60 Stabiliser suckler cows crossed to a Red Angus/Simmental-cross
700 Highlander ewes
Farm rises to 260m above sea level
Clay loam soil
Insect protein
An avian premix of vitamins and trace elements is supplemented with insects and worms as the birds follow a rotational grazing system behind cattle.
Crucially, the wild insect protein helps to offset the removal of soya from the diet. “I believe this element of the diet is crucial to the flavour, and definitely helps in terms of protein requirements, but the feed ration my supplier has devised is a complete feed in itself.”
Mr Chapple also grows multispecies leys and direct drills oats and barley; he is considering producing insects too. “If we can do that within the rules in this country that would be great, but there are some Defra regulations that restrict the use of insects,” he says.