Turning oilseed rape to liquid gold! – Riley Taylor

R G Taylor & Sons is a mixed, family run farm set on the Lincolnshire marsh at the boundary of the wonderful Lincolnshire Wolds. Day to day the farm is managed by David, alongside his sons, Riley and Kolbie as well as Brian, their grandfather, who at 87 is still very keen to have his say!

Growing up on the family farm, I couldn’t ignore the risks facing the business. Fluctuating weather, input costs and commodity prices or even disease in the cattle can have a dramatic effect on the bottom line which is intrinsically linked to our way of life.

In March 2022 I came up with the idea of turning the oilseed rape which we have always grown on the farm into cold pressed rapeseed oil.

My first point of call was to find a company who could press and bottle our seed for us, to save us a large initial investment and to test the water in terms of market. I did the maths and pitched it to my parents. With them on board, I could start designing some labels for our bottles from our first tonne of seed.

We had a great initial reaction to our oil and found it sold really well in local butchers, delis and farm shops. Customer feedback suggested they liked having a healthier, locally sourced cooking oil at a reasonable price point.

I ended up having two more tonnes of seed bottled before the end of the year, and since then both our output and revenue has increased year on year. We have now invested in a small-scale bottling plant, moving the entire operation on site, with an aim to be pressing in early 2025. This will bring down production costs, meaning we have total control of production, and in the spirit of circular production, we can feed the rape meal from the press to our own cows, or sell it to neighbouring farms for feed.

We’re always looking for new outlets for our oil, and alongside our small bottles we now supply catering tubs to restaurants and other businesses who use the oil not only for cooking but as a base for dressings and marinades – a benchmark of its quality.

It’s been a tough few years for oilseed rape and with it being such an important crop to us, we are always trialling new [to us] ways of establishing it. We have had recent success implementing regenerative practices, such as companion cropping and reduced tillage.

LG Aurelia has been our go to variety for a few years as it’s been most consistent through all conditions, good and bad. It has proven itself to stand tough wet winters and gets going nicely, even when the soil is lacking moisture.

It really is rewarding to bring a crop from seed into an end product we can be proud of. In 2025 we aim to keep expanding the ‘side hustle’ so more people enjoy our oil.

Ultimately, my aim is to take this diversification to a stage where the oil business can supplement the farms income, and help us survive and thrive for future generations of our family.