultry people who have a vast amount of knowledge to share.

“The Dorking Club is very welcoming, and we are currently writing a book on the breed that will help new keepers as well as experienced breeders,” Sharon added.

For anyone interested in their own small flock of these beautiful chickens, Sharon occasionally sells birds and hatching eggs from her farm.

Goldstone Hall Hotel in Market

Drayton offers something extraspecial for its diners: a one-acre productive kitchen garden, managed day to day by Sarah Smith-Roe, which allows the hotel’s restaurant to offer the very best in seasonal fresh produce…

“We wanted to trial and grow heritage vegetables and fruit to support our unique restaurant, to offer local flavour and unusual varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruits,” explained Sarah, who is assistant gardener at Goldstone Hall. “Our guests get to sample unique, home-grown flavours they are unlikely to taste elsewhere.”

For 2023 Sarah is growing Navy Bean Edmund (a dwarf French bean), Yorkshire Hero peas, White Serpent squash, Stonors Most Prolific tomatoes, Wladeck’s tomatoes and Nardello peppers.

“We are members of Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library,” said Sarah. “The seeds given to Goldstone Hall by the HSL are a selection from their 800-strong collection, many of which have been donated by others.”

The hotel started growing heritage varieties of veg and fruit from seed from the HSL in 2022. The HSL stores the seeds for safekeeping and then distributes a selection each year to custodians such as Goldstone and its 7,000 other members. This initiative ensures these vegetable varieties of national importance are conserved for future generations, whilst still being enjoyed by keen gardeners, who grow and harvest them in their own plots and allotments up and down the country. After the vegetables are harvested, they collect the seeds to send back to the HSL.

Sarah enjoys the whole journey of the plants in the kitchen garden.

“I love watching them sprout and then grow and develop from a little seedling to a blooming, beautiful, edible plant,” she said. “It’s also incredible to see produce transformed on the plate by our amazing chef!

“We also encourage as many pollinators into the garden as possible.”

You can enjoy Goldstone produce at home, as the hotel sells its own homemade chutneys, jams and juices via its website. It has plans to sell weekly veg boxes as the season gets into full swing, too.

Meanwhile, hotel guests can look forward to a menu that changes from year to year. “We will grow a different selection of heritage seeds next year,” said Sarah. “The gardens are open on selected days, so you can come and see all of this for yourself!

So next time you’re looking for something a little different for the dinner table, why not give your tastebuds a treat – and agricultural diversity a boost – by choosing a rare breed or a heritage crop?

DID

YOU KNOW?

You can join the Heritage Seed Library for just £18 a year by subscribing to Garden Organic (from £2.75 a month), giving you six free seed packets a year