Our Story
Our journey of growing, milling, cold-pressing Linseed, supplying only fresh oil and meal as a unique selling point started back in the new millennium, the year 2000. However, it was prior to this in 1998 experiments with building a still and distilling chamomile although successful proved not to be a profitable idea. However advertising the still for sale prompted a meeting with someone pressing Hemp. He invited me to see what he was doing I took the details of the press and being aware of the benefits of linseed for the cattle began to wonder if I could be an oil producer.
As linseed was being grown that year as a break crop I soon started to do more research. The harvest in early September provided the first linseed for pressing. A cold press was purchased from Sweden and soon the newly grown linseed was ready to put through the press and the golden oil began to flow. The beginning of an exciting journey of learning all that linseed had to offer us.
I already knew that the residue left from the pressing was a healthy cattle food; it was often included in the dairy ration bought for the milking cows all those years ago. Years before Slabs of linseed could be purchased separately. There was so much of the oilcake available as a by-product of linoleum production.
I remember as a child pinching the fleshy part of my thumb in a kibbling machine whilst preparing the linseed cake for the cows. Fifty years on and after researching further the health benefits of linseed, especially the essential fatty acid content. I started pressing and having my own oil cake supply.
That's when it really started, in 2000 I was cold-pressing the linseed into oil, firstly I bottled it in five litre cans and went door to door to selling to horse owners and merchants across the South of England. With this becoming a huge success and a household name within the equestrian fraternity I was becoming more aware of the health benefits of linseed oil not only to animals but for people too.
The journey with linseed was advancing. With a full range of products and a unique selling point of freshness, the birth of The Linseed Farm’s fresh cold pressed linseed oil began. Freshly ground or milled linseed meal and linseed pods (capsules) catapulted The Linseed Farm into the Health Food market (at this time they were known as High Barn Oils but have since become The Linseed Farm). I provide Retail and Wholesale services from a field to fork, spade to spoon operation supplying fresh Oil & Meal on a mail order, (ecommerce) basis across the UK. The Linseed Farm has also attended show events and markets throughout the year publicising the business of supplying fresh oil, meal and pods all of which can be purchased here on our website.
I am hoping to restart on farm events again soon, it was the Covid saga put a stop to them.