Celtic Cattle have survived in the west coast of Scotland for hundreds of years. They were small black shaggy cattle with long black coats and large horns. From these original indigenous cattle, Black Highland cattle evolved. In this part of Galloway farmers kept these same cattle and selected for a “polled” gene, meaning they had […]
Although we truly believe that our premium Galloway beef is simply outstanding all year round, it may come as a surprise to you that there are optimum times throughout the year that our Galloway beef really stands out when it comes to both taste and tenderness. Jock explains more; “It has been poor weather for […]
What a long winter it has been, but don’t worry Spring is coming. You have to be an optimist to be a farmer or you go bonkers!
We must have thousands of pictures of Belties but this is our favourite. I think it signifies good ingredients, contented animals and natural production. In the midst of all that is happening in the meat industry, we cannot be complacent and must continually strive to improve our product.
When the clocks change and Halloween approaches the onset of winter is looming. Looking back, there hasn’t really been a summer this year, but the wet weather seems to have contributed to the exceptional autumn colours on our deciduous trees.
Everyone knows we love “Belties” at Kilnford so it is a happy coincidence that this week we have managed to breed 3 lovely “Beltie” pigs and they have just been moved to the car park paddock at Kilnford. This photo was taken as they explore their new surroundings.
Today I attach a photo of our first new Beltie calf of the year. You may have read the notice I had at the Nature Trail explaining that because of very wet conditions, and the lack of space at Kilnford, I moved our Beltie cows back to the hill for winter so that they would have more space and shelter.
Spring is in the air and this month’s photo is of my granddaughter Priya giving a cuddle to our first new lambs at Kilnford. This is the beginning of our sheep and cattle getting back to the Nature Trail.
Happy New Year to all our customers. Lots of people do New Year resolutions. On the farm it is not much different but I find it is a time to make plans and set targets. I attach a photo of Mitch among some of last year’s crop and today he is up to the knees in muck, starting to erect 2 more poly tunnels at Kilnford.
One good side to being a farmer with a farm shop is that there is no end to the variation in jobs that need to be done. Today I have been trying to mount a tree on top of a 6 metre pole on the back of the tractor as an advert for our Christmas trees.
Last month I posted a photo of our pigs to highlight the speed at which they grow. Today I attach a photo of “Bendy” with her bull calf to let you see how much he has grown since the end of May. This has been achieved with fresh grass and plenty of Mum’s milk as nature intended.
It has been longer than we had intended since we made contact. We had intended to do a monthly update but we have experienced some technical problems. We are delighted that over 2000 people have supported us and joined our loyalty scheme, but sending over 2000 e-mails has overwhelmed our system. Hopefully we have now overcome that.
When I wrote last month’s blog I referred to Ginger our sow at Kilnford and how she liked her wallow. During the last few days the weather has been really hot and she has spent most of the day lying in the water.
It is a pleasure to be able to say “Hello” to all our customers. It has always been a dream to be able to supply our own produce direct to our customers and now we can. We will try our very best to make sure the produce is as good as it can be and I would sincerely ask that if you are not completely satisfied with anything at Kilnford please let us know.