Are we Organic, Regenerative, or both?
Our farm USED to be run very conventionally i.e. with sprays and chemicals.
However, 7 years ago, shortly after our gorgeous Jersey goddesses arrived we decided that in order to do the best for them, we needed to completely change our farming practices.
As such we put our whole farm into the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which meant that we could plant Legume rich pastures, wildflowers and nectar/pollen mixes to help regenerate our farm, our soils, increase biodiversity and to produce healthy food for our animals and our customers!
We are not (yet) certified Organic - mainly due to lack of time, but also because we would have to add more to the cost of our products due to the costs of certifiying.
On our farm we are free of:
- Artificial fertilisers
- Fungicides
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Nasty feed additives such as Bovaer
- Soya
- Grains in our ruminants feeds
Our ruminants are 100% pasture fed - see www.pastureforlife.org for more information. Certification for PFL will happen in 2025!
Antibiotics
Whilst we do NOT us routine antibiotics we reserve the right to treat any of our animals if they should become ill - not doing so would be downright irresponsible and cruel.
All withdrawal periods for any drug (if used) are STRICTLY adhered to.
Regenerative/Restorative Farming
In 2020 we (Stuart and Rebecca) undertook Holistic Management training with 3LM - this has enabled us to fully understand our context both on our farm and in the wider agriculture/food and world view/framework.
We truly believe that by using truly regenerative approaches to our farming and food production systems we can go beyond the goals achieved by Organic farming.
The beautiful thing about restorative/agroecological approaches is that they are limitless. Like our soil’s ability to sequester carbon, there is more depth and nuanced involved within this sphere. Whilst we believe that cutting out all chemicals on farm is one of the highest goals that can be achieved, there is more that can be done.