How herbs can help…!

Greenway Farm's pasture consists of what's known as 'herbal grazing leys'. In these new grazing leys you will find…

4 varieties of grass, 6 varieties of clover, the herbs: birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, chicory, ribgrass, burnet, yarrow and ‘sheep’s parsley’!!

So why all the green goodness?

It’s not just to flavour the meat (although you might notice a difference) but the diversity of herbs, legumes and grasses ensures that the animals get all the nutrients they need from their diet without any supplements, it means that there is sufficient fibre for a balanced diet AND it means that medical intervention is reduced to a minimum as many of the herbs act as a natural anthelmintic.

In fact, Frank Newman Turner ‘father’ of the herbal ley, went so far as to describe the herbal ley as his “fertiliser, merchant, food manufacturer and vet all in one”.

This might be a lot to take in, but essentially it means that simply ensuring the animals live ‘as nature intended’ they will absorb all the nutrients they need for a healthy, natural life.

As a result the meat will be more tasty, more full of the things we need and better for the environment.

There's lots of research behind all this, one good place to start is TalkingGrass.co.uk.