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 its surrounding environment as opposed to sitting outside of them.
Athene
I grow vegetables, flowers and hopefully the biodiversity above and below ground in the market garden alongside Stu. I am passionate about being part of a local, sustainable food system, producing healthy food from healthy land.
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 appreciative of 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.
Mike
My name is Mike (or Maaike if you’re my mum) and I’m managing the sales and marketing side of things here at Good Small Farms!
I have a weird professional background, ranging from apple juicing and market selling, to nutritional epigenetics and sustainable food system policy. After five years of banging my head against Westminster’s finest brick walls, I decided it was time to pour my energy and skills into supporting the excellent work already happening on the ground. Good Small Farms embodies everything I advocated for in government circles; a new kind of farming that has nature, health, and people at its core.
If you’d like to know more about our work or collaborate with us, please do reach out – I’d love to connect! mike@goodsmallfarms.co.uk
Max
Hi, I’m Max – Assistant Grower with Athene and Stu in the Market Garden.
Back in 2019, I pursued a career change in search of impacting my surroundings and the community in a more meaningful and positive way. I re-trained in land management, working on nature reserves to protect wildlife habitats and increase biodiversity.
After becoming more aware of the broad issues affecting land use and our current food and farming systems, I focused on gaining experience working in agro-ecology and regenerative farming.
I am a keen naturalist and absolutely love working outside, growing nutritious salad and veg for the local community in a way that is good for nature!
Rich
Nature lover, striving to live lightly on the planet. I have a background in coppicing, green woodworking and woodland crafts. Presently on a mission to geek up on the old ways, ancestral skills, focusing on regenerative farming with nature at the centre, happy to be on the farm and in the GSF team.
Andy
I have been attending different types of farms and outdoors work activities since 2012, travelling across the UK from Scotland to England to Wales. These ranged from industrial farms, to private family run farming, to campsites, kennels, catteries, stable yards and more!
However this is my very first WWOOF experience as in the past I used to apply to places directly, so far Hammond’s Farm has been a fantastic experience with very lovely people and a brilliant community. There have been already significant changes and makeovers that I’m looking forward to seeing when more things begin growing with some incredible farming adventures during upcoming months!
Bella
Hi, I’m Bella, I run our weekly markets, helping bridge the gap between the farm and all of you. My food adventure started with reading books about regenerative farming and sustainable living, which have widened my awareness as well as my motivation to take part in reconnecting to the natural rhythms as much as I can. Sustainability and good food are increasingly more important to me being so clearly linked. Our relationship with nature and food these days is often so weak so I’m excited to be somewhere I feel it strengthening and where I get to connect good people to good food. I love working in the elements and learning more every day in this community of like-minded people, spreading the love.
Scott
I love numbers, which is probably what you’d expect an accountant to say. And food is a real passion of mine too, cooking for others especially. And when I became a Dad in 2017 it changed the way I looked at what we put into our bodies three (or more!) times a day. I realised not all food is created equal.
Joining the GSF team to support the finance function and serve the greater mission, to show that good, small farms can be successful in delivering incredible quality food for the communities they serve, is the perfect combination of my years of training and working as an accountant, and my passion for lovingly-produced, minimally-processed, local, healthy, real food.
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
