Published: 25/05/2024 By Camilla White
As a rural surveyor-turned-compliance officer – some might say poacher turned gamekeeper – the amount of paperwork associated with a farming business shouldn’t surprise me. After all, I’ve been filling in forms for subsidies, planning, and environmental stewardship for years. However, since becoming more involved in our family farm in Castle Cary, I have realised just how much compliance is involved in running a business like ours.
At the centre of the way we farm is the welfare of our animals and the soil. Our land extends to approximately 150 acres, which we manage both regeneratively and organically. We plant deep-rooted plants like chicory, sainfoin and yarrow to prevent loss of soil through erosion and run-off. We have native cows, including Angus, Hereford, and British Friesian, which we have crossbred to ensure hybrid vigour. All these breeds have evolved to finish on grass. This takes longer, as we don’t feed wholegrains to the cattle. Hence our name: The Slow Farming Company.
By using a mixture of grasses, herbs and some root crops, we provide our livestock with many different nutrients. The more diverse the mixture, the more unique root and leaf forms there are to supply the different minerals, and the greater the nutritional benefit to those consuming the end products.
Alongside our cattle we have Tamworth x Saddleback pigs, fed on our organic pastures supplemented with whey from Westcombe, one of our neighbouring artisan cheesemakers, and bran from Landrace Bakery in Bath. We also have approximately 300 laying hens of mixed breeds, to produce different coloured eggs. The chickens follow the cattle around the farm, scratching the ground – which further spreads the manure – and eating any grubs and larvae, ensuring we don’t need to use anthelmintics.
We are proud of the way we rear our livestock and of the way we, as a family, are managing our farm; not least so that our children (the sixth generation to live here) have something to inherit. However, we recognise that our customers don’t necessarily want to take our word for it.
Understandably they need proof that we’re doing what we say we are. That’s why we are certified Animal Welfare Approved, Grassfed and Non- GMO by A Greener World, and certified Pasture for Life by the Pasture Fed Livestock Association. This involves a not insignificant amount of paperwork, along with regular inspections. We’re coming out of organic certification because we feel it’s too paperwork-driven and the practical purpose of farming in such a way has been lost. However, we are currently working towards regenerative certification under A Greener World, which includes our 10-year plan for whole-farm sustainability focused on regenerative agriculture.
Our beef, pork and eggs are mainly sold via our website. Our eggs are also available in some local shops, and we do outside catering events. We plan to open a farm shop on site, and hope to expand our events calendar for 2024. We are hugely lucky to have the fourth generation of our family – my father-in-law – still out there, farming every day. During evenings and weekends, he is joined by my project manager husband; and my lawyer brother-in-law and his wife recently returned to the farm. We all bring skills and experience not necessarily seen in every farming family, but my goodness the paperwork still challenges us sometimes!
I not only have a renewed understanding of the work our farming clients have to do, managing all this alongside the actual practical work in the fields, but it has also helped with the compliance work I do for the firm. Not least because it has highlighted the requirement to make sure everything is done properly without making the paperwork so burdensome that there isn’t time for the important business of helping our clients.
The Slow Farming Company Open Day takes place over the weekend of 8/9 June 2004, find details and book your tickets here.
You’ll find the article on P46 of Country Matters 2024 (below), please do call into your nearest Symonds & Sampson office to collect your free copy.