MILLBANK FARM BY EMILY MCGOWAN
“With this most recent diversification into serving the local public, we see the importance of always evolving and moving positively with the times. Our effort was to create a customer experience that provides fresh, honest, seriously local produce with as little plastic packaging as Millbank Farm has existed on the same site in Killinchy since 1889 and while a lot has changed over the decades, we have continued to produce great quality food in the fields of County Down for six generations and counting. In the early years, the farm was a corn and sutch mill which processed flax for the local linen trade, but today we are a medium mixed farm of around 400 acres, including 80 acres of cereals and 80 acres of veg, as well as grazing for dairy heifers and 200 ewes. We also have two broiler houses for supply of Moy Park chicken, and an exciting development in recent years was opening the farm’s first customer-facing venture: Millbank Farm Shop, in pride of place on Saintfield’s high street. With this most recent diversification into serving the local public, we see the importance of always evolving and moving positively with the times. Our effort was to create a customer experience that provides fresh, honest, seriously local produce – mostly grown at home on our farm or in the immediate area – with as little plastic packaging as possible. The shop provides an ever-changing variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and whole foods, perfect for the home cook and chefs alike. Quality, seasonality and a love of good food is at the forefront of everything we do. My father Adrian is at the helm of the business, with three daughters raised together with my mum Paddy. My eldest sister Susie is a graphic designer in London and my middle sister Victoria is a teacher at the local primary school, while I’ve recently joined Dad on the farm in Killinchy. The family business is exactly that, with everyone adding their own skills and input to make the legacy of Millbank Farm a success. As a business we are committed to farming sustainably. We work the land in a sympathetic way and take every opportunity to enhance the local biodiversity of the countryside. Some of our environmental initiatives include tree planting, seeding wildflowers and keeping livestock to create higher organic matter in the soils. Our awards include one for ‘future proofing’ from Waitrose and McDonalds Outstanding Farmer of the Year, both in 2019, as well as two for diversification in 2021 which we are very proud to have recognised.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE LAND II PAGE 26
