WORKING WITH NATURE
Nature is very visible in the way that we farm. We have been a LEAF Marque certified business since 2015.
This means our farm is managed to Integrated Farm Management (IFM) principles, which is a whole farm business approach that delivers more sustainable farming. Attention to detail is key; appropriate and efficient use of inputs, smarter approaches to business planning and the adoption of innovations and new
technologies, all contribute to increasing productivity whilst protecting valuable resources.
Complementing our LEAF Marque status, we were in a Government-backed scheme known as Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) which focussed on the effective environmental management of the land.
We were in this scheme for over a decade until it came to an end in 2021. We are now taking part in a 3-year Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) pilot scheme.
We grow as many cover crops as we can each year. Cover crops are otherwise known as ‘green manures’ – grown to eventually plough back in to increase the amount of organic matter in the soil to both improve soil fertility and reduce our reliance on artificial fertilisers.
When we do have to use artificial fertilisers we do so in the evening to reduce impact on wildlife (the bees from the apiaries on the farm will be back in their hives). We sow pollinators as a companion crop in our rotation, including sun flowers, poppies and ox-eye daisies.