A FARM near Darlington has finished building a rapeseed oil press so it can produce its own oil from the crop it has been growing for generations.

Olly Lawson, whose family has been farming at Lovesome Hill Farm, in Brafferton, for the last 90 years, is the co-founder of Lovesome Oil, which he set up with his wife Francesca.

While the farm has been growing rapeseed for 40 years, the couple decided to diversify in 2018 by using their product to make their own cold-pressed oil.

They hope the development will make the farm sustainable for future generations.

They have now completed building the rapeseed oil press and bottling facility with the support of a RDPE grant.

The pressing, filtering, bottling, capping and labelling equipment is housed in two 20ft shipping containers and was installed and commissioned over the last two months.

The facility has been named ‘David’s Press’ in honour of Mr Lawson's late father David Lawson, who prepared the container site before he died in September 2020, following a seven year battle with cancer.

Seed from oilseed rape grown on the farm is turned into bottles and catering cans of oil without leaving the site, using the specialist equipment imported from Germany and Italy.

Mr Lawson said: “My family has grown oilseed rape for 40 years, this is a big step towards making the farm sustainable for the next 40 years.

“Consumers are becoming much more aware of the provenance of their food, however it’s all very well being ‘local’ but if the price isn’t right then you won’t be competitive.

“The new press enables us to sell the byproduct of the oil as cattle feed, while also reducing food miles, meaning we can pass on the savings.”

The grant has created a job on the farm, now more time can be dedicated to supplying new customers.

Lovesome Oil currently supplies a range of shops and delis and has recently started supplying the Fenwick Food Hall in Newcastle.

The investment has increased production capacity, creating opportunities for the farm to supply restaurants and pubs.

Mrs Lawson said: “The press means we can now press larger volumes of oil while remaining in control of our production and not being restricted by a contractor’s capacity.”

She added: “We want to thank our customers and stockists for the continued support over the last year, it’s been especially tough for everyone but we feel we’ve come out stronger and appreciate all the support shown for independent food producers such as ourselves.”

For further information about the company or product visit www.lovesomeoil.com.