Arable Farming

We run a system that aims to promote healthy soil. We try to minimise compaction, soil disturbance, and are seeking out ways to constantly improve the organic matter in our soils. We do this by running a diverse rotation of crops as well as planting “cover crops” between harvest and a spring planted crop. This helps aerate the soil, encourage worms, and provide green manure. We include grass fields in our rotation which the sheep graze. Not only do they themselves produce manure, but the grass adds to the diversity of our soil health also.

The main crop that we grow is wheat; this is usually planted in the autumn and known as Winter Wheat. It is harvested the following summer (usually between August and September). We tend to grow a mixture of wheat varieties which allow us to supply to Weetabix for their cereals and Warburtons for their bread, as well as local animal feed mills such as Faccenda Chickens and Heygates.

In order to reach our aim to keep the land in good condition, our rotation includes oilseed rape which is grown for its oil and has many uses in the food industry along with industrial uses, including biodiesel! You can buy rapeseed oil to use at home for cooking instead of olive oil – we would certainly recommend it!

The other crops grown at Greatworth Hall include linseed, which is again used for its oil, beans, which are used as a protein source for animals, and barley, which again is used for animal feed.

Further to this we have an involvement in the Environmental Stewardship scheme, providing wildlife margins around our fields and carefully manage our hedgerows.