Our Heritage
.jpg)
It All Began With Milk
We've been farming our beautiful estate in Somerset since the 1940s and since 1999 Coombe Farm has held Soil Association organic status. We're certain that it's our ethical farming choices that create the unbeatable flavours found in the food we produce.
In partnership with our well-established and successful organic dairy business, we launched Coombe Farm Organic in 2015. With sustainability at its heart, our team took what was a by-product of the well-established and successful organic dairy business - male calves - and by careful breeding, created award-winning beef. From a small office and a couple of chest freezers, the business grew organically (excuse the pun!) to meet the increasing demand from customers who loved the idea of buying directly from the farm.
Our meat business works alongside Ryan, our farming manager, and we're incredibly proud to rear award-winning beef, lamb, rose veal, chicken, pork and geese. using nature friendly farming methods that boost biodiversity and replenish the soil. We have over 300 products available to purchase, including hard to find organic products such as offal, tallow, stock bones and unusual steaks and joints.
We also work with trusted organic and sustainable partners to offer a wide selection of ethical meat and fish options – from organic salmon, turkey and duck, parkland venison and bone broth to sustainably sourced wild game and Cornish day-boat caught fish.
We are especially proud of our meat boxes, for which we won an award at the 2021 BOOM Awards for ‘Best Organic Box Scheme’. The boxes are a carefully curated selection of our best produce, changing with the seasons and offering customers a built-in discount. Highlights include the Organic Balancing Box, a selection of underrated, unusual cuts that help them to carcass balance and minimise food waste.
Pioneering the appreciation of organic dairy beef
In any dairy system, the cows work hard. Their bodies are designed to be very efficient milking machines and on Coombe Farm, they make all of that milk from our beautiful West Country pasture.
But once their work in the dairy is done, milkers are normally sent to cull and rarely enter the food chain. In the spirit of minimising waste and making the most of every resource, we take a different approach. Retired cows from our herd are turned out to pasture to gain condition and fatten up. The resulting beef is like nothing you'll have tasted before – deeply flavoured, with robust texture and plenty of rich, sweet marbled fat.
Not only is this another way for us to cut unnecessary waste out of our farming system, but it's also a way to produce unique and delicious meat. That's a win-win, we think you'll agree.
Diversifying for sustainability
Certified organic for almost 20 years, we know that by following the principles of organic farming we bring confidence to consumers. Buying organic food gives you a guarantee that the ingredients have been farmed or reared in a natural way. It's important to us to avoid environmentally damaging chemical fertilisers that compromise the soil's wellbeing. Instead, we strive to create healthy, fertile fields that promote biodiversity. Also essential to us is making sure that all of our animals are reared with the highest possible standards of welfare. Organic ingredients are fully traceable and audited. Without that Soil Association stamp, there's no assurance of how and where your food has been produced.
At Coombe Farm Organic, we’re foodies as well as farmers and this assurance is really important to us. Talking the talk is one thing, walking the walk and meeting the standards of an approved organic producer is another. This reaffirms why we choose to only work with other certified organic producers.
There's pressure on farmers throughout the world to produce more, do it quickly and for less money. This inevitably has an impact on the quality of our soil, making it harder for future generations to achieve necessary yields. We want to make sure that our land continues to be productive so we take a long-term approach to enriching the soil and giving back what we take out while producing top-quality, nutritious food.
Winning the Soil Association BOOM award for Best Online Organic Retailer in 2017 was a massive achievement for us. It was tremendous recognition for the team and all of the fantastic organic producers with whom we work. It’s given us confidence that what we do is worth it – we hope you agree!
Discover More