Farming talk: Team an example of best practice in farming

There is no doubt that Britain has some first-class farming practices with some farms connecting with education – both future farmers and consumers, says Heather Briggs - a former manager of an agricultural growers' co-op who now works in the agri-PR sector.

Penelope Bossom, owner of Overbury Farms, directs a team led by manager Jake Freestone, who won the 2014 Farm Business Progressive Farmer of the Year Award. It is one of the best examples I have come across for farming practice.

Wheat, barley, feed beans, oil seed rape and grass are grown and other farming businesses use some of the land for growing spring onions, peas and potatoes. But it is not just arable, the farm's 1,000 strong sheep flock is made of up of north country mules and some home-bred mules crossed with a Texel ram.

Jake said the ewes had access to a range of grazing depending on the time of year, keeping damage to fields to a minimum. Stubble turnips are used to fatten lambs during the winter and to keep the ewes outside when there is little other feed available.

"The sheep play an important role in the arable rotation, as mobile fertiliser spreaders, returning organic matter to the thin land during the winter months," said Jake.

Standards are high. In 2007, the farm, which is in Gloucestershire, attained the LEAF Marque accreditation, which guarantees the customer that the food they are buying has been produced on a farm committed to improving the environment for the benefit of wildlife and the countryside.

The farm is also an important agricultural water steward and both the farm and the environment benefit.

"As water is an important cost of production, we have taken measures to ensure we use it effectively, but also keep the quality as high as possible," said Jake.

"This is because we are well aware that the water flowing over and through the farm can be almost as significant as the food produced and we also supply water to the local village.

"This means that adherence to best practice for excellent water quality is crucial."

Jake

added that good soil management waskey to water stewardship.

"With the recent increasing tendency for heavy rainfall, we want the soil to intercept the water and discourage flooding" he said.