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PROFILE The Lost Farm range from private households


to top end caterers and chefs. This latter group is serviced with the help of Leamington-based meat supply business, Aubrey Allen.


“What Aubrey Allen gives us is the ability to deliver chilled prod- uct next day nationwide which as an independent producer we just wouldn’t be able to do,” ex- plains Mrs Baseley. It is one ex- ample of working partnerships which extend to hosting tasting events for chefs at Grandborough Fields Farm and the on-site cut- ting room and shop.


Income While income from rearing rare breeds takes time to come in, keeping on top of invoicing is key to cash-flow, explains Mr Clarke. “In farming there’s a lot of busi- ness done on trust and extended credit is not uncommon. It’s prob- ably a good thing that Cym is a little more sceptical. We try to en- sure catering customers we deal direct with have paid for their last order before the next goes out.” To protect the family business, The Lost Farm is kept as a sepa- rate trading entity. It mirrors oth- er trading arrangements. For ex- ample, few minority breed cows are kept due to the inherent risk of bovine TB so, instead, rearing stock are bought direct from other local rare breed producers. Although most livestock are reared off grass, the business also uses home-grown barley, oats and forage maize rather than buying in feedstuffs. Costing are not com- monplace but experience sug- gests while minority breeds take longer to grow into money, when it comes it often outweighs that


“


It’s a longer commitment and more about marketing flavour


for intensively finished stock, it’s suggested.


Love livestock


“The business is about me and what I like to do,” says Mr Clarke. “I like farming, I love livestock and I want to sell what I produce.” Having been bought a handful of Manx Laughtans by his grand- mother (whom originated from the Isle of Man) when a young boy, Mr Clarke has embraced assis- tance from others including fam- ily friend, George Steriopulos, to develop The Lost Farm business. Food marketing specialist


Nickerson Knight was used to research the brand identity with the ‘For- gotten Farm’ being a close contender. Ca- tering customers are encouraged to visit and use information about both the farm and Mr Clarke to ed- ucate and tempt con- sumers. “It’s not just about the


rarity of the breeds,” says Mr Clarke. “It’s about the rar- ity of the product. “Yes, when a chef or caterer


wants product they want it to- morrow but we don’t aim to sup- ply everything all year around. It’s more a case of come and get it while it’s available. And it seems to keep them hungry for more.”


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16 MIDLAND FARMER • OCTOBER 2017


Above: Tamworths among others help broaden the range of rare-breed products offered by The Lost Farm via food festivals, farmers markets and on-farm sales.


Above inset: The Lost Farm delivers a taste sensation from rare and minority breeds to chefs and consumers alike.


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