Small-scale family farms are facing an uncertain future. Between 2005 and 2015, almost a third of these farms were lost, putting the future of the sector at risk. However, there is extensive evidence of the important role that small-scale farms have in our agricultural landscape – creating jobs, supporting rural communities, and reducing inputs and waste on mixed farms.
How can we create a food system that supports these farms? I met Peter and Henri Grieg from Pipers Farm to find out about how their model aims to do just that.
“When Henri and I came here 30 years ago, there was nothing here except a muck spreader in the yard, and three tin sheds,” he points out, laughing. And from the humblest of beginnings, they built a business, doing all the farming, butchery and marketing themselves. On their land, they can run around 45 cattle and 100 sheep, but it was never their intention to grow the farm itself – instead they set their sights on building a business that supported the small-scale family farms in the surrounding area, selling through the Pipers Farm business.
So, they spoke to their neighbours and asked them to raise animals for them. “Everybody thought we were nuts!” Peter admits. “We started with our immediate neighbours, and got them to give it a go, and then it gradually spread.” They now have around 25 local family farms raising animals for them – ranging from beef and lamb to chicken, pigs and ducks. Pipers Farm handle the butchering, marketing, sales and distribution of the meat, meaning the farmers can focus on doing what they do best: farming.
Peter’s also a passionate advocate and supporter of the Campaign for Local Abattoirs, citing the respect for animal welfare, the traceability of meat and the important role they play in rural life. The use of a local slaughterhouse is integral to their model – as he puts it, death too is part of nature.
“One of the things that Henri and I believe in very deeply is the idea of consistency,” Peter begins. “We don’t sell beef – we sell Red Ruby,” he explains. “We looked at a lot of different breeds and systems before picking Red Ruby, but we discovered it’s the native Exmoor breed, and that’s what we as farmers should be doing: utilising and working within a living landscape that is part of where we farm.” They have farmers on the top of Exmoor breeding them, then after weaning, the cows are moved to nearby farms. Crucially though, all the bullocks come from the same bloodlines and are raised in the same manner, which helps produce animals who are physically similar at the time of slaughter.
The same is true of their sheep: “Once we worked out what Pipers Farm lamb was, we wanted to ensure every piece is the same,” he explains. And that is key for the model – with animals being raised across so many different farms, the quality can’t drop or the customer will lose faith. All their Suffolk lambs are raised on 100% grass for their whole life, slaughtered between 8 and 15 months of age, then hung for 3 weeks, and that helps to provide that Pipers Farm taste.
Standing by a herd of Red Ruby bullocks, Peter makes it simple; “Mother’s milk and grass. That’s all we feed them. To the end. No question.” There’s well documented research on the health benefits to the animal for having a 100% grass-fed diet – their stomachs are designed to digest grass, not grain – but Peter also sees the benefit to the land of the manure. “The topsoil is teeming with millions of bacteria and vertebrate life. And we are feeding our cattle completely in harmony with their biome, which means when they are finished with the forage, it is itself in harmony with the biome that takes it and recycles it.” Cow pats on the farm are teaming with life, and according to Peter, disappear in no time at all.
They also mob-graze their cows, moving them through blocks of pasture in a way that mimics the movement of wild animals and allows greater productivity from the land. “If we gave them the whole field, they would camp in the same place every night, they would put most of their dung in one place,” he explains. But by moving them regularly, they are helping encourage the biodiversity and allowing the cows to spread their manure around the whole field.
For over 20 years, Peter and Henri ran the business on their own. “We were managing everything – the farming, the butchery, the conversations with neighbours, the marketing – it was a glass ceiling,” Peter admits. When their son Will returned from university eight years ago, he decided he wanted to get involved in the business.
Mark and his father David use electric fencing and small portable shelters to move the Wessex saddleback pigs through different fields, rotating them with their other crops. “We grow a lot of fodder beet, so after we harvest we can put the pigs along and they eat the waste on the ground,” Mark explains. In addition, they rear 500 turkeys and around 200 lambs on their land for Pipers Farm and two and a half years later, the farm is thriving and both sons are back working on the farm, full of enthusiasm for the potential this partnership brings.
As well as supporting existing small-scale farms, the model is also encouraging new entrants into farming when they are unable to meet demand through the existing farms. Chris and Hollie have recently started a first-generation farm, building a house on the land and setting up a business raising chickens. “It reminds me of mine and Henri’s early days at Pipers Farm!” Peter comments, smiling. By offering Chris and Hollie an assured market for their pasture reared poultry, Pipers Farm has provided them with a secure route to market and the confidence to build and develop their farming business. Having someone else manage the sales and marketing has also given them the opportunity to spend more time with their kids, instead of having to worry about updating websites and attending farmers markets.
The Pipers Farm model is focused entirely on preserving and supporting small-scale family farms; finding a way to allow them to thrive without having to grow or become increasingly industrialised in their operation. By focusing on each individual farm and the opportunities their land or crops present, they are able to support these businesses in diversifying their operations and provide a guaranteed and simple route to market. It’s proof that when it comes to farming, big isn’t necessarily better.