The countryside is hugely important to us and we take our responsibility to look after it very seriously.
Spread over 220 acres of pasture and arable land, as well as 60 acres of woodland, the farm is vast and our team actively care for it all.
For more than 25 years, the woodland has been cared for by Paul Horne and his son, Danny, who have been recognised by the National Farmers’ Union for their conservation work.
We have a ten-year agreement with DEFRA to maintain and enhance the rich biodiversity on this farm.
As part of this we agree to:
- Cut hedges every other year to allow different species to prosper.
- Maintain the small field size, rather than demolish hedges and tree lines to make fields bigger.
- Make buffer strips beside water courses to prevent run off of pollutants.
- Make buffer strips next to woodland to encourage biodiversity at woodland edges.
- Maintain low fertiliser input and minimal herbicide application to encourage wildflowers and native species of grass on some fields.
- Encourage farm visits by schools and other interested parties to help explain our role in the countryside.