As a family we have been farming in the Purbecks since 1962, when Guy and Mary Hole took on the tenancy at Bradle Farm just outside of Church Knowle on the south coast of Dorset. As it stands, we have a dairy farm, some beef cattle, and few pigs and sheep. We also have a butchery from which we sell our own produce.
We do our best to adhere to a traditional style of mixed enterprise farming to suit the undulating valleys, paddocks, hedgerows and woodlands that the Isle of Purbecks have to offer, whilst using modern equipment and methods. Sustainable farming is very important to us, and we try to be as self-sufficient as possible. Below are the key points that help define our business…
We produce our own dairy cows for milking, but also to rear our own beef cattle for meat.
The crops we grow (wheat, barley, oil seed rape, oats and maize) are primarily grown to provide feed and straw bedding for our own livestock, with any produce left being sold for further processing, such as porridge and biscuits.
We grow our own grass/silage/hay to feed to our animals in the autumn and winter months when they need to be indoors and let them outside to graze when the weather and ground conditions allow. This is usually six months in and six months out.
We manage all our slurry and farmyard manure as fertiliser, spreading it on cut crop ground to work back in to the soil, or on short grass ground to help it grow.
•We manage slurry, discarded bedding and farmyard manure as a natural fertiliser as best as we can, spreading it on cut crop ground to plough back in (stubble), or on short grass ground to help it grow. It's in our interest to do this to reduce fertiliser costs!
Our dairy cows produce a top-quality milk that contains high levels of butterfat and protein which is great for cheesemaking! Our milk is picked up by Wyke Farms of Somerset, who are globally recognised as some of the finest cheesemakers in the business.
We regularly uptake schemes to encourage wildlife diversification on our farm, including wildflower patches and woodland/scrub clearance.
To reduce food miles, our animals are slaughtered as locally as possible. Meat required for our own butchery travels to the nearest private slaughter house which is 35 miles from us, whilst other animals travel to an ABP slaughterhouse which is 30 miles away and approximately 30% of the animals we produce, we butcher and sell ourselves.
We are registered with and adhere to the Red Tractor scheme, Farm Assured British Beef and Lamb (FABBL), Assured Combinable Crops (ACC) and the National Dairy Farm Assurance Scheme (NDFAS). Meeting the criteria set by these various governing bodies means that we are farming to a high quality.
Guy and Mary Hole became the tenants of Bradle Farm in 1962, and now hosts dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and a variety of arable.
Read MoreLocated en route to Kimmeridge, we are on site six days a week cutting/packing meat, making sausages and burgers and curing/slicing our own ham and bacon.
Read MoreWe also offer bed & breakfast accommodation at our spacious Victorian farmhouse.
Read MoreSee our products and prices here.
Prices