WEST MOSS-SIDE ORGANIC FARM

CERTIFIED ORGANIC

West Moss-side Organic Farm is set in the wide open lands of the Carse of Stirling, just outside the village of Thornhill.

The farm includes part of the great peat bog of Flanders Moss – the remnants of a vast expanse of raised bogs which extended along the Forth Valley.  It is also home to Trossachs Yurts and the West Moss-side Centre, a place of art and creativity.

Kate Sankey has been farming the land in the traditional way, with biodiversity and sustainability as her key guiding principles, since 1991.  The farm is certified organic so there are no artificial fertilizers, insecticides or chemicals.

West Moss-side beef is a product of conservation grazing, as Kate explained: “I keep rare breed traditional Shetland Cattle. They are beautifully suited to the ground. In the high summer the cattle graze the high moss – keeping the rough grasses, heathers and birch regeneration at bay.

“In the winter the cattle eat hay and haylage made from the West Moss-side fields. The hay fields are biodiversity rich with a mixture of grasses, wildflowers and clover. So, no food miles for these cattle.”

SMALL SCALE

The cattle are kept as a family grouping with just 8 or 9 breeding cows, so the amount of beef from the bullocks is very limited.

Kate said: “The beef is hung for 28 days and butchered by a specialist butcher, frozen and sold direct from the farm freezer. I am also very excited to be part of the NeighbourFood network – but as a very small producer, the beef is only available in limited quantities.”

Kate has a vision for the small farm – one where all the activities have evolved with the land and the environment. She has a passion for all wildlife, but especially the ground-nesting curlew.

She is also a weaver of natural materials grown and found on the farm and Flanders Moss. Willow, birch, hazel, rush even Polytricum moss and cotton grass find their way into her pieces.

FERTILE GROUND

There is a catering kitchen for hire at West Moss-side, where Kate would love to see cook school workshops and demonstrations take place. She is especially interested in wild and foraged food.

In 2018 she was joined by the award winning chef Andrew Barrowcliffe and they collaborated under a joint venture called Fertile Ground. Kate said: “He used some of West Moss-side’s great food to produce some new and traditional products and cooked sensational food for the yurt guests as well as a wild harvest supper for local foodies.”