Young farmers with pig dreams
These Lidl pork suppliers are keeping it local
WHEN Harriet Ross and Ben Lowe decided to go into farming, from the outset they wanted to be as sustainable as possible.
That was three years ago. Today the young couple from Aberdeenshire have 7,000 pigs, of which 450 are breeding sows, all Landrace/Large White cross.
They also manage 1,000 acres of arable land, growing barley, wheat and oil seed rape, used to feed their animals.
When you buy pork products with a Scottish flag and a Specially Selected Pork label in Lidl, you can rest assured it is all locally sourced, and farmers like Harriet and Ben are also banging the drum for low food miles and higher animal welfare. “We want to be sustainable and traceable – and we want to be here for a long time,” says Ben, 33.
Seeing their pork in Lidl stores across Scotland closes the circle and fills them with pride.
“Consumers are looking for local products,” says Ben. “People want to know the story behind where their food comes from and that producers care about what they’re doing and their methods.”
Their pork carries the Specially Selected Pork label, which means the farm must be quality assured, and consumers are guaranteed the high welfare and standards from those rearing pigs.
The Scottish SPCA (Scotland’s animal welfare charity), also visits the farm and approves the high standards of the pigs every year.
The couple have been together for five years. Harriet, 30, comes from a farming family, while it was always Ben’s dream to one day enter the profession.
It’s not the easiest job – long hours and demanding conditions go with the territory, especially now when they are harvesting all the crops that will fill the grain store for the next year.
But there are upsides… “We call it pig therapy,” jokes Ben. “If
you’re having a difficult time, you go out and work with them and they cheer you up.” Harriet adds, “They are also very clean animals. The big sows are basically on straw for most of the time just sleeping, and you can hear them snoring when you go in in the morning.”
Ben and Harriet have a passion for what they do, and a real commitment to make Pitmillan Farm a leader in regenerative practices.
As members of LEAF, the leading organisation delivering sustainable and nature-friendly farming, theirs has now been designated a demonstration farm.
This means the couple are showcasing best farming methods. Carbon footprinting is carried out annually and Harriet and Ben are currently involved in a Scottish project looking at how efficiently the farm reuses muck and slurry rather than relying on bagged fertiliser. For consumers, lean pork is versatile, low in fat, and is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals.
Then there’s the taste. From a bacon roll – one of life’s great treats – to a mouth-watering traditional roast with crispy crackling, fashionable pulled pork, or easy-tocook chops, the pleasures are almost endless.
People want to know the story behind where their food comes from.