A H Warren Trust Farming
Passionate about organic, regenerative farming
Farming has always been at the centre of the A H Warren Trust – we have been farming the estate at Coombe Farm since 1983 and today sustainably manage around 2,500 acres of Soil Association organic farmland.
The farming estate, covering 2500 acres, comprises of three dairy farms, which supply milk to a local organic milk processor. Beef cattle are also reared on the farm which is a bi-product from the dairy herd. We breed Holstein Friesian dairy cows with either a Hereford or Angus Bull to produce calves that grow efficiently on our grass-fed system.
The farm also has an extensive flock of sheep – opting for Lleyn ewes, a breed that suit the West Country climate and being reared on our lush organic pasture. This is important because we continually strive to have a year-round outdoor system, with the sheep lambing outside in the Spring.
A more recent addition is our free-range chickens. Our chickens are grown slowly, with full freedom to roam outdoors during the day, and the shelter and safety of houses at night and in bad weather. They are in an environment where they can forage, scratch and follow their natural instincts.
As well as looking after the livestock, the farming team are busy all year round ensuring that we get the most out of our land – growing crops while ensuring we put back what we take out. Throughout the summer we will take 4 cuts of grass to produce silage, we also harvest hay from water meadows and bale straw from our own combined cereals to feed our cattle during the colder months. We grow a range of forage crops and cereals too, which will be mixed into the animal feed to provide a balanced ration and allowing us to be almost self-sufficient in terms of the food our animals consume.
Farming organically means we’re very careful about how we manage the land. We never, ever use pesticides or artificial fertilisers. We use soil analysis to determine what each individual field needs to make it healthy and fertile. A crop rotation system ensures the land is used effectively, and within that rotation we use manure from our cows as fertiliser – ploughing the solids back in to improve soil quality and spreading liquids on as a top dressing after cutting, to provide the necessary nutrients needed for regrowth.
Many of our fields are established with either red or white clover that it grows, nourishes the grass by releasing nitrogen back into the soil through its roots.
