Pipers Farm grows, as nature intended, taking family farming under its wing

Working in harmony with nature, Devon-based Pipers Farm is forging a new future for farming in the UK, alongside a growing network of other small-scale family-run farms. Established nearly three decades ago when founders, Peter and Henri Greig chose to abandon industrial poultry farming in order to feed the family with healthy and wholesome produce, Pipers Farm remains committed to the humble free range chicken and the principles that first brought the family to the rolling hills of Devon.

A devoted custodian of its little patch of England, Pipers Farm rears properly free range chicken,  producing succulent and flavoursome meat, which is free from any food poisoning bacteria and has a minimal impact on the environment during its life. With the breeding flock reared to one day old by one farmer before another picks up the reins to slowly grow these birds, Pipers Farm, unlike many others, has complete control over the genetics and health of its chickens from hatching to hanging.

The Hubbard chicks, which are uncommon in the UK, are fed on a diet of wholegrains, including corn and barley, and are free to roam and forage on the biodiverse Devon pastures, helping them to build up a strong natural immunity. These healthy and happy free range chickens live significantly longer than most, as the farmers at Pipers refrain from using additives to speed up their growth.

Peter Greig (above), founder of Pipers Farm, explains:

“There is nothing quite like the smell of roast chicken wafting through the house to bring the family together for dinner, but industrial and factory farming methods in the name of affordable meat production are having a catastrophic effect on the environment and our health. Farming should be done by families, as they have the knowledge, passion and appetite to preserve the landscape around them and produce high quality and great tasting meat. This common sense approach to farming creates sustainable communities, biodiverse hedgerows and improves carbon sequestration, so is surely something we need to be championing. We have been waving the flag for family farms for 30 years and will continue to do so as the future of our food and farming remains under the spotlight.”

Pipers Farm’s Great Taste award-winning Properly Free Range Whole Chicken, which is hung for seven days to enhance the depth of flavour, is available for delivery across the UK and beyond at pipersfarm.com; 1.5 kg £11.95, 2kg £15.95 and 2.5kg £19.95.

For more information on Pipers Farm, please visit pipersfarm.com.