21 May Sustainable Growth | Fairview’s Efforts towards a Holistic Farm
At Fairview, we have a shared passion for ethical and authentic produce, prepared with love. To produce fantastic produce – whether it is our wine, cheese, vegetables or meat, it all starts with sustainable and holistic farm practices. Over the years, our team has been implementing better practices to ensure we can always yield the best results. Here are just some of the ways we have been doing this:
HEALTHY SOIL:
We believe healthy plants begin with healthy soil. Healthy plants mean less pests and disease. In and amongst various techniques we are currently using to keep our soil in the best of health such as crop rotation, mulching and composting, we have also started planting Lupins, a flowering plant, in the weaker soils. Lupins are wonderful as they fix nitrogen in the soil from the atmosphere, thus acting like a natural fertiliser. We will dig up these plants next year and replace them with proper crops.
GROWING OUR OWN WHEAT:
We’re growing our own wheat! We have planted 250 hectares of wheat, as we have a 100 ton per year requirement to make our own bread.
FEED FOR OUR ANIMALS:
Over the years, we have planted 120 hectares of feed for our animals. Fairview is home to five key types of livestock – poultry, pigs and beef cattle, goats and sheep. They serve to supply the restaurant, produce milk for our cheese and produce store under our ‘farm to table’ model, as well as help to maintain and improve the health of our soil. Healthy soil means healthy plants, which in turn means better quality produce. Our animals are free to roam as much as possible, fed a natural, varied diet and treated with compassion and respect by our farmers. We welcome you to watch our animals, but please do not touch.
GOATSHED RESTAURANT
Sourcing from the surrounding fields and pasture, as well as other local farms, the Goatshed Restaurants highlights the abundance of our Paarl-based farm and valley. Every week, our chefs team brainstorm and curate a weekly special so that all our guests are offered a multi-taste feast featuring the best offerings from the field. As of late, we’ve also introduced a Wine on Tap concept to our restaurant, meaning the wine comes straight from the cellar and is available on ‘draught’. There are various benefits about wine on tap, with one of the key factors being that it is more environmentally friendly. The Goatshed’s ‘no-fuss’ way of dining and commitment to buying locally farmed produce makes us proud to be seen as frontrunners in conscious consumption and a hit with visitors who are recognising the love of real food.
