Wark Farm

The digger at work, making our new splashes

Newsletter November 2021

Sometimes change goes gradual, unnoticeable, like seasons sliding one into another and before you know it's the next winter. And sometimes change happens fast, like last week when we drastically expanded our wetlands. Although the ideas and visualization of the change had been ripening for years in Laurel's mind, the implementation was done in slightly over a week. When you now drive up the farm road, it is easy to see what the heart of our farm is. A complex of wet areas, built in various levels and with a draining system, aimed to maximise it's attractiveness for wildlife. No hard edges but sloping banks. Muddy areas just like wading birds like to have it and no trees that could hide predators so these birds will feel safe. Different pieces of the land developed specifically to attract specific kinds of wildlife. The drainage system allows us to dry the wetlands after nesting season, so that its edges can be sown with grasses, slowing rushes from growing but at the same time providing some extra food for the sheep. And then in the winter, the pools will be reflooded again. Our own land seasonality built into the farm.

This visual very much stands for the way Laurel manages the farm, with its heart being her connection to nature and the land. There's her love for the land and only second there's our farm, butchery and pie business built around it. Yet these secondary ‘aspects' are essential. They allow things to go round, they create a balance between the idealistic desire to re-wild the land and to create functionality for people. Because you see, we don't need to make any absolute choices between nature and farming. There's a balance to be found. And though it isn't the easiest path to follow, it can be done, with both nature and people benefiting from it.

The November order form is now open.

On our product range for this month: * There's our usual list of aged Belted Galloway Beef * Hebridean Hogget/Lamb, the full range of fresh cuts * Game venison loins and game venison dice * We also have our home cured bacons and delicious gammon steaks back on the menu, as well as gammon boiling joints to make your own hams. * Our famed Wark Farm pies, made with our own hot water pastry recipe and filled to the brim with high quality meat (frozen) * SPECIAL: PHEASANT & APRICOT PIES. They're back! Our very popular seasonal Pheasant & Apricot Pies. We're not sure how long stocks will last, so we suggest to already get your festive orders in as all pies come frozen, ready to be baked. Ideal for now, for later, for yourself or for any visiting guests. Fill up your freezer before they're out of stock again :-) They keep for at least 6 months in your freezer. * XMAS PRE-ORDER SECTION: You will find our information about our Xmas orders and collections here. We've started taking our XMAS TURKEY PRE-ORDERS last month and already half of our turkeys have gone. So put your pre-order in now to secure your Xmas Turkey. We're now also taking XMAS PRE-ORDERS FOR GAMMONS, GAME DUCKS, GAME PHEASANTS, GAME PHEASANT BREASTS AND BEEF JOINTS. All our beef and lamb meat is cut fresh, which means that it can be frozen at home. It also means that, while we try to accommodate everyone's requests, we cannot guarantee not to run out of certain cuts. We treat orders in order of receipt, meaning that the sooner you get your order in, the more likely it will be that you will get everything you requested for.

ORDER INFO: Ordering deadline: Monday 15th November, noon. Order confirmations are not sent out automatically, but will be emailed to you by latest Wednesday 17th November. COLLECTION/DELIVERY INFO NEW COLLECTION POINT IN ABERDEEN ON SATURDAY !!!!! Orders can be collected at Banchory Farmers market (Saturday 20th November between 9am to 1pm), at Bridge of Don Farmers market (Saturday 20th November between 9am to 1pm) or at the farm (Sunday 21th November between 11am to 2pm). Orders can also be delivered in central Aberdeen and Aberdeen City and most of Deeside and Donside. Deliveries will be done on Friday 19th November between 9am to 5pm but no exact timing can be given nor a time slot. Delivery is free of charge for orders above £40, otherwise it is £5 delivery charge. Please check with us whether we deliver to your area if this is the first time you're ordering from us. PAYMENT INFO: Invoices will be sent out by email at latest Tuesday 23rd November with information on how to pay by bank transfer. The updated order form link is below. As ever please get in touch if you have any queries. Best wishes Laurel & SaM

Order Form