Our Philosophy

With over 100 years of family farming behind us, we have learnt a lot about our farm and the best way to farm it in a sustainable way.

Now, through our farm shop, we offer a range of our own and other local produce all of which has been grown, bred, reared or prepared with great pride and care. We have a flock of free range hens roaming the fields to the left of our farm track, and now a herd of beef cattle and extensively reared pigs. All the stock are kept on pasture that has not had artificial fertilisers or pesticides used on them for over three years and the grass is supplemented by our own home grown GM free cereals and GM free concentrate feeds. Lamb and dairy products are produced to identical standards by the family, at neighbouring Church Farm, and Ivy House Farm, where they have their famous herd of Organic Jersey Cows.

However, the production of good food goes far beyond these healthy beginnings, and we put the same care and experience into the processing of the food once it has left the field.

For example with our meat, we use the closest possible abattoir, and we transport the animals the 12 miles ourselves. The initial primary butchery is then done by Church Farm Meats at nearby Broughton Gifford where they have generations of master butchery skills. They provide us with a wealth of experience in how to cut, mature and prepare our meat, depending on seasons, breeds etc. The meat then returns to our cold rooms for further maturing until the final preparation and cuts are done at our meat counter in front of our customers.

However, as we are expanding our livestock and vegetable enterprises and gaining more experience about our customers’ requirements, good food is not produced on a conveyor belt. Our customers require consistency of produce and availability when ordering or visiting our shops. To ensure this, on occasions we may source products from other neighbouring farmers, but please be assured we will have checked that their production standards and quality match those of our own.  We wish to assure our customers that when they buy food from Hartley Farm, great care and expertise has gone into all parts of the food chain.

This philosophy is also our yardstick when we select other local produce to complement our own in the farm shop. From ice creams to preserves, vegetable oils to breakfast cereals, or wild boar salami to biscuits, they all have a local story to tell. A visit to our farm shop will give you a true taste of local quality food.