Our mission is to demonstrate that small, mixed, regenerative farms are viable. Each of these words was chosen with care and, when we say farms, we mean places that grow food for humans. Not solar farms or wind farms or tourist accommodation (yes, we have some but it is now less than a third of our revenue) or warehouses. Actual food.
That is easier said than done, but we are committed to that cause. The word regenerative is, however, harder to unpick. Something that sounds sensible and positive is, when you get down to the detail, much harder to put a finger on. There is plenty in the literature about what regenerative means in terms of how to manage soil and the plants and animals that grow in and on it but we need a far broader perspective of regenerative – the regenerative business, mindset and community.
In order for us to thrive as a farm growing delicious food, we need to be connected to our community. For that to happen, the community needs to care what happens to the land in their neighbourhood and appreciate the benefits of being in a diverse nature that they can feel connected to, as well as understand where their food comes from.
We, the civilised West, have never been more disconnected from nature than today. Being less connected to nature (and to nature friendly farming) results in less concern for nature and less desire to protect it. In order to address this, in our own little way, we invite primary schools onto the farm to discover what we are doing. We get paid for this as part of our Countryside Stewardship agreement (£363 per visit; really not bad) so it does contribute to a non-farming income that distracts from growing food. But it is totally worth it.
School visits are both the most fun and the most exhausting 3 hours you might spend on a farm. Kids ask great questions, come up with fantastic, if totally implausible, answers and, most importantly, have a pure excitement and energy that is infectious. This year, Miranda has honed our programme to be much more focused, organised and, importantly fun. The children learn about the chickens and what happens to them (we are honest but not too gory) and what benefit they are to our pasture. They do a taste test: which is more delicious, a mange tout or a French bean? And they learn that both female and male cows can have horns (who knew?). They plant a seed in a pot, write their name on the side and are able to take it back to the classroom where they hopefully watch the magic of it growing into a pea or sunflower plant.
And, hopefully, they go home with a little bit more appreciation for what a farm can look like and where their food comes from. Learn more about what we do here.
