Manx Charcuterie

Ballacosnahan Farm

About Us

Conservation and farming for nature

We are very happy that that numbers of hares and certain bird species are increasing, we sometimes get a curlew nesting  (or it chooses our neighbour), hedgehogs are hugely increased as I care for hedgehogs in the winter as part of  the local Hedgehog rescue run by one amazing lady and the farm is a release site for those who can’t go back to where they were found.

We do encourage bees and are happy to see more bumblebees. Every year we have a number of swallows returning to nest and now all outbuildings have access points for them so they can never be shut in or out.

We use no chemicals, fertilizers or weed killer.

We leave a few small areas on the farm completely wild, fallen trees are left, no sheep go in to graze and they have become a haven for insects and some bird species are increasingly nesting there. The top of the farm was almost impossible to farm as the grass had become dense tussocks; there is a sheltered small ravine that was completely overgrown.

We are involved in an exciting long-term project with Manx Wildlife Trust to create a wetland area on our farm within the flood plain. We are already seeing an increase in both numbers and species of birds, insects and wetland plants.