Spring Update
We’ll start with our biggest news which is that we are selling the land at Nonington Farm. We’ve made the decision to stop contracting and announced that a few months ago, and this harvest will be our last as contract farmers. The question then was what to do with our own farm, and the answer was clear to us and has been for a number of years. For various reasons our farm is separated by a few miles from our house, and increasingly this has become difficult to run all the enterprises that we do as effectively as we would want to. So we have taken the tough decision to relocate and exchange the land at Nonington for what is termed a ring fenced farm elsewhere, that is a farm with a house within the boundary. We just don’t know yet where that will be!
We have really enjoyed converting that land at Nonington in to what it is today, with a thriving ecosystem, plenty of biodiversity, highly productive soils throughout which have been lovingly cared for and enhanced, enabling plenty of different crops to thrive. Thousands of people have been able to share in the farm, and have been along the journey with us, whether through our extensive education programme, or helping us learn more and more about the land we have farmed. It will be a wrench to leave, and hand over the reins to someone else, but it is not an ending for us. We hope to be able to recreate another farm in the same vein, hopefully going further in terms of creating a community around the land that, by living on site, we will be able to foster more. We are really excited about this, and hope that you will follow our journey as it unfolds!
Nonington Farm, Nr. Canterbury, Kent - BTF Partnership
Turtle Dove Project
Meanwhile, Spring has sprung, and the first turtle dove was heard on the farm on 28th April. We’ve been preparing for their arrival by feeding sites with specially formulated high energy food that will help replenish them after a long journey, and hopefully encourage them to settle down and breed. We have also cultivated a fallow plot to encourage arable weeds, which they love, and planted low input cereal strips alongside this to encourage other birds too. This is all thanks to Nicole Khan who masterminds the Operation Turtle Dove project in Kent, through the Nature Friendly Farming Network and the RSPB. It’s always a pleasure to welcome them on farm, and to get as many people as possible involved in the story, the feeding, and hopefully the enjoyment of hearing the purring.
Child learning about and then feeding the turtle doves their seed
We have also started this term working with Eastling Primary school, who are coming out to the farm every week to really get to understand what goes on at the Farm. It’s a real delight to work with interested people, children and adults alike, who want to engage and understand where their food comes from, how it is produced, and how to cook with it.
Drilling
Spring drilling happened in a flash, and it’s great to see the plants now poking their head above the ground. With the dry weather that spring has heralded, the spring crops won’t have as long as the winter crops did to get established and grow roots deep enough to find water and nutrients, which further shows the importance of soil management and minimal disturbance in establishment.
The winter crops are also looking terrific at the moment. Our three way blend of wheats seems to be working in harmony well. The Crusoe wheat, often susceptible to rust, is being protected by the other two varieties (which have higher resistance) growing together. Partnership and collaboration in the field!
Three way blend of winter wheats for a sustainable wheat contract
Our insecticide free policy is also proving to work well on the oil seed rape, which is romping away and in full bloom now. The pollinators are also hugely enjoying themselves, including a swarm of bees that flew overhead on 28th April but decided not to stop!
Flowering oil seed rape without any insecticide use
The Mill
Turning wheat in to flour in our mill
The mill has been busy this spring, and we are delighted to have finally cracked how to clean our rye, meaning that we now have rye flour to add in to our collection. This in turn led to a new contact in Sussex, and a very welcome excuse to travel in to the Weald to meet the baker and miller at Fermento Bakery. Their set up is the stuff of dreams: milling in one part of the building and baking on a wood fired oven in another, with a café and shop in the third part. It was wonderful to see and to be a small part of.
All loaded up and ready to go to a bakery near you
And in case you’re wondering, the mill is staying with us and will not be being sold. We’re also retaining enough land to keep growing our wheat for the mill, whether that is heritage or conventional wheats, so don’t worry about that!
Lambing and lamb packs
Spring wouldn’t be spring without some lambs, and this year was no exception. Despite scanning at a low percentage, the sheep all delivered and more had twins than predicted, so we were happy to reach our target of 1.5 lambs per ewe. Interestingly, we had a lot of ram lambs born this year – over 75% were boys! All the lambs are thriving, and the ewes are enjoying munching their way through some newly established herbal ley, which in terms increases the milk their lambs are consuming.
Twins!
Herbal ley about to be munched by the sheep
We’ve also been developing new relationships with our local friendly butcher who doubles as a chef, and have been delighted that we can now offer so much more from our lamb carcasses than before. As a result we’ve enjoyed lamb and wild garlic sausages, lamb burgers and rack of lamb, among other cuts. Personally, we enjoyed a boned leg of lamb on Easter Sunday which easily fed 16. Others have reported that it is the best lamb they have tasted, which makes all the sweat and tears in rearing them so worthwhile. If you’d like to order some lamb or hogget, do get in touch.
