Suppliers - Fodder

Meet Our Suppliers

We work with brilliant local farmers to bring you the freshest, tastiest food around. We pay our suppliers fairly and only sell the very best. All profits go back to our charity, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which supports the farming industry.

Yockenthwaite Farm

Yockenthwaite Farm is farmed by the Hird family who are fifth-generation hill sheep farmers. The stunning farmhouse has been in the family since 1842 and this is where the award winning, now hugely successful granola started life.

Mum Liz would make the granola for guests who were staying in their farmhouse B&B. It was so popular, guests would ask for more to take out with picnics and Liz began to sell it at local farmers markets.

And what started as diversification, soon grew into a passion and beyond the confines of the farmhouse kitchen as the orders began to roll in. It became so successful, the family decided to stop running the B&B in 2009, to concentrate on granola.

The “Nutty Spelt Granola” is the best seller but the more recently created Ginger flavour is also a hot favourite – and in Fodder, we can’t fill the shelves fast enough. It’s a winner with our customers!

Read our blog about Yockenthwaite here.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses

Shepherds Purse Cheeses is passionate about producing nourishing, world class cheese from their family farm in the heart of North Yorkshire.

Caroline Bell and Katie Matten run the family business near Thirsk, where cheese is traditionally made, by hand, for retailers and restaurants across the UK – including Fodder.

The synergy between the Showground and Shepherds Purse spans decades as the business was launched 35 years ago by the late Judy Bell MBE from a trade stand at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The business has flourished over time, regularly winning a raft of national awards across its range of 11 cheeses, made from sheep milk, cow’s milk, water buffalo milk and most recently organic cow’s milk from Acorn Dairy.

Read our blog about Shepherds Purse here.

Spilmans Asparagus

Spilmans Asparagus is a family run operation close to the village of Helperby. Asparagus is cut from the peaceful fields of Pasture Lane (which was the original name of the asparagus business) by a hardworking team of pickers.

The growing season is between the end of March and June when on warm days, the asparagus bursts quickly through the loose soil. On the cool days, it may not move very much but on beautiful sunny days, a field that has been harvested first thing on a morning may well need cutting a second time in the evening – because it grows so rapidly you can almost see it happening.

After the army of pickers has cut the asparagus, boxes of the loose produce are brought to Lodge Farm where it is washed, trimmed, graded and packed into bundles for delivery by Richard and driver Malcolm. And once the asparagus season is done, it’s onto strawberries also supplied to Fodder until well into August. And it’s from these quiet fields that the delicious bundles of asparagus are sent out across the UK, including to Covent Garden … and a little closer to home at Fodder – Great Yorkshire Food Hall.

Read our blog about Spilmans here

Anna's Happy Trotters

The Longthorp family have been farming for four generations. Originally a purely arable farm growing crops, pigs were added to the mix some thirty years ago to make better use of the grain and straw they produce.

They set up breeding their pigs outside from the very beginning. Their pigs have been fully free range since 2007 and are outside from start to finish. There are only 1-2% pigs produced this way in the UK.

Anna’s Happy Trotters sell direct to butchers and farm shops to get closer to you.

The number one priority at Anna’s Happy Trotters is the welfare of their pigs and this is something they are very proud of.

Soanes

All of our whole chickens are supplied by the Soanes family and their farming neighbours on farms in and around the Yorkshire Wolds.

They use four generations of arable farming expertise to grow the finest wheat to feed their chickens and use their animal husbandry experience to produce exceptionally tasty chicken.

Soanes Red Tractor accredited, Great Taste award-winning grain fed chickens are reared in light, airy barns with bales to perch on and toys to encourage their natural behaviour and to develop social interaction.

The result of this welfare rich life is award winning, firm-textured, tasty and succulent chicken that tastes like chicken used to.

Acorn Dairy

Acorn Dairy is a fourth-generation, family-run dairy farm. In 1998, the family began farming without chemicals to Soil Association organic standards. This nurtured, not just the land and cows, but also provided a local milk option for consumers wanting organic food.

