The Rhug Manor in North Wales has belonged to Lord Newborough’s family since the ninth century, but he was determined to do things differently
On a sunny September morning in Corvin, North Wales, led by his chocolate Labrador truffles, after passing gorse and bracken to the top of the mountain, Lord Newborough is describing The rugged view in front of us. ‘This is Di Gu. Right in front of the farm shop, there is the Berwyn Mountains. The estate was once merged with a piece of land on the coast, covering 86,000 acres, but the duties of wine, women, and the dead make it fragmented.
Lord Newborough and his family are 71 years old. They are a slim cuttlefish. They are dressed in casual clothes, plaid shirts and wool. They wear casual clothes. They have lived in Rhug (pronounced Reeg) Manor. But one of the most revolutionary changes occurred in 1998, when Lord Newborough (Lord Newborough) began to convert his inheritance into natural heritage when he inherited the title after his father died, which was very unusual at the time. move.
Today, Rhug’s award-winning organic meats (“we have a high degree of recognition by Michelin”) include beef, lamb, venison and bison, and are favored by chefs including Raymond Blanc and Marcus Wareing. From River Coffee From the hall to Clarence, there are exquisite dining tables everywhere. However, bison and Sika (a type of 70 exquisite Japanese deer) are most likely to stimulate his growth potential: “Venison and bison are the meat of the future-a “healthy” red meat that is leaner than fish or chicken , They are high in essential minerals and low in fat. They are super foods and a very viable proposition.”
If his father could see it now, he would not recognize it. “In essence, this is beef and mutton. It is a fairly basic low-input, low-yield agriculture, but he likes to use too many chemicals. If I told him I want organisms, he might deprive me of it. Of inheritance.
Lord Newborough has always been a trailblazer, but his latest adventure even surprised him. He is about to enter the beauty market. In the past two years, I have applied more cream to my face than in my life.
Wild Beauty is a high-end organic skin care and body care product. There are 13 products, including tonic flowers and stevia, as well as bergamot and nettle shower gel-50% of the ingredients in this series are from the estate.
He said: “It was inspired by the landscape here, and thinking about what we can do with the manor.” “I travel a lot and I’m experiencing tax-free thinking, “Where is the story here? Where are the sources of these products? “This is our thoughts on the use of meat. I think this is so important and the same principles will apply to skin care.”
The range is vegan, halal and gluten-free. He said, I want to be honest, because I think there is a lot of dishonesty there. In the past few years, I have researched many products, but have not found a product with the number of certifications we have obtained.
Iain Russell, Rogge’s administrative manager, told me that he is energetic, energetic, and capable, and seems tireless. Every day he wakes up at 5.45 in the morning (“I reply to someone at 6 am this morning, asking if they can buy our products in London”), and then run his treadmill. His latest product is an oxygen generator worth £4,000, which he uses twice a day. He said: “I swear: this is all part of the search for eternal youth.”
When he took over the estate, it had only 9 employees, covering 2500 acres, and now it covers 12,500 acres (including a shop, cafe, takeaway and through train-this is the first British farm), they Has 100 employees. He said that in the past 12 years, our turnover has increased from 1.5 million pounds to 10 million pounds. ‘This is a growing business, but also a more diversified business. Agriculture does not make money, so adding value and consuming assets wherever possible is a way to ensure the safety of future assets. ”
For the main forager, Richard Prideaux, this came naturally from the wild food business he ran from the manor in the past, which developed from a real estate purchasing forage ingredients for top London restaurants to Wild Beauty. “The first thing we have to do is to read the survey records carefully and say that this is the growth of the estate as we know it, and then look back to determine if it still exists, what is it now and what else?”
Usually, the lead time for the product is eight months, and given the seasonality of the picking, planning ahead is everything. Lord Newborough explained: “In the beginning, the formulator found it difficult to keep a clear head in all seasons.” She asked, “I can wear gorse, can I heather? Richard said, “No, you can’t be there all the time. ”
“I am now planning the calendar for the beginning of February to make sure we have enough time to collect these ingredients,” Prideaux added. We have a weather diary; we want to know how it compares to last year. ”
The small scale of the operation means that Prideaux usually spends 8 hours in all weather, picking everything from gorse to nettle.
Prideaux has a bigger role than life, this year’s “I am a celebrity… let me get out of here!” “Survival guidance and consultant, due to Covid (Covid), the company replaced Australia with Abgeele Castle (Abgeele). He has been foraging almost from birth.
“My parents are farmers who work on this land. They don’t understand every plant in the hedge or field, nor do they know its usage and taste. This is very rare. I didn’t realize that maybe until I went to school. Not everyone receives the same education.”
This morning, he went out for wading with his knees deep in the river, picking beets from the grass, which is a kind of plant that thrives on the edge of the old water grass. “Our goal is to collect one to two kilograms of dry products-[these] plants seem to contain 85% to 98% water. My foraging method is to spend a day walking upstream, but we have also seen the maintenance of plants Measures that can be taken at the same time as the population. There are strict collection rules and procedures: everything must be submitted to the soil association.
Meadowsweet is the main source of salicylic acid (an ingredient used in aspirin) and an astringent, which is featured in Wild Beauty’s cleansers, serums and eye creams. “I know its medicinal and analgesic effects, but its use in skin care is a revelation for me.” Prideaux said, handing me a leaf to crush it. It exudes a sweet marshmallow/cucumber flavor. He said: “When this moisture is dehydrated in our office, it is one of the better smells.” “We have to pioneer a lot. It’s easy to say “Go pick nettle”, but it is determining how to store it and how much it needs. He encountered some terrible moments along the way.
