With a passion for their produce, taking it to the customers themselves has been a huge success for one Oxfordshire couple. Hayley Chapman finds out more.
Will and Lois Selmes bought Rectory Farm in Waterperry, Oxfordshire, in 2007 and for 10 years ran it as a beef and arable farm selling all stock deadweight.
Feeling frustrated with the changing goalposts in the buying chain and a lack of feedback on the final product, they started considering how they could close the loop on their production system and were keen to sell their meat direct to consumers.
A farm shop gave Lois the perfect opportunity to be more involved with the farming business, while making use of her previous career in marketing and product development.
She says: We felt we needed an outlet for home-produced stock so that we could have control over the end product and in turn we could offer customers full traceability which, at the time, was so hard to come by.
After the usual lengthy process of planning and financing such a diversification, Waterperry Farm Shop opened its doors in 2018 and a starter flock began at Rectory Farm.
All of the beef and lamb in the shop has been bred and fed on the farm, and to date the farm has been able to retail all of its lamb through the shop. Fat cattle are cherry picked for the shop, with the remainder sold deadweight.
Today, the mixed farm has a closed 250-head suckler herd and runs 250 Texel cross breeding ewes across the farm at home and grass keep at other sites. They also grow milling wheat, beans and barley across the 202 hectares (500 acres) of arable ground.
The farm shop started relatively small and Lois recalls sitting in the barn for hours on end with a handful of customers throughout the day, but it was actually the pandemic which gave their business a huge boost.
Demand for local, fresh produce
Their order-ahead launch collided with news that the country was going into lockdown in March 2020 and in the first week of taking telephone orders, they received hundreds of phone calls.One week later their online shop was launched, and it became busy, fast.
People were not just buying a few bits they were doing full Ocado-style shops with us, Lois says.
With an army of volunteers picking, packing and delivering, they managed to provide home deliveries to 12 surrounding villages.Lois says, at the time, they went into a war footing mode, keen to leave no person unfed.
And in hindsight, it was this trade that allowed Waterperry Farm Shop to develop the strong and loyal customer base which has enabled it to invest and expand.
They now have the equivalent of five full-time staff with a shop manager, butcher and chef. There is a butchery, delicatessen and wide range of fruit and vegetables, as well cupboard essentials and zero-waste refill stations for food and household supplies.
In the ever-changing world around us, it is really hard to keep ahead of what people need and want. We are adapting constantly right now, we are facing increased costs and nerves around how much disposable income people will have, says Lois.
It has been a tough year and I would not want to set up a farm shop now margins are squeezed.
However, it feels like a good time to be flying the flag for home-grown and local produce.
One thing which has had to change is the way in which they supply customers. With everyone returning to offices and commuting this year, the farm shop has invested in a refrigerated van to make home deliveries a permanent feature. Only seven miles from the city of Oxford itself, they are keen to tap into that target market.
Educating the public
Their location could have proved a roadblock, based on a dead-end road and neighbouring a tourist attraction with its own existing shop and tearoom. However, they flipped that challenge on its head and have collaborated with Waterperry Gardens next door, sharing their access and offering them overflow parking in return, with an agreement in place about what both enterprises offer customers.
As such, they are able to increase footfall to each others venues and collectively offer people a whole day out, with shopping on-hand, and make the small village just outside Oxford quite a destination.
I actually think our home deliveries help some of our customers, who might otherwise struggle to live independently, stay at home. For people to shop at a farm shop, they are not just buying the produce, they come to us for a service and to be known as a regular customer. That is part of our point of difference to a supermarket, says Lois.
And it is at this point, Lois adds, the whole team tries and capitalises on consumer contact to explain more about their field-to-fork approach and sourcing policy. Waterperry has not gone far from home when sourcing most of its fresh produce, keen to support fellow farmers where possible.
We take every opportunity we can to talk about the farm and our beef and lamb. That is our unique selling point, says Lois who is passionate about improving the publics understanding and perception of British farming.
They have also decided to take their goods to the consumers, attending farmers markets and local food fairs. As well as increasing sales, it is good marketing.
This constant adaptation approach has extended to their livestock business too.In 2018, they had a flock of 40 ewes, which has rapidly expanded to 250 to supply the in-house butcher. If the flock continues to expand, then another sales outlet will be necessary for the fat lambs because supply will exceed shop demand.
Maintaining a year-round supply means they have had to shift from spring calving to running a split block calving system and they have altered their breeding to move to a slower finishing, but lower cost, system.
Will was previously finishing a lot of Belgian Blue-bred bull beef and 14-month-old heifers, but is relieved to have moved away from that fairly intensive system with cereal prices where they are.
He says: The cows now are predominantly Charolais cross Simmental and Limousin cross, and we are using Angus and Limousin sires and keeping our own replacements. The Angus have surprised me since moving away from British Blue bulls they are nice cattle and converting and finishing well.
All beef is finished at the farm between 18-24 months of age on a ration consisting of predominantly home-grown forage, barley and beans, with some waste products from a local brewery and biscuit mill.
Continental genetics are playing an important role in the sheep flock, with Charollais and Texel giving carcases good length for finishing.
I find the continentals give us a nice eye of meat on the chops, but do not get too fat, says Will.
Holding growing lambs to keep continuity of supply can be a challenge, so preventing them getting too fat is important.
Many farm shops would minimise waste through a cafe offering, but with the neighbouring tearoom, this is not something Waterperry has the option of doing. Therefore, it has developed an extensive range of ready meals and pre-packed items, which also helps to use the whole carcase.
Education on the farm
Like most farmers selling meat direct to consumers, they find they have plenty of demand for the premium cuts, but then have to find ways to effectively market and sell the forequarter.
Lois says: For every fillet we sell, there is a large amount of mince and braising steak. It is also very seasonal in the summer we will have a lot of topside left because people are not having the big roast dinners.
She adds a huge perk of the job is when customers comment on how much they have enjoyed a product purchased, especially when it is home-produced meat or homemade items.
Positive feedback helps keep us passionate about what we are doing.
Recognition of their food has come in the form of awards too. This year they were awarded Great Taste awards for their lamb cutlets, beef and ale pie, chicken and leek pie and lamb curry.
Wanting to increase reach, as well as additional income streams for the farm, running pop-up events at the farm feels like the next natural diversification for the business.
So far, they have hosted several educational days, including wool day which featured shearing demonstrations and have a go spinning and weaving sessions.
The pop ups could be anything, from flower arranging, to wool spinning a bit like Young Farmers meetings, but open to all. It would be nice to run educational courses and school visits, Lois says.
It helps people to see, touch, feel and really understand what we do, how the animals are raised, and the work involved in British farming.
Farm facts
- 392 hectares (970 acres) across several farms 142ha (350 acres) of which are owned
- 250-head closed suckler herd and 250-head flock of breeding ewes
- Arable enterprise growing wheat, beans and barley
- Farm shop diversification, running pop-up educational events
