The Wilkinson family are looking to capitalise on their product and have recently started to sell through a local butcher. Emily Ashworth finds out more.
There is a unique aspect to the Wilkinson family business, and that is their saltmarsh grazed cattle.
The cows make for quite the picture, grazing various marshlands along the Southport coastline in Lancashire.
It is a family affair - David runs the core business along with daughter Amy, while wife, Tilly, takes on the paperwork side. Son, Jack, who is about enter year ten at high school helps out too, as well as daughters Kerry who works for the jockey club and Anna, who is set to head off to York University to study chemistry.
Davids parents, Jim and Betty, moved to White Otter Farm in 1960, starting out with 131 hectares (325 acres).
They began running cattle while growing carrots and potatoes and took on 40ha (100 acres) from the Church Commission rough ground which they put pigs on.
In 1999, David took over and through the years they have taken on various parcels of land and the business now extends to 323ha (800 acres).
He finished the potato business in 2010, after riding that rollercoaster and focused on beef.
They run 600 cattle, mostly Angus and British Blues, and during the 1990s they began the marsh grazing, using various sites - 176 acres at Crossens Marsh and an RSPB site which runs to 114 acres.
They also run 50 heifers on Banks Marsh which is a collective site run by Natural England.
Amy says: It is good because no fertiliser is needed, it is all what the tide brings in.
You do not have to worm them as much either, as parasites cannot survive as well in saltwater.
We also work with theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds I am quite into my birds and we work on stocking limits and nesting sites.
Carbon offsetting in farming
It is interesting in terms of carbon storage too marshes are actually a very good carbon sink.
The cattle go out to the marshes from May to October and, says David, cattle grow on marshes like nowhere else. You put them out and fetch them back six months later and it is exceptional.
On the arable side, they grow feed for cattle as well as oilseed rape, wheat and barley.
Interestingly, they swap ground with a neighbour who has a potato packing business, and for every acre David gives him, David takes 2.5 of his land to grow corn.
He takes around 28ha (70 acres) for potatoes and it works well in the farms rotation, says David.
They buy in calves at two weeks old from local dairy farms, take bullocks to 350 kilograms carcass weight, and heifers to 320kg.
Most are Angus and British Blue breeds.
David says: We used to have quite a lot of black and white bulls, but the system changed when more started to use sexed system.
A computer system was also installed in 2021 after applying for a grant and they began using a collar system.
Amy says: It saves labour massively and saves time. It was taking me four hours a day just to feed them milk.
They are doing better because you can set it to the specific calf , whereas before we were splitting them into batches of four and there could be a two-week-old being fed the same as a six-week-old.
The majority go to Morrisons at Colne but, lockdown changed things and their beef enterprise is growing and changing.
Selling meat directly
Amy began delivering meat boxes during covid and has continued this as and when she can.
But a new business relationship was also formed with James Henshaw, a friend of Amys, who set up his own butchery in nearby Aughton.
They now supply him with one beast a week and James has helped spread the word of their saltmarsh beef, selling it on to restaurants.
One restaurant, Mustard and Co in Crosby, was named the fourth best roast dinner in the UK using the familys beef, an accolade they are all extremely proud of.
David says: When there is so much bad press, it is nice to have a positive story to tell.
It is a long process from what we do here on-farm to being in a restaurant, so you need a good butcher and if we can work with James, everybody benefits.
He is a young lad having a go.
And the idea of telling the farms story is something Amy is interested in too. You can often find her on social media answering questions and explaining what they do on-farm.
Careers in farming
She sits on the board of Lancashires well-known college, Myerscough, and has recently spoke at the Southport Flower Show, answering visitor queries alongside a chef cooking a tomahawk steak.
Amy says: I had to follow one of the Hairy Bikers, so that was something.
Since James and the flower show, more restaurants have come forward.
I also take calves into local schools, and for my dissertation at Myerscough College, I focused on what school children know about where their food comes from.
I asked them to draw a picture of a farm and 30 per cent drew one based on the game Fortnite big American red barn buildings.
I visited rural schools and urban schools and there was not really a difference.
That caught my attention.
I also spoke at Lamma about careers in agriculture, and one of the biggest things I was told was that farming would never take me anywhere.
But agriculture is needed around the world.
The business, they say, is growing and they will need to start thinking about to split the work and perhaps even think about taking on staff. But challenges lie ahead.
David says: It is exciting, but scary at the same time with fertiliser and energy prices, especially when you are told about your energy bills. But we do not run a parlour or packhouse, so how are we using all this electric?"
But they certainly want to explore the butcher side more.
If this downturn is coming like they say, we should try and retail more ourselves," adds David.
I think we are also heading down a route where one of us will have to focus on one side instead of stretching ourselves constantly.
Someone to work with me on the arable side and Amy can concentrate on the cattle and crossover when needed.
Farm facts
Farm facts
- A mixed arable and beef enterprise
- Business extends to 323hectares (800 acres) and 600 cattle, mostly Angus and Blues
- Calves are bought in at two weeks old from local dairy farm and majority are sold to Morrisons
- Cattle graze on saltmarsh land on Lancashire coastline
- Started a beef box business in lockdown and now also supply one beast per week to local butcher
