Beefing up Conservation in Hampshire

Four members of county food group Hampshire Fare are working together to deliver beef on the menu that is the product of conservation on Noar Hill Nature Reserve near Selborne in East Hampshire.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has joined forces with local butchers Brocks Farm Shop in Alton, Laverstoke Park Farm abattoir in Overton and The Selborne Arms pub located in the village of Selborne near Alton to sell its beef from Dexter cattle reared on the reserve behind the pub. This is in turn is contributing to the sustainability of the conservation project by generating an additional income for the Wildlife Trust.

Brocks Farm Shop butcher Dale Howard, who has been in the trade for 24 years, said: "We're hanging the beef for 5-6 weeks so it will be ready in November both in our shop, and also on the menu at the Selborne Arms. Both the pub and the shop will be promoting the beef so that customers will know that what they are buying directly helps the Wildlife's Trust's local conservation projects."

Mike Morton, the Wildlife Trust's Reserves Officer explained: "The cattle help to create the right landscape just by eating what they need: their hooves create bare patches for plants to colonise; their dung gives a habitat for invertebrates; and at the end of their lives they provide high-quality beef, locally reared and locally sold." The cattle grazed throughout the summer on Noar Hill helping to reduce invasive scrub such as birch and bramble and provide the perfect conditions for flora such as frog and pyramidal orchids, cowslips and fragrant species such as wild thyme and marjoram. In turn butterflies and birds flourish on this site making it a fantastic haven for wildlife. Volunteers also play a vital role in the care of these cattle all year round helping to ensure that they are safe, happy and healthy.

Chef Proprietor Nick Carter of the Selborne Arms is devising a menu which will use the whole carcass. This includes ever-popular cuts such as rump steak which he'll serve with marrowbone, shallot topping, chips and watercress salad, winter-warming steak and kidney pudding, corned beef hash made from their own salt beef and cowhill pie which uses the less familiar and cheaper cuts. Nick enthused: "It is great to have meat that has been reared so close to our pub, and which will have such a good quality of flavour from being grass-fed all year complemented by the wild herbs growing on the reserve!" 

Hampshire Fare Chairman Mike Wright summed up: "This is a perfect example of Hampshire Fare businesses working closely together to deliver a top-quality product to the public. The project has the added bonus of minimal food miles, and has made a positive contribution to the conservation of Hampshire's countryside, which should be applauded."  

The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust hope that this project will lead to further partnerships for the public to enjoy meat reared on other Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust reserves. Find out more at www.hwt.org.uk. Brocks Farm Shop is at 4 Normandy Street, Alton, telephone 01420 86677. More information about the Selborne Arms is at www.selbornearms.co.uk.