Eastleach Downs Organic Farm and Butchery

Eastleach Downs is a small family organic pig and arable farm, located in the Cotswold's, on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border. We are dedicated to organic production and aim to provide organic pork for local people who care about what they eat. Our free-range pigs are fed an organic, GM-free diet and live their lives outdoors. They are kept in family groups where we provide for their every need.

Our produce gives you:

- Food that can be traced directly to our Soil Association assured farm because we have personally cared for and transported each animal, and only sell our own meat.

- Pure natural pork with nothing added. There is no shrinkage when you cook and no wastage because all our joints are boned and rolled with a crackling that is second-to-none. Our pork tastes the way pork should taste!

- Affordable organic meat with fewer food miles, which is better for the welfare of our animals and better for the environment.

- No added preservatives in our sausages.

All products are produced to Soil Association Organic Standards

At Eastleach Downs, our pigs form an essential part of our farm’s rotation.
They provide fertility for the crops that follow, as we do not use any chemical sprays or fertilizers on our land, only good old-fashioned manure. The organic ethos is about working with nature and not against it.
The seeds that we plant are not treated with chemicals to deter birds so we lose some, but in return the birds help us by pecking up certain pests that live in the soil and could harm our crop. Clover is extremely valuable to the organic farmer as it has the ability to fix nutrients in the soil for use by other crops that we grow. It is good for the soil structure and the pigs like to graze it (they also love to dig it up and eat the juicy roots too!). To keep our pigs healthy we regularly move them to fresh ground; this avoids a build-up of parasites and ensures the land does not suffer too much damage from the pigs’ love for digging!!

Our sows are kept in groups with the boar until they are ready to give birth, known as farrowing. They can dig, graze and generally laze about, and if it gets too hot they begin to dig wallows. At farrowing sows like some personal space, so they have an individual hut in which to give birth. We provide our sows with everything they need to create a bed as they would in the wild. They enjoy making this and sometimes collect dried grass as well as the barley straw that we provide. This keeps them busy and interested as they are intelligent creatures and can be destructive if they get bored! After a few days of being fiercely protective and only coming out to eat and drink, the sow feels comfortable enough to bring her litter out to meet others in the field (and to catch up with her friends!) The piglets quickly learn that digging is fun and stay close to mum for the first few weeks.

Our pigs are weaned off milk later than most – we find that the sow and her litter are both happier this way, and we have a piglet (or weaner as they are now known) that is strong and healthy and already on solid food. Mum is ready for a rest by this time, too! They are kept in their family groups throughout their life – our policy is not to mix them as pigs can be quite aggressive to strangers! Our pigs are fed ad-lib, which means they have food available at any time and we have feeders that are pig-operated to keep them busy.

When the pigs reach the required weight they are transported by us, in their family groups, to an approved organic abattoir just 20 minutes away.