PROFILE The Lost Farm I
t’s a busy market day at Rugby Farmers Mart, Stoneleigh.
Jeff Clarke
has watched his prime lambs top the trade. Out of Che- viot x Texel ewes put to a Beltex tup, they are what the mass mar- ket demands: fast fi nishing, uni- form stock fi t for the multiple re- tail trade.
But not all livestock are as commercial at 400ha (1000ac) Grandborough Fields Farm, near Southam. But that is not to sug- gest the family-run business is any less profi table. Mr Clarke’s business em- braces two very different facets
of farming – 1300 intensively managed ewes and 800 extensive reared Manx Loughtans which form the foundation of a branded business called ‘The Lost Farm’. “A lot of people don’t get it,”
he refl ects, musing on the mar- riage between intensive and ex- tensively-managed breeds. While the Beltex-sired lambs fi nish in a matter of weeks the Manx Loughtans are marketable in 18 months – many being sold under the mutton renaissance banner. But the breed is just one part
of The Lost Farm business run alongside the core farm business F & J Clarke & Son. “On the one
hand I have commercial breeds such as Hereford, Limousin and Blondes and on the other I run Dexter, Highland and Longhorn cattle. “And then there’s Border
Leicester, North Ronaldsay, Herd- wick, Zwartbles, Southdown, Ker- ry Hill and Soay sheep breeds plus Oxford & Sandy Black, Tam- worth, and British Lop pigs,” he explains.
Marketing
This ark-like array is managed with help from his wife, Annie, and fellow rare breed enthusiast – and all-round fi xer – small-hold-
er Cym Baseley. While Mr Clarke is adamant he’s a working farmer, Mrs Baseley is the marketing and fi nancial controller of the devel- oping food-based business. “There’s no fast buck to be made in rare breeds (meat),” she says. “It’s a longer commitment and more about marketing fl a- vour. Once people have latched on to that then they tend to come back for more.”
Using a webpage as an open-
er, much of the marketing of The Lost Farm portfolio of products is done through food festivals, farmers markets, a local village shop and social media. Customers
Forgotten breeds prove their worth
Warwickshire producer Jeff Clarke shows that giving the consumer a taste of old fashioned farmed breeds can prove profi table. Simon Wragg reports
>>
Geoff Clarke is dedicated to livestock whether intensive or extensively managed and is helped by marketeer Cym Baseley.
OCTOBER 2017 • MIDLAND FARMER 15
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