Lintz Hall Farm is the region’s biggest and longest-established egg producer. Jane Hall visits a family-run venture that has really taken wing
Head out of Burnopfield towards Hamsterley Mill on the B6310 and the vista suddenly opens up to afford a spectacular view across open countryside.
Below and to the right, the River Derwent winds its way slowly through the lush wooded terrain, gently rolling hills rising on both sides of the valley.
The odd stone-built house nestles into the landscape and in the distance wind turbines turn gently.
As you take in the spectacle you could be forgiven for missing the left-hand turn to Lintz Hall Farm, which is hidden in a hollow in the hill.
And it’s hard to imagine that this beautiful corner of Co Durham is home to the North East’s biggest and longest-established egg producer.
Yet this idyllic spot with its state-of-the-art packing shed is home to more than 300,000 laying hens, which share the 600-acre farm with cattle, sheep and horses.
Chances are you will have eaten a Lintz Hall egg, for a staggering 250,000 of them are laid every day. And the family-run business, which has been supplying eggs to the North East’s dining tables for 61 years, sells its eggs under the Derwent Valley Free Range brand in supermarkets throughout the region and the Borders.
Brothers Richard and Stephen Tulip are the fourth generation of their family to be involved, and last year they were joint winners of the influential Poultry Farmer of the Year accolade in the Farmers’ Weekly Awards.
Richard, 37, who is sales and marketing director, and Stephen, 40, who is head of production, have big ambitions for the business that had its genesis in World War Two, when their great-granddad George Tulip was part of the Dig for Britain campaign encouraging householders to keep chickens.
Lintz Hall Farm Ltd, which also markets under the Oxenrigg Free Range Laid in Northumberland brand, has moved up a gear since Richard and Stephen took over the business from their dad George.
Stephen and Richard come from thoroughly modern farming backgrounds, and Richard only came into the venture full-time seven years ago, after years working as a DJ and promoter with some of the biggest club names around.
Leaving the glamorous world of club music for hen-keeping may not appear to be an obvious move to many, but he says he has merely swapped one high-flying career for another.
“There are a lot of challenges in the egg business and we need to be able to react quickly to market forces and keep adapting to ensure we are always ahead of the game.
“We care about what we do, from our hens to our staff, the high quality of our eggs and most of all the shoppers and meeting their expectations.”
As the business expands Lintz Hall has opened a new egg distribution depot at Coldstream as it seeks to support growing sales north of the border.
It’s a long way from the endeavour’s small beginnings in the early 1950s when the boys’ grandfather George Tulip bought a three-acre plot at Sunniside, Gateshead and acquired a few hens.
In 1963 he bought Lintz Hall Farm and over the next 40 years, the boys’ father George, mum Maureen and their Aunt Margaret grew Lintz Hall Farm from 120 acres to 500, supporting 40,000 hens, 400 head of cattle and 12 staff.
The first free range unit housing 16,000 birds opened in 2004, a second in 2005 and two more in 2008. A state-of-the-art packing centre followed. At the end of 2012 Lintz Hall Farm acquired Sunny Hill Free Range Eggs in Belford, Northumberland, and another 100 acres just a mile from their current base.
It was in 2006 that George announced he wanted to scale back his involvement and Richard joined his brother to come on board full-time.
With demand for free-range eggs developing (from 25% of the UK market 10 years ago to a 50% share now) it seems the sky could be the limit.
Meanwhile, as a team Stephen and Richard are proving they are both thoroughly good eggs, with the help of a few thousands hens, of course.
Recipe: Richard & Stephen’s Perfect Poached Eggs
Recipe: Richard & Stephen’s Scrambled Eggs
