Ethos
The idea at the heart of our smallholding is sustainability. We farm the land, but sensitively. We don’t overstock the land, we choose breeds and species of animals that we feel will complement the improvement of the natural environment. We are lucky to live in some truly beautiful surroundings and although it was somewhat neglected when we arrived, nature has a way of shining through.
Our influences range from smallholding and environmental legends such as John Seymour, The Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Adam Henson (and indeed his father before him),The Rare Breeds Survival Trust to popular culture such as The Good Life, Jimmy’s Farm, popular YouTubers (especially Kris Harbour and TA Outdoors) and many in-between. Perhaps, most of all though, our parents who were all environmental and sustainability enthusiasts, who always had a few animals about the place and emphasised the importance of our interactions with the land and animals.
We are absolutely determined to go well beyond the ‘minimum’ that standards require. We are not Organic status, but we farm as if we are. No chemicals, artificial fertilizers, pesticides or weed killers. We do vaccinate our animals, to protect them from some very nasty illnesses as well as treating them as they need it. We wouldn’t deny ourselves medicines when we need it, nor do we the animals. But we don’t dose them for the sake of it. Just what they need to protect them from the worst.
To say our animals are free range is often an understatement. Margot, our eldest Oxford Sandy and Black sow, frequently has a wander around the place while we’re moving her mobile fencing on to some fresh grass. She’ll always come back to call and enjoys having a good tummy rub! We’re currently experimenting running our OSB (Oxford Sandy and Black) boar in our small bit of woodland, it’s a more natural environment for a pig and they all enjoy rooting around in leaf litter, while we gain the benefit of a bit of weed control as we start to improve the area.
We hate to see animals shut inside, although from time to time it is necessary for their own protection/health. At the moment the particularly vigorous Avian Flu has meant our chickens are confined to a shed. This is by no means how we want to keep them, but it’s a necessity for now. We can’t wait to get them out and scratching around the place. When we do have to keep them inside, we try to make sure the environment is as spacious and comfortable as we can. We take that bit of extra effort, to provide enrichment for the animals when they have to come in.
The tricky part is always when that time comes when we have to take an animal to slaughter. We hold true to the view that everything in our smallholding has to play it’s part, very much as in nature. We approach this with a heavy heart as we get to know all of our animals well. We console ourselves that the animals have lived a good life, we don’t rush them through a process from birth to table. We focus on slower growing breeds, which has the added benefit of improved flavour and texture.
One of our key developments this year is to produce the majority, if not all, of our own fodder for our livestock. In our first winter we have had to buy in most of our animal feed supplies and there is a price to that, not only to actually purchase the feed. But, in a time when we consider food mileage and it’s impact on the environment, we feel it is worth considering the feed we give to our livestock and how far that has travelled. We also get the added benefit of knowing it has been grown naturally and we can control not only the quality of what we eat, but the quality of what our livestock eats. We’re trying to go that ‘extra mile’, or rather travel less miles!
One of our biggest projects here is the regeneration of the land. It’s difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t experienced the sheer heartache and frustration as you drag yet another tonne of plastic rubbish out from underneath the ground, that a previous owner has selfishly left behind. It has brought us to tears at times, the damage that has been done to the land, in the name of business. We really do feel very strongly about this matter. So when we undertake a new job, we try to think what impact this will have in the long term. We are currently incorporating nature belts around the outsides of fields and rebuilding hedges that have been allowed to either die off or overgrow to such an extent that they are no longer retrievable. We are working through the process of removing trees with Ash die-back, and focusing on how we can replace them with other varieties. Always, it is a process of improvement in terms of what we put back in the land.
Whilst we are in our first year here, we feel strongly about the longevity of the work we are doing, so we leave our little part of the planet better off than when we arrived