Five Generations
Sam & Margaret McKee
In 1922, Sam McKee bought a Farm high in the Craigantlet Hills, looking down over Strangford Lough and across to Scrabo Tower. With a few Cows, Pigs and Hens, along with drills of Potatoes, he farmed to feed his family and neighbours the traditional Ulster Way. Sam and his wife Margaret had three little McKee’s, who all grew up gathering spuds and freshly laid eggs every morning before school.
1922
David & Agnes McKee
In 1925 Sam’s son David married Agnes Lindsay from Beech Hill, Knock, Belfast. Strangford View Farm also became their home where they farmed vegetables and chickens. David and Agnes had four children Samuel Moore, Gordon Lindsay, David Charles and Daughter Margaret Finlay. The youngest Son David Charles stayed at home to farm with his Father.
1925
Present Day
Our Family Today
Four generations on, the same Farm with an addition of a Country Store & Restaurant is managed by Colin & Linda McKee including their four Children ( the fifth generation!)Isaac, Caleb, Faye & Solomon.
Our Farm Today
We farm 400 acres of land here in the Craigantlet Hills, and we finish 700 cattle every year. We grow our own wheat, barley and grass. The Farm is managed by our eldest son Isaac who was taken by the hand and taught many skills from his grandfather David Mckee. We’ve recently invested in renewable energy to help the environment – we care about the countryside which previous generations of McKees farmed before us.
Home Reared Beef
Our herds are mostly Charolais and Limousine with a few Aberdeen Angus. The Cattle are fed on high quality Grass, Wheat and Barley. Colin keeps a close eye on the herds and Isaac and Faye can often be seen out on the quads or the tractors taking care
of the cattle. We believe the flavour of Our Beef speaks for itself – you just can’t get this quality from a supermarket-bought, pre-packed, polystyrene trays.
of the cattle. We believe the flavour of Our Beef speaks for itself – you just can’t get this quality from a supermarket-bought, pre-packed, polystyrene trays.Free Range Eggs
We have a flock of 1,000 Free Range Hens, from which the ‘Mckees’ gather around 900 fresh eggs every day. You can see some of our hens near the car park entrance as you arrive. We also Bake, Cook and Sell Our Free Range Eggs in the Country Store and if you come early you can feel them still warm – you cant get fresher than that!
Our Texel Sheep
A gift of a pet Lamb surprisingly developed into a passion for farming. Faye a first year student at Greenmount Agricultural College Antrim, breeds a flock of 90 Texel Ewes. This year (2020) Faye has lambed and is rearing 180 spring Lambs. Faye is dedicated to producing top quality produce. Our Lamb receives excellent reviews!
Our Country Store
An exciting outlet for our Farm Produce. The Country Store and Restaurant continues to grow year on year.
Our son Caleb manages the day to day organising of the store working tirelessly to provide excellent produce and service to Our local Community and beyond. We are truly humbled by the support. Solomon our youngest son has a few more years to do at school, he has been a great support and appears to be a ‘Jack of all Trades!’
Other Local Trusted Producers
There are other growers in our area who share our commitment to the best local produce, and we are delighted to offer their products to our customers – meat such as Lamb & Pork, Vegetables and Potatoes, and Dairy products like Milk from Farm View Diaries, Castlereagh Yoghurt from Clandeboye Estate, Young Buck Cheese, Newtownards.
“We thank you for your continued support and are truly humbled to serve our community”