The world’s most famous woman is doing her bit to promote the paddock to plate concept in agriculture in her home country.
Queen Elizabeth II established The Royal Windsor Farms Farm Shop on the banks of the River Thames, near Royal Farms, her 1153 ha (2850 acre) mixed farming operation at Windsor.
The far includes a 200-head Jersey cow herd – one of the last remaining dairies left in operation in the United Kingdom – a pedigree Sussex beef herd, sheep, breeding sows and hens.
The livestock operation is supported with mixed cropping including 404 hectares (1000 acres) of arable land which grows wheat, barley and organic oats, and 809 ha (2000 acres) of grassland.
The shop was established about 14 years ago, shortly before current farm manager Mark Osman took the reigns at the farming operation.
Hosting a group of award-winning horticulture and broadacre farmers from Australasia recently as part of the Syngenta Growth Awards Tour, Mr Osman said the shop served around 8000 customer a week.
He described trade as “phenomenal” and said it was showing no signs of slowing down, in particular the butcher shop.
“We had a horse meat scandal here in Britain a few years ago where beef was sold but it was horse meat,” Mr Osman said. “It was a massive controversy over here.
“It drove a shift back to on-farm butcheries, farm shops and knowing the local farmer, knowing the local butchery and knowing where he sourced meat from.
“There was a massive change. Overnight we experienced a third increase in our butcher shop and that has continued to climb to the point now we are having to expand the farm in order to provide the service.”
The shop sells around seven bodies of beef a week (average weight of 330kg), 25 to 40 lambs and two tonnes of sausages. It sources chicken and turkey from a farmer at Devon. The livestock raised on the estate are fed from the mixed cropping operation.
“It’s big business,” Mr Osman said. “There is a tremendous footprint. Our biggest issue is where do we go from here.
“There is phenomenal potential for this area.”
Mr Osman said the Royal Farms farming operation and shop were “unusual” in British agriculture.
“Everything we sell in the farm shop is produced on the estate,” Mr Osman said.
“It’s unusual in the fact we are here for the long term.
“This is about repairing and making it better. You are only as good as your last piece of meat.”
Mr Osman said the shop had shown the importance of connecting with customers.
“Farming is very similar throughout every country and weather is a major factor,” Mr Osman said.
“Margins are very small. But what we have learnt is that if you are able to get closer to the end customer you can have a very viable farm.
“The fact that our farm shop started with nothing but now supports 50 people. We tend to forget for every farmer it supports anything up to 100 other people in subsidiary industry.”
There is also a winery, which bottled its first line of sparkling wine last year. It sold out of 3000 bottles in two days.
A new line of sparkling wine was added to the shop last year, it too produced on the farm.
The vineyard was established four years ago in partnership with a local company.
Last year’s first bottling of 3000 sold out in three days, prompting talks of expanding the current 10 acre operation.
“It proved hugely successful for our partner and it was enjoyed by the family,” Mr Osman said.
“Our next lot is going to bottle shortly and we will try to market through the Christmas period. A lot of our Christmas hampers sold through the shop last year.”
Queensland Country Life journalist Lea Coghlan traveled with the group as a guest of Syngenta.