Nature-friendly farming

Low Sizergh Farm

Low Sizergh Farm, Cumbria

Low Sizergh is a family-run, organic dairy farm on 341 acres of land in Cumbria. Richard Park oversees the farm team while his sister, Alison, runs the farm shop and café diversifications. They are the second of the farm's three-generation tenancy.

Driven by a passion for farming and local food, they strive to connect people with the land and its produce. Their holistic principles and organic farming system focus on what's best for the land, the environment, animal welfare, and their local community.

The farm is admired for its diverse herbal leys, which benefit soil, flora, and fauna while supporting good milk production from the 170 crossbred cows. The herd of crossbred Holsteins, Viking Red, and Montbeliardes produces about 7,000 litres each year.

The shop attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually, has nearly 50 full- and part-time members of staff, and offers a huge range of products from Cumbria and its neighbouring counties.

The Parks work hard to mitigate the effects of a broken food system at a global level. They tell the story of where food comes from and what's involved in getting it onto people's plates, encouraging people to buy more food from local farmers. Visitors can watch milking, walk a free farm trail, and try raw milk straight from the cows thanks to a vending machine just a few yards from the milking parlour.

The holistic approach extends beyond the farm and the environment into the community, and for almost two decades, Low Sizergh has been the headquarters of Growing Well, a mental health charity championing recovery through outdoor activity and participation in its market gardens.

Orlock Farm

Orlock Farm, County Down, Northern Ireland

The Alexander family manage Orlock Farm on Northern Ireland’s east coast, which is home to a herd of native breed pedigree dexter cattle. The farm is run with a focus on recovering the land, increasing biodiversity and helping nature.

In May 2022, the farmland was reseeded with a mix of grass and herb species, which pollinated despite the summer’s droughts. Now birds such as house martins and finches have started appearing, along with insects, including butterflies.

Grazing cattle have revived the grassland, removing dead plant matter, reducing briars and brambles, and helping restore areas of meadow and scrubland, which can now support birds such as tree sparrows. 
The farmers have introduced four hives of black Irish native bees and now make their own honey.

Orlock Farm is now a diverse and thriving landscape, supporting more than 42 species of butterfly and a variety of flora and fauna. 

 

Horner Farm

Horner Farm, Somerset

Balance and diversity in farming are vitally important to Holly Purdey, a farmer at Horner Farm near Porlock in Somerset. She came to the 72-hectare (178-acre) farm with her husband, Mark, in 2018, after securing a tenancy from the National Trust. She focuses on farming with the environment, rather than trying to change the environment to suit the farming system.

Apple trees grow in the orchard, along with a variety of different tree species that provide shade for the farm's animals, which include cattle, sheep and goats. Holly only has one small yard tractor, which minimises diesel and fertiliser costs, helping the farm produce quality food in a sustainable way.

In order to share her knowledge of nature-friendly farming techniques, Holly hosts visits from schoolchildren, local groups and farmers, as well as a recent free-to-attend regenerative farming event. The Purdeys are also involved in a community-supported agriculture scheme called Good Vibe Veg, which encourages the local community to have a go at growing their own produce.

Learn about our work at Horner Farm

Manor Farm

Manor Farm, Bradenham Estate, Buckinghamshire

Andrew Stubbings, a farmer at the Bradenham Estate, and his father before him, began reverting their least productive arable fields back to chalk grassland more than 20 years ago. This followed advice from Natural England’s countryside stewardship scheme.

Andrew specialises in low-input farming, reducing his use of chemicals, fertiliser and farm machinery, and not growing crops that need insecticides. He’s also been grazing polo horses. The tread of horses’ hooves penetrate into the seedbeds, encouraging long-dormant wildflower seeds to grow.

The entire 556 hectares (1,373 acres) of Manor Farm has been designated a local wildlife site – a recognition given by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust to the most exceptional and valuable wildlife areas in the UK. Manor Farm is now one of the biggest wildlife sites in Buckinghamshire, and one of the best areas for species-rich chalk grassland, a habitat that has suffered a 97 per cent loss in the last century.

The farm is home to around 286 plant species, including Venus’s looking-glass, pyramidal orchids, bee orchids and the Chiltern gentian. It also supports a variety of wildlife, including breeding barn owls, common lizards, and corn buntings – a locally scarce and endangered farmland bird. On a recent survey, 650 skylarks were counted in one field. Experts also recorded 35 species of butterfly – half the total number of butterfly species found in the UK.

Tilberthwaite Farm

Tilberthwaite Farm, Cumbria

Stephen Dugdale has been a farmer at Tilberthwaite Farm near Coniston in Cumbria since 2018. He believes in a balance between farming and the environment. Most recently, he created 141 hectares (350 acres) of woodland pasture at Tilberthwaite under a Countryside Stewardship scheme that began in 2021. The agreement, which he estimates will contribute about two-thirds of the revenue generated on that land, also includes management options such as mire restoration and the planting of single trees around the farm. The woodland pasture is already benefitting flowers such as  juniper, which is now thriving. 

