Farming and Dairy

Our organic farming activities extend to 1500 acres on the Chichester Plain and the South Downs.

Woodhorn Farm has been managed by the Pitts family for over 140 years, after being founded by Fred Pitts following his move here from Devon in 1882. Today, just like then, the heart of the farm is our dairy herd and we now have 250 dairy cattle producing an average of 5,500 litres of fresh, organic milk every day.

We’re proud to be part of an organic co-operative called Organic Herd, which consists of over 100 farm members across the UK. As well as offering their own range of products, Organic Herd supply milk to producers such as Yeo Valley, and supermarkets including Sainsbury’s.

In addition to our dairy herd, the remainder of the farm – which extends to 1,500 acres of certified organic farmland across the Chichester Plain – produces a range of organic arable crops including wheat, beans, peas, oats, spring barley and maize. Much of this is grown to maximise the amount of home-grown feed for our cows – we’re currently 96% self-sufficient – but we also sell feed and seed to other organic farms. For example, the wheat we produce goes to make organic bread, the barley to make organic beer and the oats are used for oat milk. Across the farm, 12% of land is currently in mid-tier conservation schemes with an ambition to keep increasing this figure year-on-year.

Organic Farming

We’ve been organic since 1998. Organic farming is a way of farming that protects and encourages wildlife whilst looking after the health of the soil. Instead of relying on chemicals, we strive to work with nature to feed the soil and control pests. We use crop rotations and clover to help build fertility in the soil. We now also have a zero bare soil policy. This means there is always something in the ground, so as we finish cropping and harvesting, we immediately replant with a different crop or natural green fertiliser. This process is referred to as a ‘green bridge’ helping hold nutrients in the soil, limit erosion and reduce run off into rivers and ditches.

There are plenty of benefits of organic farming, though most people think of the absence of pesticide and/or antibiotic residues first. For us it is also about the environment as a whole; by not using pesticides we’ve seen a transformation of the flora and fauna on the farm. No herbicide usage means that all our crops have varying levels of weeds and wild flowers in them. These act as a habitat for a wide range of insects, small mammals and ground living birds.

We grow large areas of legumes such as clovers and vetches too which, along with our own composted manures from our dairy herd, provide natural fertility and humus to the soil. We supplement this with composts, soil conditioners and topsoil from our recycling enterprise, Earth Cycle, which diverts green waste from landfill. Through a 14-week process of mulching and turning, we create rich soil and compost for use in organic systems. As well as using this on our own farmland, we also sell the soils and composts to the public and into industry.

Organic farming is also about maximising animal welfare, concentrating on the principle of prevention rather than cure. Organic means free-range and all our animals are grazed on fresh grass throughout the spring, summer and autumn period and fed home grown forage through the winter. All our feeds are, of course, GM free.

Whilst antibiotic treatments are sometimes used (the health of the animal always comes first), their use is never routine, and herbal and homeopathic remedies are preferred – we aim to ultimately become entirely antibiotic free.

As part of our work with Organic Herd, we’re also working hard to monitor and reduce the water, fuel and energy use involved in our milk production too.