JW & PA Stanley & Son

By Joe Stanley

“Carbon-neutral food is within our grasp, and traditional, predominantly grazed native breeds of livestock like our Longhorns are a key part of that future. In order to succeed, we just need the support of our consumers.”

I’m the third generation of my family to produce food from our land on the edge of the beautiful Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, in partnership with my parents, John and Pat, and alongside my trusty Jack Russell companions Ted and Toby. We are a traditional lowland mixed farm, currently running a herd of prize-winning pedigree Longhorn cattle – the ‘Blackbrook’ herd, taking its name from the swift-flowing stream which bisects our farm – and growing combinable arable crops such as wheat, barley and oilseeds. We also run sheep on areas of the farm which more closely resemble the uplands of the Peak District than the low river valleys of Leicestershire!