Please Vote for Heritage Prime as your Local Food Hero - We need your vote!

Rearing livestock wthin a most awsome triad of resilience, vitality and happiness, Heritage Prime produces food of peerless eating and nutritive quality in a manner that reaches far beyond organics.

Our methods bring immense fun to a serious job and they represent the very antithesis to a synthetic chemical approach and the products of the heartless, cold-blooded and dangerous thinking that lies behind genetic modification.

Vote for the changes that nature is crying out for. Vote for a real food future. Vote for Heritage Prime.
Click here to vote for us as your Local Food Hero

Also the BBC Radio4 Food & Farming Awards - We need your votes here also!

Please take the time to vote for us in the Food & Farming Awards. You can vote for us in several catergories:

Farmers of the Year
Best Food Producer
Derek Cooper Awards
Best Retail Initiative

Click here to nominate us

Heritage Prime in the Courvoisier Future 500

The Future 500 - hand-picked from a myriad of sectors, these are the professionals tipped to be future leaders in their fields.

Biodynamic farmers Ian and Denise Bell are pioneers; at the cutting edge of agriculture, they are recognised by Courvoisier The Future 500 for their determination to make changes for livestock, customers and fellow farmers.

Their expertise in this domain has been acknowledged as a principal means of securing a truly sustainable food supply, offering holistic and practical solutions to the problems of poor health facing humankind and our spiritually and ecologically dependent planet. 

'After 17 years of pioneering work,' Ian Bell says, 'the principal benefits of Courvoisier The Future 500 have come from the recognition and emphasis that has been given to our radical farming method. Our expertise in this field has been acknowledged as a principle means of securing a truly sustainable food supply, offering a solution to the problems that face the planet today.'

Read more here: www.guardian.co.uk/courvoisier500/success-breeds-success

Heritage Prime in the News:

BBC Radio Interview- The Good Life - Click to Listen
Georgie Windsor on the BBC radio show 'The Good Life' recently interviewed Ian and Denise.
BBC Radio Interview- The Good Life - Click to Listen (mp3)
or download the MP3 - right mouse click and 'save as'

Farm Radio Interview - Click to listen
Geoff Pagotto conducted an extensive interview with Denise and Ian Bell about their enterprise.

Farm Radio Interview - Click to listen (mp3)
or download the MP3 - right mouse click and 'save as'

Going the whole hog
Tom Parker Bowles discovers buying direct from the farmer (Exceprts from full article on Dailymail.co.uk)

The prospect of buying a whole hog, nose to tail, with every bristle in between, is an alien concept in the modern world. Where once it was a necessity - a pig would provide both fresh and preserved sustenance for a family for months - it now seems merely excessive. These days we're used to cuts of shrink-wrapped pork sitting under bright supermarket lights.
So to find out if there was any real benefit in buying in bulk, I decided to track down a whole pig, direct from the farmer.

I went to Heritage Prime in Dorset, a biodynamic farm where Ian and Denise Bell rear fully free-range, organic pigs for two years (rather than the four months of intensively farmed animals). It's no exaggeration to describe Heritage Prime's porkers as the Ferraris of the pig world. 'When you buy a whole animal you're not only getting better quality, you also know you're benefiting those who bother to produce something different to what you get in the supermarket,' says Ian.

A whole pig averages about 100kg, so after consulting with Denise and Ian I settle on a half pig for £600. That might sound a lot but 50kg of pork will give six months of prime meat for a family of four, eating around 2kg per week. And this is some of the finest meat in Britain, adored by Albert Roux, Nigella Lawson and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, among countless others.

It's the variety of cuts you get, including the head, offal and ears, that's the clincher for me. This is nose-to-tail eating in its purest form.

'What's more,' Ian says, 'there's something comforting about the knowledge that the sausages, for example, are made from just one animal - and something eternally human in building a strong, personal relationship between a farm and those who eat its produce.' When it arrived, I could hardly move for meat. I could have built a Wendy house out of pork for my daughter, with enough sausages, bacon and offal left over for a porcine ornamental garden. So you'll need either a big chest freezer or to split the meat up with friends..

Meat of this quality cannot be cheap, and Heritage Prime represents the gold standard of pig farming.
Remember, too, that going the whole hog isn't just about the varied and endless piggy feast, magnificent as it is. You'll also establish a relationship with the farmer who raised it, ensuring total traceability of a stunning product.
Buying pigs whole or by the half may no longer be a necessity. But it's certainly no luxury either.
Visit heritageprime.co.uk

Read the full article here

Jan 2007: TV Interview at Heritage Prime
We were delighted to record a news reel interview about how we started out raising cattle as a hobby are now attracting top UK restaurants with our highest quality meats.

There is a fantastic testimonial from Chef Michel Roux who highlights the benefits of our farming practices and quality of our Heritage Prime produce.

To view the video click here to access our News & Press page

We Have Moved!
We have been overwhelmed with offers to expand and relocate our farm, from Scotland to Gloucester, Hampshire to Cornwall, and after great consideration (and jubilation!) we have decided to stay in our home county of Dorset!

We are so excited about the new farm, as it allows us to open a whole new chapter of our biodynamic farming practices.
The animals have settled into their new 'luxury' accommodation! and you can just see that they are as ecstatic as us to be here!

It's been hard graft, but we have all been able to thrive of the positive energy, atmosphere and vitality emitting from the new farm and our close knit circle of workers, friends, supporters and of course customers.... thank you for making this dream possible to realise, and to make a real difference.

