Farm
Weston Park Farms produce circa 1,000 hectares of combinable crops including bread making wheat, malting barley, oats, field beans and oilseed rape. We also run a herd of about 140 beef shorthorn cross suckler cows plus their followers, which graze 200 hectares of permanent pasture, parkland and rotational leys.
Our Principles
At Weston Park Farms we endeavour to operate a regenerative agriculture system. This means that we aim to sustainably grow good quality, healthy crops and cattle whilst improving the soil and environment that our business utilises.
Some of the methods we use to achieve this include:
-
No-tillage - We establish all our crops without tilling or cultivating the soil. Tillage disrupts the soils biological environment and oxidises carbon to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas). It also increases the likelihood of soil runoff which pollutes water courses. No-till mitigates these environmental risks.
-
Herbal Leys - As part of our arable rotation we plant 4 year herbal grass leys. These provide grazing ground for our cattle and also give the fields a break from arable crop production allowing soil biology to regenerate. We plant a range of species including legumes which build soil fertility, and herbs which naturally help to prevent worms in the cattle. We therefore do not need to use any worming medication. Grasslands are also an excellent carbon sink.
-
Cover Crops - We plant cover crops after harvest to maintain soil structure, feed the soil biology and to soak up nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates which might otherwise be lost to water courses over winter. Cover crops also reduce the likelihood of soil erosion and help to build organic matter in our soils. Further, cover crops capture carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis at a time when the ground might otherwise be left bare.
-
No insecticides - Few if any insecticides can select between pest insect species (which damage crops) and beneficial insect species which provide ecosystem services. Therefore we do not apply any insecticides at Weston Park Farms. This leaves our crops vulnerable to pest attack. We aim to encourage beneficial predators to control pest insect species naturally.
-
Reduced Artificial Inputs - We are working hard to reduce our reliance on crop inputs such as nitrogen fertiliser and fungicides. We have already found that by combining the methods listed above we no longer need to apply inorganic 'base fertiliser' such as phosphorus and potassium due to improved nutrient cycling in our soils and the manure from the cattle.
-
Pasture Fed Livestock - Our Cattle's diet is exclusively grass based. No grain is ever fed to them - just as nature intended. Grass fed beef has a significantly higher content of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids in addition to 3-5 times greater conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content compared with grain fed beef. CLA is a naturally occurring antioxidant found in meat and dairy products which is thought to reduce the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.