Our main aim at Glenorchy Farm is to produce quality meats from animals that have lived their best lives here at the farm. We are constantly striving to work with the land through regenerative agriculture which uses natural systems to improve the quality of land and the biodiversity within the Glen. By reducing the sizes of our fields and by rotating the livestock within them, we are improving the quality of the land.
Our farm is a typical west highland farm - the land is wild. We carefully choose breeds of livestock that will thrive here in our proper highland climate. We use our livestock and our horses to graze all sward including rushes and hard grasses, not just take the good grass. All our animals help by eating the sward differently, the pigs pull up the rushes for extra bedding, the horses use the rushes for roughage, the cows and the sheep both graze the grasses to different levels. This is work in progress and not a quick fix but long term better for the environment and the soil.
They are a bold hardy sheep, well fitted to endure the hardships of exposed and high lying locations. They have an alert nature and a good thriver. The ewes make excellent mothers and produce good strong lambs. Our sheep live out all year round on the hill parks, the lambs come in for the winter to keep their condition and make an excellent Sunday dinner.
They are one of the oldest native cattle breeds and named after the historic south-west Scottish region - they are reputably hardy and can thrive even in the harshest of pastures hence why they are here in the Glen! The meat is also nutritionally high in Omega-3 and low in saturated fat and is delicious.
The iconic Highland Cow! What’s not to love about these beautiful boys. They can live in the hardest conditions and browse on rough, otherwise unproductive uplands therefore fit in perfect with our ground conditions. They are also extremely hardy and can live outside all year round. They produce tight grained delicious meat.
Our pigs are a traditional native breed which were almost extinct 20 years ago but have made a good comeback and are now a popular small farm breed. They are natural browsers and foragers and love living outdoors. They are hardy and cope with the weather we get in the Glen. Not only are they friendly and docile pigs they are known for being excellent mothers. The pork they produce is a darker meat than the pork in the supermarket and the taste is exceptional!
Native Black Bees originated from the Isle of Colonsay which has been granted a reserve status by the Scottish government to protect the bees from hybridisation. They are also some of the only bees on mainland Scotland that are Verona free. They are the only native honey bees in Scotland known for their hardiness and their ability to forage in cooler weather. Our bees are able to forage on a wide variety of wild flowers not to mention the much sought after bell and ling heather which yields a fantastic flavour of honey. The majority of our honey is eaten by our children but we hope to be able to sell surplus to our guests and local supporters in the future.
Our hens play an important role on the farm. Not only to the produce quality eggs for us and our guests they also work hard to help us improve our land. You will notice the small hen houses in some of the fields, the hens roam free around the fields scraping up the other livestock dung to spread it around the field eating any bugs they find. This helps to reduce the worm egg count in the fields which reduces the need for us to treat the livestock with wormers. All our animals are tested for worm counts prior to worming to stop us from creating a resistance to the treatment. They also work alongside our comical guinea fowl to reduce the tick population around the farm. We love keeping a wide variety of colourful hens who produce different coloured eggs. Our cockerel is special as he is a Scots Grey and beautiful - and he knows it!
Our little green cabin shop, which is available at the cabins, is kept stocked with the meat we have available as well as other local goodies. We also sell any excess through our Facebook page to our local supporters - be aware it sells out fast!
If you have any questions about your stay or looking for some more ideas of places to visit please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We will do our best to answer your questions as quickly as we can.
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