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Manor Farmis a commercially run arable farm with a small area of extensively managed grassland which is rented to a neighbouring livestock farmer during the spring and summer. Most of the grassland is included within the area of a Scheduled Ancient Monument which is the remains of Owston Abbey. 10% of the arable land is dedicated to conservation and wildlife with buffer strips, field corners and areas of botanically diverse grassland. These areas are included within an Environmental Stewardship, Entry and Higher Level Scheme. They require a limited amount of management with spot control of pernicious weeds and the occasional cut, but essentially these areas are left for the wildlife on the farm.
The arable land is farmed according to the principle of integrated farm management where cultivations, sprays and fertiliser is only used when necessary. All field operations are carefully planned using advice from a qualified agronomist and the crops are monitored in detail to ensure any sprays or fertiliser applications are done at exactly the right time. Fertiliser is applied in response to soil testing results and this is done using a GPS system so that within field variation is accounted for.
Weather is an important part of farming as it limits most farm operations and plays an important role in crop development. We have invested in an automatic weather station to monitor the local weather conditions. Weather data is available for students doing geography projects on the weather.
There are two farm diversification businesses associated with the farm the first is an animal feed business, Manor Farm Feeds, that produces course mixes and other feeds for livestock. The second is a renewable energy company that installs wood fuel heating systems and supplies biomass in the form of wood biomass. This business now operates completely independently from the farm and is located off site but the farm house, offices and Manor Farm Feeds buildings are all heated by wood fuelled heating systems and we have solar photo voltaic panels and solar thermal panels in several locations. Find out more about our renewable energy production.
