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About Us
Moat Farm, run by Antony Pearce, is a mixed farm in Stoke Mandeville, on the edge of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Mixed farming is a type of farming which involves both the growing of crops and the raising of livestock.
As well as rearing turkeys, the farm has 360 hectares (900 acres) of arable land which is mainly used to grow wheat for Weetabix® breakfast cereal, milling wheat for Warburtons® bread, barley for Budweiser® lager and gluten-free oats for Glebe Farm.
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Humble beginnings...
In the 1950’s, Antony’s late grandmother Eva, who reared chickens, identified an increasing demand for local turkeys at Christmas and also understood the benefits of running a turkey enterprise on a mainly arable farm where much of the usual work is done in the summer months. The Pearce Family has been rearing turkeys ever since. Antony’s mother Janet jokes that he (a December arrival) was ‘born in the turkey shed!’
Nowadays, the Pearce Family are a member of ‘Totally Traditional Turkeys’, a quality assurance scheme run by the Traditional Farmfresh Turkey Association (TFTA). TFTA turkeys are guaranteed to have been reared under strict welfare and production conditions, and Pearce Family Farms rear their turkeys in accordance with the high standards demanded by the association.
How it works...
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The Pearce Family buys in 3-week-old fledglings of traditional, slow growing breeds that are associated with the old-fashioned taste of Christmas turkeys.
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The free-range turkeys are fed on locally sourced feed to full maturity.
The birds are reared under very strict welfare conditions which protect their quality of life.
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All this results in a delicious and succulent roast turkey that is perfect for the Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner table.
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