We do not have a 'farm shop' as such. We sell our goods from the farm gate, make deliveries of frozen meats and use Royal mail for non-perishable goods such as yarn, throws and sheepskin rugs.
In the ten years since 2004 that Lauriston Farm has been developing we have sold a variety of produce from the farm. As the understanding of the role of each being on the farm became clearer, what we sold changed. For example, we have always kept bees but no longer harvest honey.
So, today we are very happy to offer a wide variety of products based around the extremely rare, short tail primitive, North Ronaldsay Sheep and the majestic and friendly rare breed of Shetland Cattle. The livestock is here for the following reasons in order of importance:
Our cattle are ideally suited to the marshland environment and each animal enjoys a full life with beef only being produced from fully mature animals normally over four years old. We have one bull who can breed with up top nine cows. At the moment he has four to five each year which means the cows have a calf every two years and they are weaned naturally. All our animals are fed from the produce of the farm and we feed our own hay to the cattle over winter. Our aim is to milk the cows as well and we have a system designed that keeps the calves with the mothers during this process
We have the largest flock of North Ronaldsay sheep on the UK mainland and they graze reclaimed salt marsh, sea walls and the salt marsh itself. They are ideally suited to this environment and thrive in the semi wild habitat. We do not castrate, dehorn or dock the tails of any sheep and virtually all medicine is herbal, homoeopathic or energetic. In very rare cases we do use allopathic medicine but this use falls well within the Demeter Standards.
From these wonderful little animals, we harvest fleeces which are cleaned and spun into organic yarn. From this we knit hats, socks, jumpers, scarves and other items often to individual order. We also have had spun a large number of single bed throws which are of an exceptional quality and also certified organic. When the rams are around sixteen months old, they are taken to a very small local abattoir where we harvest the skin to make organically certified rugs and also the meat which has an incredible taste, unlike any lamb you will have eaten before.
In addition to this, we also produce Demeter certified meadow hay which this year (2016) will be baled in six string qradrant bales each weighing approximately 350kg.
I hope you enjoy browsing our range of products for sale and please do contact us for any further information and keep looking as we are all the time looking for new products to supply.
In the ten years since 2004 that Lauriston Farm has been developing we have sold a variety of produce from the farm. As the understanding of the role of each being on the farm became clearer, what we sold changed. For example, we have always kept bees but no longer harvest honey.
So, today we are very happy to offer a wide variety of products based around the extremely rare, short tail primitive, North Ronaldsay Sheep and the majestic and friendly rare breed of Shetland Cattle. The livestock is here for the following reasons in order of importance:
- Cattle and sheep are an integral part of the Essex marshland environment
- To create habitat for the wide diversity of bird life the farm supports
- Their manure gives us the basis for the compost we make which helps to maintain the fertility of the farm
- The cow manure is used to make horn manure preparation (BD500) which we spray over the whole farm at least once a year
- The cattle bring a grounding, slow energy to the farm whilst the sheep bring a light, airy energy
- The sheep give us their fleeces with various products coming from them
- We sing carols to the cattle on Christmas Eve
- The livestock provide us with a very nigh quality, nutritious good source.
Our cattle are ideally suited to the marshland environment and each animal enjoys a full life with beef only being produced from fully mature animals normally over four years old. We have one bull who can breed with up top nine cows. At the moment he has four to five each year which means the cows have a calf every two years and they are weaned naturally. All our animals are fed from the produce of the farm and we feed our own hay to the cattle over winter. Our aim is to milk the cows as well and we have a system designed that keeps the calves with the mothers during this process
We have the largest flock of North Ronaldsay sheep on the UK mainland and they graze reclaimed salt marsh, sea walls and the salt marsh itself. They are ideally suited to this environment and thrive in the semi wild habitat. We do not castrate, dehorn or dock the tails of any sheep and virtually all medicine is herbal, homoeopathic or energetic. In very rare cases we do use allopathic medicine but this use falls well within the Demeter Standards.
From these wonderful little animals, we harvest fleeces which are cleaned and spun into organic yarn. From this we knit hats, socks, jumpers, scarves and other items often to individual order. We also have had spun a large number of single bed throws which are of an exceptional quality and also certified organic. When the rams are around sixteen months old, they are taken to a very small local abattoir where we harvest the skin to make organically certified rugs and also the meat which has an incredible taste, unlike any lamb you will have eaten before.
In addition to this, we also produce Demeter certified meadow hay which this year (2016) will be baled in six string qradrant bales each weighing approximately 350kg.
I hope you enjoy browsing our range of products for sale and please do contact us for any further information and keep looking as we are all the time looking for new products to supply.