For customers, this gives reassurance that an everyday consumed product they enjoy is made to higher cow welfare standards, with no artificial chemicals, preservatives and routine antibiotics. The Acorn Dairy herd, grass clover rich pastures that have not seen a chemical in nearly 30 years.

Acorn Dairy has been supplying Fodder for almost 17 years. We stock their range of organic milk in different sizes, along with their organic butter, which is a firm favourite at Fodder.

Liddle Family

The Liddle family, our lamb supplier, are proud fourth generation Yorkshire lamb farmers, and have farming in their DNA. Dad, John has lived on the land in Stainburn his whole life and has taught children, Christina, William and Alice the family trade. Mum, Sue, keeps all the paperwork in check and also has a holiday cottage business.

In total around 1,600 lambs a year are reared over 350 acres of land under the iconic Yorkshire landmark of Almscliffe Crag, South Harrogate.

Animal welfare is important to Fodder and to so many of our customers, which is why we are keen to support farmers like John and his family.

Read our blog about the Liddle family here

Herb Fed

Emma and Edward at Herb Fed recognise the importance husbandry plays in ensuring great tasting produce and knowing where your food comes from. Their turkeys are traditionally farmed, hand-fed and kept in small flocks so that they are truly free to forage for food and roam their Yorkshire pasture.

Their birds have something else rather special about them – their unique diet which includes over 10 varieties of fresh herbs.

Herb Fed Fodder Free Range Turkey Supplier

Staal Smokehouse

Staal Smokehouse was set up by Justin and his wife, Georgina Staal, who, in 2007, moved from London back to Georgina’s family farm in East Yorkshire. Staal Smokehouse is an award-winning, family- Run business dedicated to delivering the finest smoked products.

Surrounded by a rich array of high calibre farms enabling them to source most of their produce from within the county of Yorkshire. This means that not only is their produce quality assured, but less packaging and transportation also make it environmentally friendly.

Sawley Kitchen

Run by the Jaques family, Sawley Kitchen is an artisan Yorkshire bakery that was established in 2012 by husband and wife Nicky and Rob Jaques.

Although the business began with jams and chutneys, Nicky soon focused on her passion for baking, using vintage family recipes to perfect their exceptional range of shortbread.

Shortbread remains Sawley Kitchen’s most loved product, and it is still made entirely by hand. From weighing ingredients to marking, cutting and packaging, every step is carried out with great care and attention to detail. This hands-on approach helps maintain the high standards of quality the team is known for.

You can find a wide range of Sawley Kitchen’s delicious shortbread, meringues and crackers in both the Fodder Shop and Kitchen, including our famous Giant Pavlova, that Sawley Kitchen make exclusively for Fodder customers.

The Kandlers Table

The Kandlers Table creates exquisite candles and diffusers that do far more than fill homes with beautiful fragrances. At its heart, the business is built on giving back, creating a meaningful ripple effect that supports those who need it most.

Founder Natalie carefully crafts a wide range of candle and diffuser fragrances, each inspired by a personal memory or special moment. A firm favourite at Fodder is Midnight Hour, a rich and evocative scent inspired by the late-night conversations Natalie shared with her grandfather as he enjoyed a whisky.

Every product from The Kandlers Table is lovingly handmade, from the pouring and curing of the candles right through to the labelling and packaging. This dedication to craftsmanship ensures that every candle and diffuser is as unique and thoughtful as the story behind it.

Harrogate Brewing Co

Since taking over the brewery in January 2020, Joe and Julie Joyce have built on its strong foundations, growing the business through hard work, integrity and a healthy dose of Yorkshire charm.

Harrogate Brewing Co. is very much a family affair, with daughter Martha and son Mathew working alongside Joe and Julie to produce beers that are proudly rooted in the local area.

At Fodder, we’re proud to stock a selection of the brewery’s popular core range, including Harrogate Best, Harlow Blonde and Stray All Day.

Each beer celebrates the rich heritage, character and landscape of Harrogate, reflecting the people and places that make the area unique. Like Fodder, Harrogate Brewing Co. is passionate about championing local produce and maintaining the highest standards of quality in everything they do.

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