Drawing inspiration from agricultural teachers & game changers such as Graeme Sait, Wendell Berry, Geoff Lawton, Mark Shepard, Gabe Brown and Christine Jones, Bertie and his team have steered Lowerland towards a regenerative, sustainable model for agriculture.

Half lambs, goats and pigs are beautifully packaged and tend to be between 8-11 kilos. Labelled with the cut, so you can plan your meals.

MEAT

Animals are an integral part of our system. When farmed humanely and naturally, animals are indispensable in producing fertility and sequestering carbon while stimulating soil life and plant growth through hoof action and high density mob grazing. Our animals are moved daily with mobile electric fencing. Hormone free, pasture raised on veld, riverbeds and organic mixed pastures. Sheep and cattle receive supplemental minerals; pigs receive supplemental feed from our grain & veggie stores. No GMO feed and no grains fed to ruminants.

BEEF

Besides a passion for good genetics and well-bred, adaptable cattle with excellent meat qualities and good feed conversion, we value grazing animals for their valuable role in adding back fertility to the land, sequestering carbon and closing the loop.

LOWERLAND RIETSKAAP

Pasture fed, organically raised free range lamb & mutton. Our sheep feed on a healthy, diverse diet of mixed planted grazing and the reeds and grasses on the riverbanks. The flavour and marbling of this meat is next level!

They are never fed grain as “they are ruminants, not even the organic maize that I store is fed to them” says Bertie. No feed additives except kelp and salt lick.

LOWERLAND PAMPOENVARK PORK

So called because we initially brought them into the system to clean up after pumpkin harvests, eat the leftovers and break pest cycles. We mob graze pigs on pasture, fallow fields, between vineyards and trees and supplement their grazing with the discarded bran, chaff and other off-cuts from our organic grains.

Forget everything you know about pork – the meat of these free ranging plowing machines is not the greyish ligth pink of supermarket indoor pigs. Darker red, intensely flavourful and fed only on the good stuff.

GRAINS

GRAINS & FLOUR

HEIRLOOM. ORGANIC. STONE GROUND.

We grow certified organic bread wheat, old varieties of non-hybridised wheat, as well as ancient grains and non-GM maize. We apply no-till practices with a focus on natural inputs and use no pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.

Growth methods include field preparation through a diverse mix of cover crops. This preparation mix is then put under high density mob grazing by cattle, sheep or pigs to add fertility and utilise the field instead of leaving it fallow, at the mercy of the Prieska sun. We employ green planting, seeding directly into the live cover crop mulch, or relay cropping - . Fertility and pest control is achieved through natural, biological applications, cover cropping and rotational cropping.

Converting a field to certified organic status is a three-year project and our biggest challenge is to guesstimate what the market will need in two or three years’ time. We can only use our own seeds for planting, as all commercially available seeds are released with seed treatment which is not allowed under organic standards. We also cannot buy in grains to mill when ours run out, as we currently produce the only certified organic winter grains in the country (that we know of).

Hence, the availability of our various grains has been somewhat haphazard so far. We hope we are getting closer to a point of being in stock always, but we also like the fact that there is a seasonal factor to our grains that ties in with the slow food culture.

What makes your grains special?

– Our organic, soil-to-soul farming methods mean our unique terroir shines through in the grains. The bread, pap, pasta and other baked goods they yield are exceptionally delicious and nutritious.

– No GM cultivars; non-hybridised, terroir adapted and heirloom seeds.

– Stored, handled and milled without any chemical additives, bleach or preservatives. We store the grain berries with food grade diatomaceous earth, a natural compound that is sifted out before the milling process

– Full extraction = we mill the whole grain, including the nutritious germ which is removed in conventional mills to extend shelf life.

– The traditional stone mill is a slow process that doesn’t heat up the grains and thus preserves the integrity and nutrient value of the grains.

– We mill fresh on order and deliver in the same week that we mill.

– We don’t soak and dry the grains before milling, which means they take up more water than other flour.

GRAINS:

– Hard red – a hard red winter wheat with a reddish-brown colour and earthy, tannic flavour profile. Most suited for: bread, pizza and pasta.

– Witwol – a soft white spring wheat, probably related to the White Sonoran cultivar from Mexico, which is mainly used to make tortillas / flatbreads. Fine, white, cake flour with sweet, nutty flavour profile. Especially suited for pastries, rusks, cake and bread as well as pasta. (SOLD OUT)

– Khorasan Field Blend 2019– grown, harvested and sold as a blend of approximately 60% khorasan, 30% witwol wheat, 5% hard red wheat and 5% rye. Khorasan is an ancient form of durum wheat (pasta wheat) with a smooth texture and nutty, buttery flavour. Best used in pasta, bread mixes and pastries.

– Rye – delicious as component in sourdough bread or in pastries & tarts. (SOLD OUT)

– Lowerland Estate Blend 2019 – our signature bread flour blend. Hard red (70%), khorasan field blend, (20%) rye (10%).

YELLOW MAIZE:

– Polenta grits (a rougher, more complexly textured polenta)

– Fine polenta (an evenly textured polenta for a creamy, runny, smooth porridge)

– Pap – Familiemeel™ (traditional maize meal or “mieliepap” to go with sheba and wors)

– Mielieblom (fine corn flour – use as component in baguettes, pastries or as thickener with sauces and soups

WHOLEWHEAT or SIFTED?

All our flours are whole grain – the whole seed or berry goes through the mill. To get a finer, sifted product (comparable to cake flour or bread flour), we sift out the coarser particles, but the end product still contains germ, bran and endosperm. 100% whole wheat breads will be denser and have less oven spring than those made with sifted flour, as the coarser bran particles pierce the air bubbles formed during fermentation. Head over to our Instagram to see what bakers are doing with our flour – @lowerland_whole_grains

Shelf life of organic full extraction flour is generally shorter than conventional flour. Full extraction flour contains the wheat germ, full of enzymes, which makes it more susceptible to oxidising and spoilage than conventional flour. However, if stored in optimal conditions, spoilage and weevils can be kept at bay for many months. Freezing extends shelf life.

PECAN NUTS

* Certified organic. The Mammoth halves are huge, sweet, juicy and will change your concept of pecan nuts forever. Pieces – ideal for baking, roasting, granola and trail mixes.

* Pecan nuts recommended storage: airtight container in freezer. Shelf life:

– Stored at 4°C or below – 12 months

– Stored at -12°C or below – 24 months

– Stored in ambient conditions – 6 to 9 months

WINE

Natural & organic wines of origin Prieska. Grapes from our certified organic vineyards. Wine produced, stored and dispatched from the Cape winelands.

Lowerland Farm, Prieska