The Dorset farmers who aim to provide the best meat in Britain
IN theory, what Ian and Denise Bell are doing down on their Dorset farm defies all conventional wisdom. But here, on the rolling hills of the Golden Cap near Lyme Regis, is a truly pioneering experiment. For Shedbush Farm is not only unmechanised, it is not only non-intensive, it is beyond organic. Indeed, Shedbush Farm is probably the most environmentally and animal friendly farm in Britain. This is a biodynamic farm which is entirely chemical free. Despite the enormous expense, the Bells treat both the land and their rare breed animals homoeopathically.
In seven years, they've transformed themselves from sophisticated townies - he Jackie Kennedy's former hairdresser, she an "original Laura Ashley babe" - into country folk with a mission to provide the healthiest meat in the country.
Their success can be measured by a culinary Who's Who? customer list: Nigella Lawson has encouraged them since the early days, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a great fan, Raymond Blanc describes their pork as a thousand times better than any he'd tasted, and Michel Roux, of Le Gavroche, enthuses: "This is what chefs dream of - the perfect ingredients. With so much respect for their animals and land, is it any wonder that the finest produce to be found comes from Shedbush Farm?" The Bells keep Tamworth pigs, Aberdeen Angus and traditional beef shorthorn cattle, Portland lamb, pure Aylesbury ducks, Blackrock hens and rare-breed pheasant hens "from Cromwellian times".
Sting, and his wife Trudi Styler are big fans of the Portland lambswool bedwear and blankets, coloured by natural hedgerow dyes like damson and sloe. Nigella Lawson raves that it's "the very best pork, a miracle meat so much better than you've ever tasted or anything you could hope to taste".
What makes the farm special is the way the animals are treated. For example, conventional producers usually separate piglets from their mothers at three to four weeks. But the Bells allow five and a half months for weaning. The piglets are fed "organic human grade food" (the secret recipe will be in an upcoming book) right up to their first birthdays, "to avoid GMOs and other chemical nasties".
The Bells also treat their land homoeopathically. "We give the animals the best diet and surroundings and they exude happiness and contentment," says Denise, watching me arch an eyebrow at such airy-fairiness. "We don't want to sound cranky but most land is nutrient-poor and ours isn't." From the compost heaps to the natural remedies used on soil and plants, this is as New Age as it gets.
The couple aim to attain the ultimate green standard - Demeter, founded by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 - practitioners of which are required to develop "extensive, proactive methods of caring for the earth and the soil".
The farm relies on home-produced compost, manures and animal feed in which external inputs are kept to a minimum. Special preparations made from natural substances enhance plant growth.
Some tenets are distinctly esoteric. Apparently, the zodiac plays a part in the sowing of crops. Plants such as dandelion and nettle are encouraged according to lunar cycles by mulching the plants in manure and then burying them in cow horns for about a year.
This is all a long way from the Bells' past life. As a hairdresser, Ian washed and blowdried Jackie Kennedy's hair. "She was always serene, very handsome - you could see why she was attractive to powerful men - but I learnt respect for her needs and privacy."
Ian and Denise, a textile designer and former senior manager at Laura Ashley, started rearing animals as a weekend hobby. "I didn't go to agricultural college but have learnt by observation," he says. "If you're prepared to listen, animals will tell you their needs."
"Seven years ago we sold our home and business to start the farm," Denise says. "For the first few years we had no electricity, no water, and spent much time clearing and restoring the balance of the land. Then the farmhouse practically collapsed around us. But we have no regrets, we just have to look at how happy the animals are."
Future plans include making organic paint, organising celebrity chef and sausage and ham-making weekends plus a book and video to help others follow their example. The keen will learn why it is important to give one's sheep pedicures.
Denise says they are inundated by hundreds of callers wanting a single pork chop. This isn't how Shedbush works. "It's important that people compose lists of foods they want and we will notify them when it is available seasonally."
Lest you think Denise and Ian too proselytising, take heart from Cheshire lad Ian's taste for Hollands ultra-sturdy meat pies which, as every Northerner knows, are delicious but hardly biodynamic.:
