About us

Our story begins in 1971, when Gressingham’s founders Maurice and Miriam Buchanan moved from Northern Ireland and started their farm in Debach, Suffolk.

Maurice built two sheds by hand and started farming chickens, but they soon realised that they wanted to try something different. Then got in contact with a small-scale duck farrmer in the Lake District, who had begun to develop a new, tasty breed of duck, a cross between the succulent Peking duck and the flavoursome Wild Mallard.

In 1989, the first Gressingham ducks arrived at the family farm in Debach – by train! 200 ducklings were taken on the train from Peterborough and were picked up in Cambridge by Maurice and Miriam.

Over the following two years, they perfected the breed and the remarkable Gressingham Duck was born. Fast-forward a couple of years and sons Geoff and William Buchanan joined the family business, having studied agriculture and worked elsewhere in the sector before settling down in Suffolk.

They are still in charge of the family farm today. One generation on we are still rearing the delicious Gressingham Duck from Red Tractor assured farms in Great Britain along with turkeys and geese for Christmas.

This reputation for exceptional taste has made Gressingham the duck of choice for all UK retailers and many independent stockists and specialist butchers, as well as being featured on the menus of top restaurants nationwide.

• We are a family-run UK company and we’ve been around for over 50 years.
• Our farms and factories are all Red Tractor Assured.
• We have a distribution network that spans the entirety of the United Kingdom.
• Gressingham has a strong brand name and reputation.
• Our ducks have a good balance of fat to meat.
• Duck has tender, succulent and flavoursome meat.
• Duck is an incredibly versatile product which pairs well with many flavours and can be used in dishes from many cuisines.