Dingley Dell Farm
Dingley Dell Farm
Mark and Paul Hayward. Suffolk
The farmers
Mark and Paul Hayward are third generation farmers who started Dingley Dell Pork in 1999 with the aim of producing superb tasting, welfare friendly pork, with impeccable provenance in a sustainable manner. For them, it is about the animals and their relationship with them. It is about the land that they farm and how they take care of it and work with it. It is about their families, values and aspirations.
The animals
Dingley Dell Pigs are outdoor-bred and the farm provides a stimulating environment that enables the animals to express their natural, inquisitive behaviour. Just as importantly, they believe that great welfare is about the human-animal interaction, and so strive to create an environment that is also calm and nurturing. The biggest factor of taste is intramuscular fat (IMF) or marbling within the meat. They have a unique breeding programme on farm which identifies the most heavily marbled males and females to improve this in each generation. This has led to them creating their own breed recognised by DEFRA – the Suffolk Red.
The land
They are passionate about nature and the role they play as farmers. To feed, support and enhance the number of bumblebees across the farm, they provide areas of food and habitat specifically for them. They have developed a rotational system for their production that allows them to grow both grass and wild-flower mixes. Each year, we plant 338,000 square metres of nectar rich plant mixes (equivalent to 83 football pitches) in blocks around the farm. Wild birds, butterflies and dragonflies also proliferate during the summer months on these mixes. They have also achieved their aim of feeding one million bumblebees on the farm in one day.
Coastal Suffolk