A FARMING couple are reaping the rewards after striking away from a traditional dairy business.

A chance decision by Paul and Kate Langthorne to buy a pair of water buffalo for milking has developed, over the past seven years, into one of the most successful farming businesses in the region.

When the couple began selling milk and meat from their buffalo, word of mouth spread the news, eventually forcing them to expand the business to keep pace with their popularity.

"We couldn't keep up with the demand and, 18 months ago, decided to buy a herd of red deer," said Mr Langthorne. "Then we thought we could do with wild boar to mix in with the venison trimmings, so they were added last year."

The couple now own 350 buffalo, 200 red deer and 70 wild boar, as well as goats, cattle and sheep.

The Langthornes still sell a small amount of beef, lamb and goat, but their main market is now firmly established in the more exotic items on offer. Demand for buffalo burgers, venison joints, boar bacon, and the venison and boar mix sausages and burgers keeps the couple busy travelling across the region to sell produce at 13 farmers' markets each month.

Their produce is also sold in five shops, and they operate a store from their own farm to supply customers from householders to restaurant owners.

The buffalo burgers also appear on the lunchtime menu in six schools as part of a local produce scheme being piloted by North Yorkshire County Council.

The Langthornes' shift away from dairy farming began when they bought two buffalo to help their son Andrew, who has cystic fibrosis and is allergic to dairy products.

Mr Langthorne heard about the properties of buffalo milk, which is creamier than cows' milk and also higher in calcium and lower in cholesterol, and correctly supposed that Andrew might tolerate it.

The herd gradually grew, as did the popularity and demand for the buffalo products the couple were introducing.

The business snowballed, and, along with successful meat sales, the couple now supply buffalo milk to Ribblesdale Cheese in Clitheroe; the Northumberland Cheese Company near Hexham, and Judy Bell of Shepherd's Purse in Thirsk, who picked up an NFU Great British Food Award in February for her cheeses, including one based on buffalo milk.

"We never had any intention of doing all this," said Mrs Langthorne. "It was very hard work at first, but we had so many inquiries that we just kept going and it's continued to grow.

"The way dairy farming was going, we would have had to do something different anyway, because we couldn't have carried on like that. We're just lucky that we persevered with this and it's gone so well."

The couple, who live on the farm at Crawford Grange, Brompton, near Northallerton, with their ten-year-old twin daughters, Jennifer and Diane, and son Andrew, now eight, cut, pack and dress their meat themselves.

They have help with the business from one part-time and three full-time workers, as well as from Mr Langthorne's parents, Mary and Bert.

The farm has been adapted for the new animals, with tall fences to stop the deer jumping over. The boars' fences are dug 18in into the ground, with an electric circuit to discourage rootling. The Langthornes also had to obtain a dangerous wild animal licence.

They now hope to build on success and are applying for a grant from Defra to build a larger cutting room, to allow them to take on more staff and orders.

They also plan to become the country's first suppliers of buffalo-milk ice-cream.

"It wasn't easy getting people to accept the more exotic meat," said Mr Langthorne. "I have had doubts over the years but, with dairy farming, it seemed as if we had all the hard work but weren't seeing the benefits.

"We've found a niche market now and I think it's gone past the stage where the popularity could just be a passing trend. It was hard work creating the initial demand, but now we've done that, we are really starting to see the rewards."

Their produce is sold at farmers' markets at: York (Murton and City), Pinchinthorpe, Weth-erby, Thirsk, Bedale, Darlington, Richmond, Ripon, Harrogate, Northallerton, Leyburn, Otley.

It is also stocked by: Spring House farm shop, Leeming Bar; Fresh Fields farm shop, Ripon; Larberry Pasture Farm, Long Newton; Real Meals, Guisborough; and West Weeton village shop, as well as being available from Crawford Grange on Wednesdays and Thursdays 10am-3pm, telephone 01609 776937.