Shanaghan Hill Farm is a medium sized family farm located in the heart of County Down near the hamlet of Katesbridge. The farm has been in the family for generations and is a destination for lamb that is produced sustainably and in harmony with nature. Our ethics and values are deep-rooted to the core of our business. We passionately believe in producing wholesome natural food that has been produced with respect for nature. We provide the highest possible animal welfare which together with the grass-fed diet produces superior lamb.
Our farm is fully approved by the Northern Ireland Beef & Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme which was developed to give consumers assurances about the farm end of the production chain of their food. It is about farm quality – the quality of the production methods used, the quality of care for animals which is practiced, the quality of the farm environment, and above all the quality of concern for the customer in producing beef and lamb which is wholesome, safe and free from unnatural substances.
Our mission is simple – to be good stewards of the land, of the animals in our care; and, to produce healthy lamb for people to eat.
Our home-produced prime lambs are born each year in the Spring and reared on our family farm to high welfare and environmental standards. Our ewes graze outside all year round only coming indoors for a couple of weeks to have their lambs, this slow and natural growing phase is part of what makes our lamb so special, we hang our lambs for a minimum of 7 days to develop flavour and produce tender, succulent cuts. We do not use artificial fertiliser on our land nor do we feed our lambs concentrates or growth promoters.
Once weaned from natural mother’s milk our lambs are fed on to pasture and forage crops. In the depths of winter, our sheep will eat silage cut from the farm. Our lambs are grass fed, and grass finished, eating pasture and forage for their entire lives. The key to the best lamb is slow, natural growth to maturity, eating a natural diet.
Grass finished lamb offers several advantages compared to grain-finished or partially grass-fed counterparts:
