Farm of the Week: Family strikes gold in the Wold with rapeseed oil

For one Yorkshire farming family, however, the idea of local is much more than a trend, it is a solid and common-sense business practice they have been following for decades.

Paul and Anna Jackson began producing rapeseed oil from the family farm in 2006 and have built up a solid network of like-minded customers who appreciate the value of their local economy and farming heritage.

Dubbing their product Gold from the Wold, the Jacksons produce and process the oil at Carnaby House Farm, at Carnaby, near Bridlington.

Today it is being sold at delicatessens, butchers' shops and independent retailers across the county, with orders coming in from far and wide.

Having the name of the Yorkshire Wolds in its title sums up the Jacksons' commitment to the area. As the family has farmed there for more than 100 years they are very keen to preserve and strengthen the region's agricultural prominence.

Despite the success of the oil business they have created they remain very much farmers at heart with no delusions of grandeur.

Mr Jackson said: "When we started going into the market we knew we wanted to take it really steady.

"We knew we were building foundations and that we wanted them to last. There's no such thing as overnight success. We knew we needed to start small and that it would be a lot of hard work."

Mrs Jackson adds: "We just started selling at farmers' markets and local events. Going out there and selling it to people is hugely important for us. It is surprising how many people had never heard of it, or tasted it. Paul is a natural salesman."

As local food has become more en vogue so too has rapeseed oil. Its health values and high burning point have made it a hit with domestic consumers and the culinary trade, with many prominent chefs and cooking personalities extolling its benefits.

Through word of mouth and some localised marketing Gold from the Wold is now being sold all over the country, with all of the work being done from the farm itself and the 160 acres of rapeseed the couple grow on their land.

Mr Jackson sows the seeds for the crop in late August and September, just as his family has been doing for the past 30 years. It flowers during May and June creating the distinctive golden appearance for which the Wolds are known. Once the seeds are harvested they are taken to the specially-built facility to be pressed.

The farm also runs a herd of Continental-cross beef cattle for sale at markets such as Malton and York.

The oil business came from a desire from the couple to do something new alongside the farming lifestyle they so love.

"We started growing rape as a family in the early 1980s," Mr Jackson said. "The idea had been there for some time to take the arable side of things on. We continued doing what we normally would be doing.

"It is such a different area of life to what we are doing before. Farming is fantastic but we are ready for that different challenge."

Mrs Jackson added: "We had a lot of help from Growing Routes too. People are just much more concerned about where their food comes from."

Rather than mass producing it and hoping a market would materialise out of thin air, the pair worked slowly and gradually built up their customer base with a lot of face-to-face interaction with their customers."

Mrs Jackson said: "It has to fit in around work too. Paul is farming full time and I am a full-time teacher. Any opportunity to go out and sell it, we will go for it. We both quite enjoy it. Having that interaction with the customers is great.

"You get a more objective view too rather than what friends and family will tell you. You get a lot of friends and family of people who bought a bottle coming forward. When you talk to customers too you can explain the health benefits and values. The product doesn't sell itself. There are so many other oils out there in the market, you need to explain where yours fits in."

Today the oil is also sold via the family's website which is being revamped so they can sell more effectively.

"During the summer the rape was in bloom and went right up to the road," Mrs Jackson added.

"We had a huge bottle in the field with 'Home of Gold from the Wold' written on it. It lets people know just how local it is.

"Everything is done on the farm. The seeds are drilled by Paul. We grow it, combine it, press and filter it and bottle it all on the farm. You know where it comes from."

As well as offering virtually no food miles, the environmental credentials are enhanced by the fact a by-product of the oil is used in their cattle feed.

Successful diversification is just what many farmers need to keep their businesses solid and viable yet one imagines that Mr and Mrs Jackson's ancestors who began farming at Carnaby House Farm in the late 1800s would greatly approve of the work being done there now.