How we farm at Sheepdrove

The key to organic farming is working with nature. We rely upon ecological vitality and diversity. Soils must be healthy to support the plants we grow, and healthy plants in turn provide nourishment for healthy animals. We also need to look after the biodiversity above the ground, most of which is very helpful to the farmer, such as the birds, insects, spiders and mammals which help to control our pests.
This is why they call organic farming ecological in continental Europe. (la agricultura ecológica, l’agriculture biologique, etc.)

We avoid pesticides which are, by definition, substances intended to kill. So we do not spray our fields – we prepare them and care for the soils without chemicals.

Sheepdrove Organic Farm operates in a traditional rotation, which means we change the use of the fields in turn. After creating fertility with nitrogen-fixing plants such as clover, we cultivate those naturally enriched soils to grow our arable crops.

 

Animal Welfare

The Kindersley family are passionate about animal welfare and Sheepdrove Organic Farm is renowned for pioneering natural farming systems. Examples are our chickens, with their advanced nursery and agroforestry system, Sheepdrove’s pyramidal rubbing posts for our cattle and sheep and specially-designed pig shelters with rubbing posts.

We farm to the Soil Association’s standards of organic production, often called the ‘gold standard’ of farming, especially with regard to animal welfare. So we are continually striving towards the ideal. This sets organic farming apart.

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) favour Soil Association standards and indeed CIWF have visited Sheepdrove Organic Farm on several occasions, because they like the way we care for our animals. Good livestock husbandry (care) is essential on any farm, but nowhere more than organic farming, because we cannot rely on quick fixes – the use of medications is limited by the SA and many are prohibited. We have to manage the animals for good health, minimise stress, and work with breeds that suit organic farming and the Sheepdrove landscape.