Stephen has also rented land that is seemingly challenging, either because of its location or the amount of work required. He has since entered this land into environmental schemes, which generated income to invest in more productive ground elsewhere, allowing him to build up his stock numbers.

Upcot Farm

Upcot Farm, Golden Cap, Dorset

Daniel and Laura Smith are managing a 111-hectare (274-acre) lowland livestock farm for nature on the Golden Cap Estate. Daniel has lived at Upcot Farm since he was a child and helped his father farm the land before taking over. Many of the farming practices used today reflect traditional land management.

The nature-rich farm has large areas of semi-natural habitat. This is managed with traditional hay-cuts and conservation grazing by 85 breeding Hereford and cross cattle and 100 breeding Dorset poll ewes. Several fields are managed as low-input hay meadows with the hay used as winter feed. 

Upper coastal slopes and adjacent fields of species-rich lowland meadows and pasture provide valuable pollen and nectar sources for invertebrates, while hedgerows provide a great habitat for birds and small mammals.  

Trehill Farm

Trehill Farm, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Peter and Gina Smithies are among few potato growers in Wales. They produce high-quality new and main crop potatoes at the 198-hectare (489-acre) Trehill Farm in Pembrokeshire. 

Fields for silage, arable, cereals and potatoes have well-managed margins to support wildlife. Field rotation ensures that soil health is looked after and the benefits brought by grazing livestock are maximised.

There are rich and varied habitats across the farm, including a large coastal belt. Inland, there are flower-rich meadows and pastures and Marloes Mere Site of Special Scientific Interest. A series of earth banks throughout the farm provide a network of habitats for wildlife, particularly farmland birds.

Copt Hall

Copt Hall, Essex

Copt Hall, a coastal farm run by farmer Paul Tallowin, and his family before him, is managed in ways that benefit nature. This 160-hectare (395-acre) arable farm has a strong network of field margins and hedgerows. These support significant numbers of breeding yellowhammers and other farmland birds.

A large part of the farm (30 per cent) is a priority habitat, with a recently restored area of floodplain marsh supporting overwintering birds. The farmers are actively involved in species monitoring and use farming methods that support the health of the soil. 

Fernhall Farm

Fernhall Farm, Brilley, Herefordshire

Nick and Nicci Lloyd are farmers on the 302-hectare (746-acre) Fernhall Farm, and they operate a low-input approach with rare-breed cattle and sheep. Conservation grazing methods help to restore and protect wildlife-rich areas of habitat, including grasslands and orchards.

These areas are well connected by a network of hedgerows and field margins. Work under way includes the creation of more grassland and wood pasture, as well as additional orchard planting.

Heigham Holmes

Heigham Holmes, Norfolk

Henry Alston manages Heigham Holmes in Norfolk, a 267-hectare (659-acre) farm for livestock rearing and grazing. Henry's family has been farming here for generations. 

Sitting on predominantly coastal and floodplain grazing marsh, this farm forms part of a much larger wetland system.This includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Special Areas of Conservation; Special Protection Areas; and Ramsar designations, which are wetlands of international importance. 

In the winter, water levels are maintained to support internationally important populations of wintering birds that visit the site. These include the pink-footed goose and the protected white-fronted goose. The land is also used by cranes and other rare birds. There are also many important reptiles and mammals, including grass snakes and otters. 

Around 17km of ditches run through the site. These ditches and their margins are an integral part of coastal and floodplain marshes, supporting a range of rare plant species adapted to disturbed conditions and fluctuating water levels. These include brookweed, marsh arrow-grass, parsley water-dropwort and tubular water-dropwort.

Blaen Eidda Isaf

Blaen Eidda Isaf, Wales

Located on the remote slopes to the south of Ysbyty Ifan in Wales, Blaen Eidda Isaf is a 54-hectare (133-acre) upland sheep and cattle farm within the Ysbyty Estate. The landscape is made up of marsh, grassland, woodland and a river corridor.

The farm has grazing rights on the Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. It's also home to several important species, including hen harriers, curlews and water voles. 

Summer cattle grazing is restoring habitat for ground-nesting birds such as curlew. A programme of ditch blocking to re-wet the Migneint is restoring deep peat back to health and a varied grazing programme is helping with the recovery of nature on the farm.

As part of the Fferm Ifan farm group, farmer Adam Russell has worked with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to plant more farmland trees and hedgerows and to protect riverside habitats to help reduce soil erosion and downstream flood risk.

Learn more about farming and nature at Ysbyty Ifan