‘Think local, shop local’ is a message that Isle of Man Meats — and our 220 Manx producers — fully support.
Ean Parsons and his family who own and runs Baljean Farm in Laxey certainly practice what they preach all year round, and especially when they stock up on food for the festive season. We’re very lucky in the Isle of Man because, fingers crossed, it looks like we will be able to enjoy big family gatherings on the Island this festive season. In the Parsons household it’s a family tradition to start Christmas Day with bacon (from W E Teare in Ramsey) baps for breakfast, and that’s the plan this year when Baljean Farm will play host to the Parsons’ relatives from across the Island. This year they’re planning to tuck into a turkey from Steven Chadwick at Cronk Breck in Greeba — and a top quality Baljean Farm Manx beef sirloin roast joint that will make a short journey from pasture to plate, via those renowned master butchers at W E Teare.
Ean runs the farm with his wife Jo, their daughters Lucy and Emma, and Ean’s nephew Finn. Ean and Jo’s son Harry has also helped on the farm for many years, but he has recently begun a four-year degree course at Harper Adams University in Shropshire where he is studying agriculture with farm business management. The Parsons also own Lough Mallow Farm in Ramsey which is managed by Robbie Christian and his partner Heather.
Baljean covers around 1,000 acres of grassland, with an additional 4,000 acres of rented upland. It is home to 220 beef cows, 1,800 Scottish Blackface sheep (a hardy breed ideally suited to the Isle of Man) plus 800 crossbred ewes.
Baljean Farm’s history dates back to 1847 when it was owned by the Gibb family (no, Bee Gees fans, not those Gibbs ïŠ) who were a wealthy merchant family from Liverpool. They also owned a splendid home in Ramsey which they used as their summer retreat — that is now the Grove Museum which gives a fascinating insight into Victorian and Edwardian life. Spokes for the Great Laxey Wheel were built in stone outhouses at Baljean Farm because back in 1854 (when the wheel was constructed) they were the only buildings in the local area big enough for that purpose.
Ean’s grandfather, Edward, bought the farm in 1947 for £1,000 less than the Gibb family had paid for it 100 years earlier (who says that land prices only go up!). Baljean then passed to Ean’s late father Ellwood (a past president of the ManxNFU and former chairman of Isle of Man Meats). So Ean is the third generation of Parsons to own and run the farm, and he’s also continuing a family tradition in his role as the current ManxNFU vice-president.
Today, Baljean Farm is a perfect balance of tried and tested traditional farming methods, combined with up to date thinking and techniques — an example of the latter being investment in efficient genetics to minimise the farm’s carbon footprint.
For Ean and his family, farming is much more than a business. It’s a vocation and a way of life passed down from one generation to the next, along with the sense of pride that comes from consistently producing the finest quality beef and lamb.
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