Organic and 100% grass-fed beef from our carbon-neutral, award-winning conservation farm. Food the way it should be.

Run by Ian and Cathy Boyd, along with their daughter, Steph Ackrill, Whittington Lodge Farm is based in the rolling hills of the Cotswold countryside. As a team, they farm approximately 700 acres. The farm looks after a herd of 100% grass-fed, organic, certified Pasture for Life (PFLA), pedigree Hereford cattle alongside the management of wildlife habitats and organic arable crops. 

The farm focus has dramatically changed over the years from concentrating on production for maximum yield to working in harmony with wildlife and the environment. In 2005, we established wildflower meadows throughout the farm with the aim to increase insect life and birds including lapwings, goldfinches and skylarks. We then started the transition to making our farm organic and introduced a herd of Hereford cattle to manage the land. All these changes resulted in our farm winning numerous awards for the management of the land from RSPB, FWAG, GWCT and the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

Our herd live outside all year round with their diet NEVER being subsidised by grain; in winter they are only fed hay made from our wildflower meadows and grassland. The cattle are kept in large groups and moved to new pastures daily, known as 'mob grazing', meaning a continuous movement of a herd to new pastures. This results in the herd eating one third of the grass, trampling one third of the grass and leaving one third of grass. The grasses left behind develop long roots which help to lock carbon into the ground, further assisted by the hooves trampling the ground. The herd will then not return to the same area for another three months allowing the soil to build. This system not only benefits the herd but it also feeds the soil and allows the plants to flower and set seed before it is next grazed. 

Our herd enjoy a natural lifestyle. The cows and calves remain together all their lives and we allow them to wean naturally after approximately nine months.

We believe that farming should be a two-way conversation with nature. Our aim is to leave the land in a better state than we found it to ensure many generations after us are able to enjoy the land and wildlife.

To find out more, visit our website.