Our cattle are of a breed that is well adapted to flourish on grass only. During the growing season, the herd is moved daily to a fresh piece of pasture. In our grazing plan, we make sure the pasture is at its peak nutritional value.
This ensures the top health of our animals. The pastures are also managed for high biodiversity, to provide wide range of minerals and vitamins to the cattle. Our cattle can pick from a huge diversity of grasses, herbs and clovers.
Our grazing management is based on principles of natural ecology of grassland. In nature, grasslands evolved to be grazed for a short period of time by a huge herd of animals, that then move away to graze fresh piece of land.
Animals in nature move away from their dung, and graze plants in their most nutritional state. The animals wouldn’t return to the same area of land until their dung has decomposed, and the grassland fully regrown back to its highly nutritional state.
In farming, we don’t hold a herd of million animals’ large. Therefore, we need to keep animals in the herd using an electric fence. In nature, the herd would form to protect the individual animals from predators. In a farming scenario, the animals do not fear predators and therefore do not remain bunched in a herd. As a result, they cause environmental damage by overgrazing, which results in soil erosion and degradation of landscape.
In our natural farming practice, we mimic natural ecology and keep animals in a herd, while moving them daily in a dance with nature and grass growth. Our natural grazing management methods are called Mob grazing or Holistic planned grazing.
In nature, grazing animals are never on their own. They are always part of a herd, that protects them against predators. In farming, we’ve disturbed this finely balanced system by enclosing animals in a large field and not moving them often enough.
Farm animals don’t fear predators so don’t keep in a herd. We need to mimic a herd situation by enclosing them with a mobile electric fence, in an area they can graze in just a day. Then, we move their enclosed area to fresh area of pasture and do not return until the grass has fully regrown.
Grass is the most nutritious when it’s just flowering. The more species of grasses there are in the pasture, the better, as each flowers at a different time during the season. Each species has a different nutrient and mineral profile, so the more there is, the better for animal health and nutritional value of its meat.
Our grazing practices also helps to slow down global warming, by taking the excessive CO2 from the air and storing it in the soil.
The farming becomes truly carbon negative, and the extra soil carbon holds water and gives home to more microorganisms. All to cope with climate extremes of droughts and floods we’re experiencing more and more often.
100% grass fed beef in nutritionally outstanding to its grain-fattened conventional counterpart. It is high in good fats (omega-3 fatty acids), while lower in fat overall. It’s rich in vitamins and cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Moreover, as we’re managing for high biodiversity and nutritional value of our pastures, we make sure our beef is the best it can be from a nutritional perspective.
than conventional beef
100% grass fed beef is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, that are good for your brain.
than conventional beef
100% grass fed beef is leaner, so lower in total fat. It might sometimes appear fattier than conventional beef, it is leaner indeed.
than conventional beef
100% grass fed beef has more vitaim E, that is crucial for your immune system function.
If you like deep rich flavour of beef, you won’t be disappointed. We go the extra mile to make the our 100% grass fed beef to be the most flavourful and tender.
Our beef is traditionally dry-aged for 21-28 days to ensure maximum tenderness. It is expertly cut into steaks and joints that celebrate the diversity of the animal. From the buttery flavour of the Bavette steak, to the deep, rich flavours of Rump, Onglet and Rib-eye steak.
Dry aging creates meat that’s naturally concentrated in flavour and tender. We mature our beef just right – to retain its distinctive grass fed flavour, and to ripen it to perfect tenderness.
Steaks from Rib-eye to unusual Bavette, Onglet, Flat iron, Flank, Back rib and more, celebrate different depths of flavours and textures.
From mild taste, to buttery, nutty, or rich and deep. 100% grass fed beef offers taste experience unlike any other beef.
Office address (not farm): Haversham, Milton Keynes, MK19 7AF
food@naturewayfarm.co.uk
01908 314556
Old Park Farm
Astwell Road
Syresham NN13 5PT
(use postcode for directions)
OPEN every:
Thursday 1pm – 6pm
Saturday 11am – 4pm
As a calf, it is fed 100 kg of feed in a creep feeder:
60 kg barley
14 kg soya
23.5 kg sugar beet
growing steer (for 100 days) ratio:
350 kg barley
30 kg rapeseed
finishing steer (for 80 days)
600 kg barley
TOTAL feed per steer:
1010 kg barley
30 kg rapeseed
14 kg soya
23.5 kg sugar beet
Source: AHDB
Pesticide figure based on yearly application of pesticides on barley in 2018 (based on application to 0.17 ha that would produce 1 tonne of barley):
spring and winter barley were mixed in equal ratio for simplicity.
Pesticides in spring barley:
157.5 g
Pesticides in winter barley:
307.5 g
TOTAL 465 g of pesticides = to litres it is about 465 ml of pesticides per year.
Source: Pesticides usage survey 284 for arable crops in the United Kingdom 2018 (National Statistics)
Fertilizer figure (based on application to 0.17 ha that would produce 1 tonne of barley):
nitrogen: 24.14 kg
phosphate: 4.59 kg
potash: 5.95 kg
sulfur: 5.95 kg
TOTAL 40.63 kg of fertilizers
Source: British survey of fertilizer practice for 2018 (DEFRA)