Environmental Work

We are on a journey of regenerating Warleigh Barton and are constantly looking for new ways we can improve the environmental management of the farm.

Warleigh Barton has a unique and species-rich riverside location and we benefit from a diverse range of farmland, woodland and wetland flora and fauna. We take our responsibility as custodians of this land seriously, and that means having biodiversity, ecosystem health and conservation at the heart of everything we do.

We have a range of projects across the farm that support our commitment to the environment and we hope to expand on these over time.

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Countryside Stewardship Scheme

We’re proud to be in our 9th year as part of the government-funded Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which helps farmers look after and improve our natural environment. This focuses on:

increasing biodiversity & habitats
improving soil health
expanding woodland areas
improving water quality
improving air quality
improving natural flood management

Every field is carefully measured and monitored, and we remain alert to learning and understanding how to care for our soils, and balancing sustainable farming with financial return. We’ve adopted a ‘min-till’ system (short for ‘minimum tillage’), where we cultivate the land using mechanical methods other than ploughing, which reduces soil disturbance; helping to protect the soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans.

Cropping

We proactively plant cover crops (an ecological system where crops are planted not for harvest but to manage soil erosion, soil fertility and quality, weeds, diseases, pests and wildlife to increase microbial activity in the soil).

Nearly half of our cereals are taken as ‘wholecrop cereals’ which is where the crop is cut early to take advantage of the slightly better weather, and allows the post-harvest stubbles to remain for a large part of the year before drilling again. This practice naturally spills grain during the harvesting process which then helps to provide a valuable seed source [in grass-dominated areas] and foraging for declining and localised farmland birds, small mammals and pollinator species such as bees. The stubbles remain and the Summer months grow weeds that provide soil cover and an over-wintering habitat .The wholecrop is ‘clamped’ and then used as forage for the cattle through the Winter.

Low-input cereals take up the bulk of the remaining cropping – a rotation mainly of winter oats, wheat and barley. The straw is a valuable crop in this area of the UK. Our open-structured cereal crop provides summer foraging for farmland birds (such as yellowhammer and reed bunting), along with habitat for skylarks, brown hare, rare arable plants (what are rare arable plants?) and pollinator species like bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other beneficial insects. An open crop structure enables wildflower species to grow amongst the crop.

Permanent Pasture

This is grassland with very low inputs, containing flowering grasses and wildflowers at various vegetation heights and root depths. It provides nectar and shelter for invertebrates and a boosted food supply for birds.

This pasture varies throughout the year; in spring/early summer it will have a good covering of flowering grass and wildflower species, and could also contain scattered areas of scrub and/or rushes with very limited bare ground. By autumn there’ll be tussocks of grass, some of which will be allowed to go to seed. Any archaeological or historic features are protected under a grass cover, with no damage incurred through the use of machinery.

Miscanthus

We grow 40 acres of miscanthus which gets harvested in April and is then sold as horse bedding. Originally we planted the miscanthus on patchy soil in order to feed our biomass boiler, however, we have encountered problems in the process of using it this way, so now we sell it off the farm and buy in wood chip. We would love to resolve these issues so that we could become self-sufficient for the future. In the meantime Miscanthus is a great plant for biodiversity. It creates a helpful buffer to some of our water courses and is looking after our soils and captures Carbon.

Biomass Boiler

Our biomass boiler has been installed since 2014, the heat it generates is used to dry grain.

Solar Farm

Our 4MW solar farm, installed in 2012, is owned by LowCarbonSolar, providing the farm with a ground rent. We graze sheep underneath the panels throughout the year. We also have a solar array of 50KW on the roof of our barns in the main farm yard.

Trees

Warleigh is home to some of the UK’s most ancient trees. Some of our veteran oaks are over 500 years old and we have some enormous and ancient sweet chestnuts, horse chestnuts and Holm oaks. The entrance is lined with mature horse chestnut and limes. You’ll discover many other types of evergreen and deciduous trees across the farm.

Visiting Wildlife

Because of our unique location and diverse habitats, we are lucky enough to attract many different types of farmland, woodland and wetland birds. Egrets, shelducks,Whimbrels, Greenshanks, spotted redshanks, green sandpipers, golden plovers, barn owls, woodpeckers, herons, swallows, hoopoe, avocet, kingfishers and even regular visits from migrating ospreys are just some of the birds that have been spotted at Warleigh.

We are working on ways of improving habitats for these awesome and treasured species, for example; creating tall structures overlooking the Tavy river, designed specially to encourage and provide useful spaces for ospreys.