A Week on the Estate: Welcome Rain, Combined Barley & Rare Breeds

In the Walled Garden, we enjoyed seeing this year’s brood of native Lincolnshire Buff cockerels and pullets strutting their stuff for our visitors as the handsome roosters kept an eye on proceedings. The Lincolnshire Buff is a variety of heavy, large fowl bred in large numbers in this county from the 1850s to the 1920s. Good for organic farmers and smallholders, the breed is a good layer with a calm temperament and an ability to brood its own chicks. We’re happy to play our part in the Buff’s recovery.

South Ormsby Estate is also home to one of the biggest herds of native Lincoln Red cattle. Our herd is native British, 100% pure-blood, whereas other herds tend to include pedigrees crossed with such breeds as Limousin, Charolais, Friesian and Angus to increase bulk and yield.

Commercial cattle can be fattened quickly if their development is pushed. Typical commercial breeds spend more of their lives indoors and are fattened with corn so that they’ll mature in 15-18 months. By contrast, our Lincoln Reds live outdoors in family units from March-April to November (weather permitting), consume only grass or forage from the estate and are given 22-28 months to mature.

We’ve divided our pastures into 120 paddocks and we rotate several groups of cattle between them every day or two. We often allow a three-month gap to give the grass and other plants chance to grow tall and put down strong roots. Our resident wildlife – insects, birds and mammals – also benefit from these long recovery periods and thrive in the long grass. ‘Mob grazing’ in this manner mirrors the symbiotic relationship between wild grazers and grasslands and certainly benefits both.

Finally, are you 16-24 years old and looking for a job in September – or do you know someone who is? We’re on the lookout for our next set of Kickstart graduate trainees and trainee estate workers. From estate management to marketing, from distilling gin to milking cattle, there’s a world of opportunity waiting for the right candidates at the 3,000-acre commercial hub that is South Ormsby Estate.

If you’re not local to us, fear not – accommodation is available for a small charge. For graduate roles, a degree is not essential provided you’ve undertaken some further education or training. Speak to your job coach at Jobcentre Plus to keep tabs on current opportunities. To find out what it’s like to work for us, read Jack’s story HERE.