Each hair on the underside of the nettle leaf is like a hypodermic injection pre-filled with formic acid, which is very stinging. When it was dehydrated, it was not enough to wilt those hairs, so when we first tried, I opened the door of the dehydrator and inhaled the cloud of these hairs. I have been stabbed by the trachea and lung. Next time I wear a mask, gloves and goggles. Lord Newborough was born on the manor. His childhood was fishing in these rivers and riding ponies with his two sisters. It sounds idyllic, but he has been proving himself since he was a child.
“My father is very harsh on us. My expectations of him were really not good enough,” he told me. “When I was three years old, I was rowed into the middle of the Menai Strait without paddling, and was told to come back with my own initiative-that was to unlock the bottom of the boat. The floor is used as a paddle. ”
He was considered to be a farmer from an early age like his father. “All of us must work on the farm. I drove a tractor when I was ten years old.” But, as he admitted, his studies were “not the best in the world.” After being expelled from a preparatory school for fighting, frequent whipping and running away, he studied at the Agricultural College and was sent to Australia.
My father gave me a one-way ticket, told me not to show up for another 12 months, and then went to buy my own ticket. After returning home, he ran an aircraft leasing company and an electronics manufacturing circuit board, and then oversaw a fishing protection plan in Sierra Leone, where he survived three coups. “I came out when the gun was burning, it was not a good place. At that time, my father was in his old age and I felt that I should go home and help. ”
Although he has been eating organic food for many years, it was not until he inherited the estate that Lord Newborough decided to rebuild it. “We are organically combined for the first time. My wife Su (they have been married for 32 years, and everyone has a daughter from a previous marriage) has always encouraged me to go this way, and from that moment on, farming has become fun.
But at first, it was an uphill struggle. Many farm teams (including the shepherd and the chief game manager) have worked for his father for more than 30 years and have established deep-rooted opinions. Lord Newborough said: “They thought I was completely crazy, but we took them to see Highgrove, where there is an inspiring farm manager. Once we actually see it working there, it makes sense. We Never look back again.”
The Prince of Wales has always been a key figure in Rhug’s organic journey. “He came here to visit the farm. His knowledge of organic farming, concern for the environment, sustainable reputation and absolute honesty are definitely part of our inspiration. He will understand. As a hedge that he is very proficient in, the prince can pass on first-hand knowledge. Rogge’s green corridors of hazel, ash, oak and blackthorn changed the wild flora and fauna of the manor and saw the return of hares, hedgehogs, thrush and the grassland. Lord Newborough said: “My father tends to pull the fence and put it down-we basically did the opposite.”
Another mentor and friend is Carole Bamford, who founded the organic farm store brand Daylesford, and founded Bamford, which is a spin-off of clothing and beauty products. Lord Newborough said: “As far as organic farming is concerned, our scale is larger than Carole, but I have always admired everything she does. I admire the ideas behind her packaging and her sustainable reputation. And I I am hiring someone who is engaged in Bamford skin care products as my consultant.
Covid initially postponed the release of Wild Beauty from the spring. This pandemic has clearly affected real estate, with retail businesses being the most affected. He sadly said: “Easter is usually our busiest time. We stand at the door and wait for the car to pass by.” He said that as the prospect of Brexit is imminent, we will need every marketing channel to be able to struggle. See us in the period of time. “But we don’t rely on Europe (20% of meat is exported overseas-Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar), so this is a safety net. I think the safety of being able to export to these affluent markets Vital to the future.”
As far as Covid is concerned, he has no worries about his health: “I get up every morning to exercise, and if I die, I die.” What he worries most is the farm animals. “Animals must be fed, and we are worried about the impact of Covid’s disease among farm workers.” Fortunately, this is not something they have to deal with.
He is not satisfied with standing still. His tenacious work ethic (the legacy of his challenging childhood) means he wakes up every day and thinks about what to do next? So where does the legacy go? “It is very important to continue developing the Wild Beauty product line-we are studying shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen-but I also want to build a global brand, and we are communicating with distributors in Japan, the Far East and the Middle East.” If the father knew You are producing organic skin care products, what do you think? He smiled in disbelief. “He might turn around in the grave… No, I think he will be proud. I think he now wants to see the hive around him.”
In addition, he is planning to rebuild his beloved bison herd. After the death of vicious catarrhal fever, the number of bison herd dropped from 70 to 20. “It’s too bad to see and know that you can’t do anything to stop it.” However, since Lord Newborough has been working with the University of Liverpool to develop a vaccine that will be tested on Rhug bison, there is still hope.
And he has been concerned about the impact of climate on the farm. ‘We have seen huge changes. When I was young, the lake here was always frozen to death. No more freezing in winter. “He hopes to find inspiration in a warm climate, and hopes to plant more Mediterranean crops, such as lavender and grape vines.
“If we didn’t see a reasonable area for vines, I wouldn’t be surprised 20 years later. There are now one or two vineyards in Wales. We must adapt to changes. ”
He is determined to leave the farm in his best condition. “I want Rugg to adapt to future development and let it have endless life. I want to use the resources God has given us. I think we have a responsibility to leave something better than what we inherited.” I think in a certain way His father would agree more.
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