About

A small, mixed, regenerative farm near Stroud

Our team

Good Small Farms is run by a dedicated team of passionate individuals. Some are full time and some are working less than a day a week but part of what we try to offer is flexibility around timing and hours so that we can accommodate passionate people doing meaningful work on the land. It also means that we have a larger group of people involved than a conventional farm of this size and that, in turn, means we have built in resilience for sick cover, weekend rotas and all the unexpected things that farming throws at us!


Jessie

I acquired my first allotment at the age of sixteen, proudly painting a wooden sign to declare to the world that it was organic. Many years, and quite a few allotment plots, farms, community gardens, smallholdings and growing projects later, I still love growing plants and working with nature. Luckily I also love learning, as there always seems to be more of it to do.

As well as working on agroforestry and the tree nursery at Good Small Farms, I have my two amazing children to tend to, and am planting a new orchard over the road at Oakbrook Farm.

I’m motivated by the rather selfish desire to create the world that I want to live in; a fairer, kinder world full of life and colour, good local food, and thriving community. 


Stuart

Diversity seems crucial in life on the whole: diet, society, community, culture, art, exercise, environment. Diversity is a winning formula so it feels logical that is reflected in the way we produce our food.

By ‘our food’ I mean not just food for humans but for every creature in the farm ecosystem because, ultimately, if we provide for the micro organisms in the soil, then we provide for the invertebrates, the birds and mammals, the plant life and of course we humans….!

A diverse farm feels far more egalitarian to all life at the same time as producing high quality organic food and integrates itself with the cycles of life and it’s surrounding environment as opposed to sitting outside of them.


Denise

I am a 50 something mother of two girls living in Pitchcombe.

My work on the farm is predominantly office based, dealing with the admin and organisation that comes with working on a busy farm, although I do get the chance to be out in the fields and amongst our cows from time to time.

Eating well is a passion of mine and it’s great to be playing my part in helping our local community have access to good, local food.


Athene

I love working with the land and it is both empowering and humbling to be contributing good local food to our community, grown responsibly. Also, I can’t get enough of being immersed in the fleshy, vibrant, surprising, peaceful and bountiful natural world that has always got some excitement and wisdom up its sleeve. 

I’m keen to be part of a positive movement towards food sovereignty, with strong integrated diverse community networks around accessible, nutritional food, whilst working fully in tandem with the natural world and everything that inhabits it. 

It is stimulating to be working alongside everyone at Good Small Farms as there is so much going on; from planting thousands of trees this winter – for crops, habitat and diversity – to water management across the land, a local tree nursery and green manures, as well as all the food crops large and small. I will be working on my seed saving skills this year, as well as trialing green living mulches, which I’m excited about!


Eric

The links between land, food and community are as important, and neglected, as they have ever been. Developing more resilient connections helps us be appreciate the hard work that goes into growing food and that treating the land well results in healthier, tastier food that is available to the local community.

Every day at Good Small Farms is an excellent combination of physical, mental and emotional challenge that ranges from setting up the next paddocks for the cows, developing financial projections for the business and fully appreciating the term ‘delayed gratification’ when planting oaks and (Dutch elm disease resistant) elms that are mere whips!


Matt

I am Matt and I look after the livestock on the farm. 

I used to work in the aeronautical industry, stuck behind a desk dreaming about getting out on the land for an agonising 8 years… I finally took the plunge in 2019 when I quit my job to grow vegetables organically to feed my local community. 

2 years later I read Gabe Brown’s “Dirt to Soil” and quickly realised that if I really wanted to heal the land and produce nutrient dense food I was going to have to start working with animals. This led me on my path to regeneratively grazing animals and here I am producing nutrient dense beef and other products on a 100% pasture fed system!


Clara

Spending my time outdoors with a desire to eventually be working outdoors has always been what energises me. Contributing to protecting and caring for the environment has become an increasing consideration in my everyday actions. Working in the tree nursery at Good Small Farms I am learning new skills everyday. Prior to this I balanced a busy job in the NHS with being part of running a community orchard and growing my own veg there which I still do with my neighbours now. I love being part of a community producing local crops at home and at work. 


Graeme

Our resident ecologist: Graeme studied Conservation & Recreation Management at The University of Hertfordshire. Since then he has worked with Hampshire Wildlife Trust, Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire Butterfly Conservation. Graeme helped co-found and was vice chairman of a conservation group called TARCA was the Environmental Correspondent for Love Andover Radio. Find out more here about Graeme’s work on the farm

George Withington generously shared his photos of the farm with us and which you will see across our website. Follow him on Instagram.