We are so passionate about producing the purest meat, with the finest eating quality - consistently, and the new farm will allow us to explore new exciting opportunities to expand and share our vision and working practices. We even have a Gamekeepers Cottage, which will be open shortly for short-term holiday lets with hands-on experiences within our working biodynamic farm and artisan food production. We would be delighted to have you come and share our passion for food, cooking and enjoying life on a vibrant working farm!

Currently we are out and about on the farm, it's the finishing touches that take the time! so please do leave a message if we can't speak to you immediately.

Ian & Denise Bell

Our new telephone number is: 01308 482 688

A momentous and timely breakthrough for this unique farm and Bio-dynamic Farming methods !

We are both proud and delighted to announce that our beef, pork and lamb has been awarded a prestigious commendation in the Annual Observer Food Awards 2006.

The competition was fiercer than ever, and we are delighted to have been chosen by the public as runner up in the ‘Best Producer’ category, especially as we were the sole meat producer to be accredited in The Producer of the year award !



Laura Tennant Wrote:
“Heritage Prime at Shedbush Farm produces some of the best pork you'll ever eat. Its secret is biodynamic farming, which draws on the work of philosopher Rudolf Steiner and aims to care for the whole environment, working in concert with the health-giving forces of nature. 'Rebalancing' land and livestock homoeopathically, as owners Ian and Denise Bell do, might sound a bit dotty, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And the eating, of Aberdeen Angus, Beef Shorthorn, Tamworth pigs, Portland sheep and traditional breeds of poultry, is exceptionally good.“

The Observer 26th March 2006

Read the full article here – Click Here*

To learn more about biodynamic farming and gardening save our page on your favourites and check out the content weekly

EGGCITING NEWS!
A VERY RARE TREAT -BIODYNAMIC EGGS 
W we can send both our Pure Aylesbury Duck Eggs in the post  - they taste exactly the same as our hen eggs and we use in the same way, boiled, poached,fried and the they make the most amazing silken scrambled eggs, our chefs love them for baking, pasta ,ice cream and souffle's.


Our Black Rock Hen Eggs are also a great favourite. We cannot accept resposibility for damages but this has on occasion been an odd broken egg For the purest and healthiest eggs -do email your order with your full postal address. Fed as all our animals here on a very special natural diet they not only look very special but taste the same too -amazing flavour.
A box contains a dozen Hen Eggs £6 a dozen and a dozen Duck Eggs  £7 a dozen for £18 including postage. Treat Yourself.

WHAT'S IN SEASON?

Heritage Prime Beef -Exceptional Beef-
"The advent of the supermarket has made small specialist producers/artisans a rarity, as well as being responsible for the disappearance of so many craftsman butchers. The bright red, ultra lean meat that one sees under “Fresh Beef” (a title that is a contradiction in itself!) is nearly all from young animals, given no time to mature, which are often stressed at slaughter and whose meat is on the shelf a mere 36 hours later. This is the tasteless, tough-to-eat product that turns people into vegetarians in droves. It is an irony that in these days of prosperity, the “eating quality” of so much of our food - particularly meat - is generally nothing like as good as that which our forbears knew. The making of exceptional beef begins with the breed - and Britain is blessed with the finest beef breeds. But this is just the beginning. Slow development, respectful husbandry befitting these noble animals, giving them freedom to browse as well as to graze and the finest quality finishing diet all play their part. At the end, patient handling at slaughter followed by several weeks skilful hanging at the right temperature play their part in the process of which we should be proud. Only after this time, does the meat become “beef”.

Ian and Denise Bell, who market the finest beef from Shedbush Farm in West Dorset under the title “Heritage Prime” bring all these aspects into play and more.
Theirs is a holistic approach with a bio-dynamic farm restoring the natural rhythms of the land and the animals and working with the seasons
Prime Beef - matured unusually to 36-42  months of age  with full trace ability -fine beef with marbling throughout-  -hung  min four weeks  ready to use.

This beef is very limited in quantity-we supply a mixture of hindquarter and forequarter joints and steaks with Slow Food recipes.
Call 01308 482 688  for prices and to order

1/4 Piggy Box - now in season
A very special treat-limited quantity available seasonally
Why not treat yourself to a 1.4 piggy box £250.00

you get A Feasting Joint-half shoulder for 8-10 people
Slow cook over 8-10 hours. A loin joint with fillet in.
Pork Chops, Belly Ribs,Belly Joint, Leg Roast,Steaks,
Handmade sausages,Pork Burgers.
Buthcery, Packaging and overnight courier added at cost.
Debit and Credit cards taken,
Orders also taken for Portland Lamb, Angus Beef Poultry boxes.
Call 01308 482 688   to order

Sausage Boxes and Hams 
A rare seasonal treat -all our pigs are 18months to 2 years instead of the usual 4 months, fed on an exceptional diet-when making sausages we put the whole pig to sausages and chipolatas and simply season. Various sizes of boxes available to suit all call 01308 482 688   to order


To reserve any other future meat orders, or to be notified of what is in season throughout the year, contact us on HeritagePrime@aol.com or call on 01308 482 688

" Their pork, from a farm near Lyme Regis, is so much better than any pork that you've ever tasted or could ever hope to taste. To say it's organic just tells you what isn't in it. What they add at Heritage Prime is immense care, good feed and excellent conditions". 
Nigella Lawson

“If I were a pig, I’d dream of living on Ian and Denise’s farm. They often eat better food than I do. Not only are their porkers produced in the most sustainable and humane fashion but they also taste better than any pig in the world. They represent a triumph for the bio-dynamic system of farming, showing that real care and attention brings out the finest flavour.””
Tom Parker Bowles.

 “Ian and Denise must be among the most conscientious and committed organic farmers in the country. And they have a gift for producing really wonderful meat."
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall .