Heritage Prime - Biodynamic Earnestly British Meats of Rare Quality

NEWS & PRESS

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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.'

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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

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Jan 2007: Interview at Heritage Prime

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'

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.

See the below video clip:

*Requires PC Running Internet Explorer 6 or above
and Windows Media Player 9 or abover.

Observer Annual Food Awards

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 Foxholes 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

Kindred Spirit Article.
"Farming as spiritual practice"
Read the full article here- Click Here*

Inside Out - South West:
"BIODYNAMICS"
Move over organics - now health-conscious consumers can go one step further by buying biodynamic. Among the first in the UK to embark on the practice are the Bells, who live and work at Foxholes Farm - and we've got the story....
Read the full article here -Click Here*

Country Life
"Love What You Eat"
Two urbanites took to the Dorset hills with a vision of creating a biodynamic system of agriculture. The results have been a triumph....
Read the full article here -Click Here*

(*Adobe PDF format. To download the free Adobe Acrobat reader- click here.)

Images from the farm

IN SEASON

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

Images from the farm

A family day - Sprinkling Biodynamic silica by hand on the fields of Foxholes Farm.

QUOTES

" 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 .

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LOCAL HEROES
The Independant's Mark Hix reveals his Britain's finest independant producers

Thanks to the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, free-range, organic farming has become synonymous with the movement for ethically sourced and sustainable food. But for Ian and Denise Bell, whose Dorset farm is a haven for, among other animals, cows, sheep and pigs, that's not enough.

The Bells are among a select breed of farmers who produce biodynamic meat. But what exactly is a biodynamic cow? "Our cows not only graze simply on grass in summer and hay in winter but are also given absolutely no pharmaceutical medicines or chemicals," Ian explains. "We have vets who make diagnoses and then we give the animals homeopathic remedies for everything from preventing worms to curing pneumonia. Scientists call it hocus-pocus, but it's extremely effective."

The Bells, who have been farming biodynamically for 12 years, also allow their calves to reach full maturity – usually five years – before they slaughter them. In the commercial world, it can be as low as 16 months. The Bells' cows are also allowed to stay together until the calves have weaned from their mothers.

The whole process, Ian says, produces cows that are "playful, bright-eyed and, above all, resilient" and meat that is "pure and unsullied". Ideal for Mark Hix's braised shin of beef with dumplings, which, he says, is "perfect if you have friends round over Christmas".

Read more here

CHEFS VISIT OUR FARM
Giorgio Locatelli, Henry Harris and Bruce Poole enjoy a day out!
(Excerpts from an independant article it can be read in full here)

Greeted by Denise and Ian, Turpin the yapping Jack Russell, we were anxious to see for ourselves why Heritage Prime meat has built up something of a cult status among those who care about how food is produced.

In the case of livestock, biodynamic farming is about the closest you can get to giving animals their most natural life cycle while still actually rearing meat for the table. It's based on respect for the animals' lives as well as the environment in which they live. The biodynamic farmer operates free of synthesised fertilisers, man-made feeds, pharmaceutical treatments or anything else that interferes with the balance of the food chain. As a result, the vitality of the animals is passed on to the consumer via the quality and flavour of their meat - or so the theory goes.

There is logic to the theory. Biodynamic practice means animals are allowed to mature much more slowly than commercially reared livestock. Heritage Prime lambs, for instance are kept until they're one year old (officially, becoming hogget) rather than being slaughtered within a matter of months; the Bells' Tamworth pigs enjoy life for two years as opposed to the more usual five months they get under intensive farming conditions, and chickens live to the ripe old age of 18 months.

All medicines are homeopathic, a movement that has had a hard enough time being accepted for use on humans, let alone farm animals.

But Ian is adamant the approach has tangible, concrete advantages. "Biodynamics is about building the resilience of the whole farm, including the wildlife," he says. "We had a lot of disease here in this region, but whereas other farmers in the vale have to spend lots of money on treatments we don't have any problems." That resilience, he argues, is then passed on to humans. "It's amazing to see the difference in land that's been biodynamically farmed for 10 years - you can actually look at the grass and see how much greener it is," agrees Locatelli.

And what about flavour? We didn't get to taste the chicken (things are killed here when they're ready, not when you order them!), so we had to take Locatelli's endorsement on trust. "I have customers who phone to check when the chicken is on the menu, then book for two evenings once they know when it's available," he reveals.

It must be pointed out that for Denise and Ian, achieving the best taste for their produce is not an end in itself. They farm animals biodynamically because they truly believe that humans must rediscover a respect for animals and stop squeezing the earth dry of its last remaining resources. The fact that rearing animals slowly and naturally delivers the by-product of exceptional flavour is a bonus.

Read the chef's full experience on our farm here

BIODYNAMIC FOOD FORTNIGHT
Michel Roux Jr launches the event with Ian and Denise

"A happy pig makes a better crackling" declared Michel Roux Jr speaking in Borough Market's boardroom. "It's so true."
Michel Roux Jr speaking in Borough Market's boardroom

Biodynamic agriculture was pioneered by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) and Michel Roux said that he too believed in a proper use of seasonality and a recognition of the importance of the moon and solar system.
"My late father-in-law was a farmer and he always used to plant his vegetables at certain times of the year. My late grandfather was a hairdresser and he used to swear that the best time to cut hair was after a full moon as the hair would grow back stronger. That is wacky.
"But Biodynamic is about respect, respect for land and respect for the animals. My father reared rabbits and pigeons for the table and I remember fondly him looking after them and kissing and cuddling them.
"Biodynamic is a more expensive way of producing food at the moment. But I genuinely feel good after eating it. Money should not be the object as it is the quality that matters. Soon we will soon be embracing biodynamics. Biodynamics will no longer be a wacky term. If you think about organics fifteen years ago it was very wacky. Biodynamics is the way forward."

Read the full article here

FACTS
Sheep reared for 18 months and over.
Our sheep are hogget's, meaning they have enjoyed two seasons grazing rather than just one, and go to slaughter over 18 months of age rather than the typical 4 months of conventional farms.
As a very rare treat ask about our mutton availablity.

We use a local Soil Association registered abattoir
This allows us to transport only a few animals at a time, and ensure a stress free slaughter for our animals.

Roam free
Our animals roam acres of fertile, herb rich land. This is a mixed farm with four species, where cattle and sheep cross graze over several fields in harmony. This gives great conservation benefits.

Images from the farm

Heritage Prime- Earnestly British Biodynamic Meats of Rare Quality
Foxholes Farm, Littlebredy, Dorchester, Dorset, England, DT2 9HJ
Tel: 01308 482 688
e-mail HeritagePrime@aol.com