Westfield Farm
A TRADITIONAL SMALL SCALE FARM on the KENT / SUSSEX BORDER
What's on the Farm ?
Sussex Cattle
At Westfield Farm we have a pedgree herd of Sussex cattle "The Orchardene Herd".
Sussex cattle are a large beef breed, bred for the conditions here in the south east of England.
They have a lovely temperment and are good mums to their calves which we keep for breeding or for direct sales.
It is said that the Sussex bullock will fatten on nothing. Well we give them a bit more that that, but only rarely will they eat anything other than grass and our own hay.
Sussex beef has surely got to be one of the treats of the land.
It is succulent and well marbled and as well as the normal steaks and joints, we encourage you to try some of the lesser cuts including brisket cooked slowly with other local vegetables.
Beef is available in freezer boxes, each with a mix of cuts and mince etc.
Romney Sheep
At Westfield Farm we have a registered flock "The Orchardene Flock" of Pedigree Romney sheep . Sometimes known as "Kents" this hardy breed was bred for life on the Kent marshes. With good feet and constitution they are also sometimes called "easy care sheep".
Well we don't know about that! But certainly they are healthy and thriving here at Westfield Farm.
For most of the year our flock eat only grass and home cut hay. At around lambing time the ewes need hard feed, but other than that their diet is natural.
Romney lamb makes excellent eating and is ready from July onwards from our April lambing. Some of our customers prefer older lamb (hogget) which has a more mature taste, so we normally keep a few back until the new year.
We sell lamb as freezer packs in half or whole lamb boxes.
See our products pages for more information
In times gone by, Romney fleece was highly prized for use in textiles all over the world.
It is still sought after, being classed as longwool, and every year after shearing, the Wool Marketing Board collect what we don't keep for spinning and this is often used for the carpet industry - the wool being tough yet soft.
Others Things
Like most farms there are other things going on as well!
We have a small apiary from which we supply honey and other hive products to local customers. Bees are in danger at the moment for a variety of reasons, so please do all you can to help them by planting bee friendly flowers and supporting your local beekeeper. If you live locally to us and find a swarm in your garden - then please let us know and we will be pleased to come along and collect it.
We keep chickens of course and from time to time, pigs come and go.
Our farmhouse is heated by a modern wood fired boiler from our own coppiced woodland, which coupled with solar hot water and solar electricty panels also reduces our carbon footprint.
We harvest rainwater for livestock drinking with over 25,000Litres of rainwater storage which helps conserve water whilst reducing bills.
Our barns are in ongoing need of improvement and so we are currently recladding them using our own Scotts Pine timber, felled from our woodland and self milled.
