Balcaskie Estate

Covering over 4,500 acres of fertile soil including 3,500 acres of organic in-hand farming and a mix of residential and business units, Balcaskie is an established team of 24 people, seeking new entrepreneurs to add enterprises which fit with the farming business. 

Focusing on soil health and habitat creation, Balcaskie uses regenerative practices to organically farm with 400 suckler cows producing beef, 1,750 ewes producing lamb and mutton, and 11 sows producing pork each year. Balcaskie’s butchers follow sustainable patterns as they make use of every part of the animal, for minimal waste. The farm also grows grains (beans, rye, wheat, oats) in rotation with grass and has planted and managed 80km of hedgerows in the last 15 years. 

Supporting its small businesses and bringing these communities together, the farm hosts a monthly food market at its Bowhouse food hub – with a monthly footfall of over 5,000 people – and offerings including bread, cakes, beer, coffee, meat and organic vegetables. Balcaskie’s artist hub at Comielaw hosts sound system designers and guitar makers to knitwear designers, stained glass makers and an architectural CGI company. Balcaskie is also home to a shop, café with a menu changing daily, and a farm-to-plate pub. 

Integration is everything at Balcaskie. For example, the farm grows organic heritage grains for Scotland the Bread’s flour mill onsite, and the waste grains from cleaning provide the pigs with cereals. Chaff from grain cleaning fuels one of Balcaskie’s biomass plants. Baern café at Bowhouse sources a great deal of its produce from the businesses based there: meat from the Butchery, flour from Scotland the Bread and vegetables from East Neuk Market Garden. And the brewers grains from Futtle, veg peelings from Baern and apples from Balcaskie orchard feed the pigs (happy well-fed pigs!).

Resources already being produced/available on the farm that provide opportunities for other businesses include:

• Grains – organic heritage wheat, rye, barley, oats and fava beans
• Straw
• Compost
• Hedges – 180km
• Grass – lots of it!
• Meat – organic and Pasture for Life beef and lamb, freerange pork
• Cow/ sheep hides – organic pastured leather
• Wool
• Timber
• Produced by other businesses on the estate: flour, beer, bread, market garden veg, flowers, butchery, eggs and honey

Sam Parsons is estate manager at Balcaskie Estate. His practical approach coordinates Balcaskie’s varied enterprises and builds strong links with local trades, businesses and organisations.

Futtle – futtle.com / @futtleorganic 
Small organic brewery, tucked away in the beautiful East Neuk of Fife.

Baern – baern.co.uk / @baern_cafe
Cafe, bakery and events space with sustainability and seasonality at its core. 

Butchery at Bowhouse – butcherybowhouse.com / @butcherybowhouse
Sustainable butchers producing the best possible tasting meat from handpicked animals across the surrounding Balcaskie estate.

Scotland The Bread – scotlandthebread.org / @scotlandthebread
Organic flour mill using heritage grains grown on the Balcaskie estate with the purposes of nourishment, sustainability and food sovereignty.

Stocks Events – stocksevents.com / @stockevents
Leading catering service in Scotland that provides a wide range of services for both private and corporate clients in some of the most beautiful venues.

Stocks Kitchen – @stocks.kitchen
Cookshop and deli in the Bowhouse. 

East Neuk Market Garden – eastneukmarketgarden.com / @eastneukmarketgarden
A four-acre agroecological farm growing vegetables, salads, herbs and fruit in the charming East Neuk of Fife.

The Kinneuchar Inn – kinneucharinn.com @kinneucharinn
Award winning, 17th-Century pub and restaurant serving a variety of great food in an intimate setting. 

East Neuk Eggs (links coming soon!)
New mobile poultry business that came through Pitch-Up! 2024.

Fife Beekeepers Association – fifebeekeepers.co.uk
Supporting bees and beekeeping in the stunning landscapes of Fife with events, activities and classes in practical beekeeping.

Vandyke Bros Coffee – vandykebrothers.co.uk / @vandykebros
Specialty coffee business putting great taste, consistency and professionalism at the heart of coffee-roasting.

Theravet – theravet.com / @theravet_rehabilitation
Independent Veterinary Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy Practise, offering bespoke treatment plans as part of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

Di Gilpin – digilpin.com / @digilpinknitwear
Yarn company and handknitting design studio, making their own Scottish yarn and patterns.

East Neuk Glass – eastneukglass.co.uk / @eastneukglass
Bespoke high quality stained glass designed and built to exact specifications, made in the small village of Crail on the stunning east coast of Scotland. 

Taran Guitars – taranguitars.co.uk / @taranguitars
Building unique, world-class instruments from the finest materials that offer music lovers from all over exceptional sound and design. 

Tribe Yarns – tribeyarns.com / @tribeyarnslife
Knitter owned, local yarn shop carrying an anthology of yarns and notions, operating out of a stunning space in the East Neuk of Fife.

Elite audio – eliteaudiouk.com
Sound system designers, retailing some of the world’s very best hi-fi components.

Peter Boardman – pboardman.com / @pb_3d
Architectural CGI artist, creating accurate and engaging imagery for architecture and interior design using cutting edge digital technologies. 

Fife Campers – fifecampers.com / @fifecampers
Specially converting VW vans from basic Split Charge System to a full Bespoke Camper Conversion. 

Eleanor Meredith – eleanormeredith.co.uk / @eleanormeredith
Ceramic artist commissioning various ceramics, paintings and prints near the beautiful coast of East Neuk.

PXO Culture – pxoculture.com
Human resources and culture change consultants on a mission to make HR, culture and change about humans again to drive business success. 

Little Farmer Childcare
Registered nursery providing child-led activities for up to 18 children between three months to develop their interests and help them learn about subjects they’ve instigated.