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Introduction
Feldon Forest Farm is an organic
farm of around 32 ha set in the special landscape area of the Leam Valley in
Warwickshire. Originally part of a larger farm, it has been under the
current ownership since 1994. The farm has been in Countryside Stewardship
since 1995 and is now in Environmental Stewardship, the first in
Warwickshire to have a Higher Level Stewardship agreement. The farm was the
winner of the prestigious Loraine Award for nature conservation and organic
farming in 2003, and the Warwickshire Silver Lapwing award in 2006. It is farmed as a partnership by George and Gillian
Browning
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Our Farming Philosophy
We operate a
traditional farming system involving a mixture of what are nowadays called
enterprises, such as arable, beef and sheep. We are recreating species rich
grassland on the fields that were previously arable as that is more in
keeping with the traditional land use for this area. All the original
pasture is permanent pasture,
rich in wild flowers, with remnants of ridge and furrow, and the grassland
recreation is a natural extension of this. Feldon Forest Farm has beef,
sheep, poultry, fruit and vegetables. Then there are various
woodlands and water features. The farm buildings have all been purpose
designed and built for the farm.
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The livestock
The various livestock enterprises
are an integral part of the farming plan with the intention of using all
livestock to play their complementary roles in soil fertility building, weed
control and making the best use of our farm produced crops. Companion
grazing and rotational grazing play their part in keeping the livestock
healthy.
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Why Organic?
The whole farm has been under organic management since
1997. We believe in farming with natural systems as far as possible,
without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Care of the soil
is paramount in an organic system and crops are grown in a sustainable
rotation, livestock are grazed on a rotation and care is taken to avoid
damage to the soil structure. Research has shown that organic food is
healthy, on average containing higher levels of Vitamin C, essential
minerals and cancer-fighting antioxidants. Over 400 chemical pesticides are
routinely used in non-organic farming and residues are often present in
non-organic food. We do not use any chemical pesticides, growth regulators
or artificial fertilizers.
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Use of Rare or Traditional Breeds
Traditional or “rare” breeds of
livestock have been selected deliberately for the enhanced role we believe
they play in our organic system. Their virtues include resistance to
disease and an ability to thrive on a low input system. Our intention is to
maintain as natural a balance as possible, to retain family groups and use
natural weaning wherever possible. Herds and flocks are kept closed with
the occasional exception of breeding males brought in to improve
bloodlines. Males are subject to a continuous replacement policy to keep
young males as the breeding sires. The ‘traditional’ policy extends to
fruit and vegetables as well. For example we have over 30 different
varieties of apple, mostly traditional, and grow many heritage varieties of
vegetable, some of which are grown exclusively for seed in conjunction with
the Henry Doubleday Research Association.
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