In 2003, Gilchesters Farm became a research centre for organic cereal production.

At the same time, the Wilkinsons began producing rare breed organic grains for use in their own stone ground baking flours.

The move to chemical-free farming sounds easier than it has been. The Wilkinsons found themselves in a classic Catch-22 situation.

“There was virtually no incentive at that time to get into organic. It was seen as the preserve of the Birkenstock brigade. The argument was Prince Charles could afford to be organic because he had the money,” Andrew explains. “To be certified organic you have to have the land out of production for two years, so you have to do it field-by-field.

“But to do that you are leaving yourself with no income, so we did it with the grassland first and went into beef production by introducing our own herd of organic rare breed white Galloway cattle to keep us going.

“We then started on a rotation of blocks of land to get it into organic production. It was going to take six years to convert the farm.

“But in the middle of all this the government changed its views on organic, which meant we could fast-track.”

The Wilkinsons went back to basics and sought out ancient, rare-breed wheat varieties. They had been prepared for production to drop, but Andrew says: “The organic crops outstripped all the regular ones. These wheats are the result of 2,000 years of crop production.

“In the name of progress and to feed the nation, I can understand why we went down the other route, but...

“I only managed to gain milling quality wheat once in 11 years with all the chemicals, but since we’ve gone back to growing these old varieties, we have always managed to achieve baking quality, even last year.”

Gilchesters now has 400 acres devoted to crop production with 200 acres permanent pasture for the 40-strong Galloway breeding herd.

Andrew and Sybille opened the mill in 2006 at a neighbouring farm on the other side of Stamfordham.

The couple know they are on to something special.

While other businesses are struggling in the current economic downturn, Gilchesters is bucking the trend with steady growth, despite their range of flours selling at the top end of the market. A 1.5kg bag of organic farmhouse flour costs around £2.69.

“We are in year three and most business advisers would say it takes five years to set a business up,” says Andrew.

“We are seeing the business growing when others are struggling, but perhaps that says a lot about the quality of what we are producing.”

In July the Wilkinsons are adding to their products with the launch of a range of savoury cheese biscuits made from spelt – honey and mustard, thyme and original.

Two London-based hamper firms have already placed orders and there is interest from a number of North East restaurants. There are plans for a sweet biscuit based on a Roman recipe and Sybille dreams of one day opening a farm shop.

Nine years after moving to England to be with Andrew, Sybille admits to still being amazed at the turn her life has taken. “I was a real city girl, living in Hamburg and Munich. I had never lived near the country. And look where I have ended up!

“But I have since discovered that my great-grandfather was a miller, so it seems it may be in my genes. Things have turned full circle.”

I discovered things our grandfathers would have known and would have taken for granted, but which we had all but forgotten.