AN organic Cumbrian farm and estate has noticed a significant boost in wildlife after taking a slightly different approach to its farming.

The Askerton Castle Estate near Brampton has been farming re-generatively for the past few years.

Regenerative farming is a conservation-based approach to farming, which normally focuses on restoring the land that has been degraded by agricultural processes.

“The most noticeable thing is the birds. There are so many more birds now, which is brilliant” said Clara Kellock of the Askerton Castle Estate.

“We’re starting to see more hares and the deer are coming through.

“We’ve also got evidence of otters in the river again.”

The organic farm’s cattle and sheep are pasture for life - which means they are only fed on grass, or silage that was cut the year before for the the winter.

The animals are moved from field to field more often, so that the varied grasses and herbs have more time to recover.

Clara said: “You’re still trying to produce a profit, but you’re doing it in a way that’s sustainable for the land.

“Most of the time, farmland is being trailed to fit what we need as opposed to the two working together.

“What we do find is that the animals tend to have a lower stress rate, because they’re spending more time at pasture.

“It does improve the flavour of the meat.

“If the animals live a stress-free life, the meat is much more tender and flavoursome.

“We’re very passionate about where we are. The place has been in the family for years and years, and we want to keep it healthy and growing.

“It started with us looking at how to keep it sustainable, but we wanted to do our bit for the planet as well.

“If we can help this area improve, then its happy days.

“In the winter its a little tricky sometimes.

“Some of the cattle will be in barns, but if they are they’ve got plenty of food and fresh straw.”

Although they recognise the benefits of this for local wildlife and their meat, Clara admitted it can give their fields an unkept look.

She added: “We know that we get a lot of funny looks.

“If people drive past and they see what used to be a really nice green field being allowed to grow out with lots of herbs, we’re going to get a few looks.

“But, the benefits will increase as the years go by. Hopefully other people will see that.”

Askerton Castle Organic Estate

We started in 2002, but from the onset concerns about animal welfare and the routine use of medicine, biodiversity and conservation made the decision to farm organically a logical one.

The choice of traditional and rare breed livestock (Belted Galloway cattle and Blackface sheep) complement the landscape and are perfectly suited to turning rough hill pasture into the finest quality meat.

All our meat is born and bred on the farm giving our customers complete assurance that our livestock has been cared for by us from start to finish to produce the finest quality British meat.

Askerton Castle Estate has a comprehensive Stewardship Agreement with Natural England to protect and manage the farm in a manner that encourages the development of local fauna and flora.

There are a number of designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest covering The Mollen which are areas of ancient woodland and through which the clear water tributaries of the River Cambeck run.

The hay meadows support a rich variety of plants and animals, creeping bent, meadow foxtail and crested dogstail: the areas of rough grazing have other plant species present such as meadowsweet water mint, star sedge, primrose and the locally rare plant adders tongue fern.

This habitat also supports a variety of bird life including snipe, red shank and curlew.

All of our meat is born and bred on our farm, giving our customers complete assurance that our livestock has been cared for by us from start to finish to produce the finest quality British meat.

We have our own on farm butchery which enables us to cut, prepare and pack all the meat that we sell.

Produce is available from the farm, via mail order and from a variety of markets and fairs. We also have a home delivery service around Cumbria

The Askerton Belted Galloway herd was started with the purchase of a herd of 24 pedigree and unregistered females from Ian Barnes on Anglesey who was retiring.

The herd’s first stock bull was from the world renowned Belted Galloway expert late Miss Flora Stewart’s Mochrum herd in Wigtownshire