Farm of the Week: Mob grazing to bring back pollinators and flowers to family's regenerated land

“I’m really looking forward to building a relationship with people who care about the same things we do. We would really love people to come and be involved with the farm to see and hopefully buy some of our flowers, our fruit or vegetables, see our Red Poll cattle or our sheep.

“We are really concerned about farming and growing in a way that gives back to the soil. I think we have an amazing opportunity to connect with those who want to make that link with a farm that cares about what the countryside looks like, grows beautiful sustainable flowers, creates naturally produced vegetables and fruit and locks carbon into the soil.

“We want to reach out to our local community and involve them with the farm, making that link between the choices we all make when spending on produce and having a better understanding of how we care about the land.

Peter, Sammie’s brother, is also well travelled and has been back on the family farm for four years. Peter said it was going to New Zealand that inspired his vision for the farm’s future.

“While I was in New Zealand I learned more about farming and environmentalism. It all just seemed to make sense. I knew that regenerative farming was exactly what I wanted to do.It seems the most elegant solution to problems that society has.

“I came back with a clear agenda involving mob grazing. The idea is simple. If you get longer grass then as the livestock eats it and the roots die back more carbon is put back into the soil. It creates greater habitat for insects, creating such as more wildflowers which creates more pollen and food for birds. That also increases the rodent population which also attracts predatory birds.

“By mob grazing, moving the livestock every two days, the animals trample the grass so that you get some of the grass lying on the soil surface as a mulch, the soil also benefits from the cattle muck, as fertiliser and it all leads to a much more natural grass.”

Kiddal Quarry Farm, also referred to as KQ Farm, runs to 120 acres of which 90 acres is used as grazing with the sheep and cattle moving right around the grazed acreage through a six week period of two days on each part.

Elaine said she was the instigator of the move from what had been a fattening cattle operation prior to Peter’s return to the pedigree suckler herd started nearly two years ago.

“I knew Peter wanted to go to mob grazing and that a suckler herd of native breed cattle would work because they prefer long grass, they can help condition the soil with their muck and they can largely out-winter. We decided on Red Polls. The herd runs to 30.”

Peter said Red Polls give an even distribution of fertilisation of the area through mob grazing which locks the carbon in to the soil.

Kiddal Quarry Farm has a flock of 200 breeding Mule ewes that are put to the Texel tup. Elaine said that they don’t keep replacement stock, sending all lambs to market.

Peter added: “At this time of year the lambs are still with the ewes and don’t generally take to the longer grass sward that is normally around 25 cms. Once they are weaned I put them on a shorter rotation on shorter grass of around 10-15 cms sward. I’m aiming at splitting the cows and sheep into two separate mobs this year. It’s a matter of logistics as we want the lambs to fatten at the right rate.”

Sammie, who has only been back on the farm since the end of January, said: “Making my contribution to the farm was central to moving back. Everything I’m doing is new to us! We grew a few vegetables and fruits previously but we’ve now expanded to everything from onions, leeks, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, black kale, curly kale, rhubarb, redcurrants, blackcurrants, apricots, plums, apples, strawberries and raspberries.We’re growing perennial and annual flowers and shrubs. We are using all our own inputs on the gardens with homemade compost from cow manure and mulch from grass clippings.

“Flowers are an essential element in our permaculture system, attracting pollinators and beneficial predators, but most of all the reason we have them is because they are beautiful. We will also be opening for the Flowers On The Farm Big Weekend in August. And we will also have our little farm shop opening for the first time soon, selling whatever is available from our fruit, vegetables and flowers. I am really hoping that by us reaching out to local people and offering the opportunity to see what we do that they will support us by taking on maybe a weekly vegetable box or a bouquet - and that everyone can see we are doing it in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. We are also happy to supply through people buying online, but we’d love to see people and make that connection."

The Halls have received a Woodland Creation grant and have planted around 2,000 trees recently including forest garden at the local beck through the Woodland Trust.

Mark and Elaine had farmed at Moor Monkton until taking on Kiddal Quarry Farm seven years ago. Elaine said that the land at Kiddal is far more productive and that she and Mark are delighted that Peter and Sammie are with them and taking the farm forward. They have also started up a basic campsite which is listed on Pitch Up.

You must book to visit the farm on Open Farm Sunday, 12 June, by visiting www.kqfarm.co.uk