Nourishing People and Place
From the outset the Real Food mission has been to ‘Nourish People and Place’. So it was a natural step for us to use livestock to improve places for wildlife. Since spring 2023 we have been using cattle and pigs to achieve conservation outcomes for landowners including Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
We have selected native breeds which are well adapted to lives outdoors and in natural spaces to work to achieve the goals of landlords. Our Tamworth pigs are selected as they are considered the closest to wild pigs. So they have successfully been tackling bracken dominance on nature reserves and playing a part in Cornwall’s largest rewilding project. They have created ephemeral pools, bare ground for wildflowers to germinate and lessened the extent of rush monocultures.
Our English Longhorn cattle graze over 200 acres near Helman Tor in Mid-Cornwall. They are a hardy breed and outwinter well, they graze high ground to increase its floral diversity in winter and the wet, lower ground in summer. This is essential in supressing species like Molinia and the succession to complete tree cover by trees like birch. They maintain a diverse habitat with rare plant species adapted to the natural grazing of ruminants now extinct, the auroch, which the longhorn greatly resemble.
The cattle and pigs are also providing opportunities for invertebrates, birds and mammals. As we manage our livestock with natural wormers as far as possible their dung is a healthy source of food for insects, especially dung beetles. These beetles make the signature holes in the top of pats as they enter the dung to lay eggs and burrow down. These beetles are a major source of food for bats, birds including swallows and snipe and for the much-loved mammal, the hedgehog. Our Dexters graze part of Mid Cornwall Moors, leaving behind this gift to the ecosystem as they go!
By selecting the right breeds and grazing naturally we can achieve amazing outcomes for nature. We are also able to produce extremely high quality meat. Conservation grazed animals are able to select from a huge diversity of plants including shrubs and trees, heather and wild herbs. This enables them to self-medicate, ensure their own high levels of nutrition and this improves their health. It also improves the quality of the meat with high levels of omegas and quality protein and fats. Because we don’t supplementary feed our livestock they take time to mature and this further deepens the texture and experience of the meat. We are proud of the way we produce all our food to the highest standards we can so that we really do nourish people and place.
We are members of Pasture for Life, the organisation championing the restorative power of grazing animals on pasture. This is helping us move towards certifying our beef and lamb as 100% pasture-fed.
To find out more our meat offering check out our page