Whyle House Lamb enjoyed a real roasting

As part of this year’s Open Farm Sunday 2009 initiative, Whyle House Lamb in Pudleston opened their farm gates and welcomed scores of people looking to enjoy a ‘down on the farm experience’ with tractor tours and sampling a sumptuous Whyle House lamb roast, BBQ style.

Husband and wife team, Andy and Frances Offer, who own and run Whyle House Lamb in Herefordshire, were slightly overwhelmed by the amount of visitors they had on the day. Said Andy: “It was great to see so many families really enjoying themselves; asking questions about how we farm and genuinely interested in why we farm the way that we do. We’ve had some brilliant feedback and one family even wrote us a personal letter of thanks so we’re already looking at how we can make it even bigger and better for next year?”

As well as tractor rides, which took visitors around the farm stopping at a number of points to discuss the use of the land and the farm’s ecological stance, families were also given an overview of the farms extended interests encompassing insect habitats, including a small natural pond which has seen the growth in wildlife flourish in natural flora, fauna and small insect and pond life. “Although the farm isn’t run on an organic basis, we do try where we can, to restrict the use of pesticides, and we have developed eco-areas for the benefit of the insects, pond and wildlife generally.” said Andy.

Whyle House Lamb near Leominster has been rearing lamb for the last 4 years. Said Andy: “It’s immensely rewarding when people really start taking an interest in where their food comes from. They suddenly realise that supporting local suppliers like us can make a real impact on the local economy. We had many encouraging remarks from visitors during the afternoon and lots of repeat requests for our BBQ lamb baps throughout the afternoon.”

Sheep shearing is next on the agenda and being considered as an addition to the farm’s open events calendar for next year, with Open Farm Sunday 2010 on the 13^th June already pencilled in. Said Andy: “Next season we plan to expand our open events calendar even further, and who knows what we’ll be doing this time next year?”

You can contact Andy and Frances on 07831 256463 or visit their website at www.whylehouse.co.uk to find out all the latest information and news at Whyle House Lamb.