What makes eatTelfit Grass Fed Lamb Sustainable?

Native Ewes

Our lambs are produced from hardy well adapted ewes that thrive on our wild Yorkshire Dales hill sides.

This breeding that's been perfected by farmers through the centuries, reduce the inputs required to keep these sheep throughout the winter. These ancient breeds such as Swaledales, Herdwicks and Blackfaces are said to live on nothing but air.

Their slow growing nature has reduced their popularity in the lowlands but here in the Dales they are the only sheep that could survive our harsh climate. This slow growth is the source of their spectacular flavour that we prize. These are then tupped with a lowland sheep to produce good lambs that will fatten through the summer grazing.

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Diverse Pastures And Habitat

Our grass fed lambs are reared slowly on diverse pastures. Many of our farms use a combination of rough hill pastures that slowly develop flavour into our lambs.

The grazing habit of the lambs and ewes combined with that of cattle break up the height of the sward and allow new growth to come through with wildflowers and rare upland herbs benefitting nature in these areas.

They are then often finished on herbal leys which are packed with nutrients and energy which fatten and finish our lambs to the highest quality. These are also critical ecosystems that benefit insect life and provide habitat for species in their deep covers and provide a further distinctive flavour for our lambs.

In and amongst these many of our farmers have introduced agroforestry systems and wood pasture alongside hedgerows of varied species. These provide natural habitat for our lambs creating a safe feeling environment and fantastic nutritional browse for them to eat which benefits the health our our lambs.

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Grass (And Milk) Fed Lamb

Excess grain consumption is known to cause a deadly illness in ruminant animals called acidosis. Even smaller amounts of grains though impact the quality of the meat for human consumption.

They key to top quality healthy lamb is a life living on pasture. All our lambs are fed on their natural diet of grass, forbes and herbs. This is key to the quality of our lambs.

The other key thing that we believe impacts our lambs is spending a long time suckling with their mother. All our lambs are reared on their mothers milk for the early stages of their lives. This provides key nutrients especially colostrum which is critical for the development of a strong immune system and healthy gut.

This then forms a healthy lamb which is (eventually) healthy for us to eat.

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Naturally and Ethically Reared

Sheep are flock animals and the safety of their group is key to the well-being of our lambs. They are raised in two different systems with our farm and many other farms. One is expansive grazing on hillsides. Here the sheep graze the rough grasses in a manner that is beneficial for the ecosystem yet still amongst their flock, exploring the hillsides and engaging in their natural instincts.

When they are then returned to the lowland pastures they will be mobbed up into their flocks and managed in smaller pastures where they will then be moved regularly through the herbal leys to graze mimicking the patterns of large herds of herbivores.

Our farmers are deeply focused on the natural rearing of their animals and are proud of the high welfare of their flocks. This combination of an animal grazing as it should, behaving as it should and living a full and happy life is what we believe to be at the core of what makes fantastic natural meat, good for you and good for the planet.

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