Our organic farm lies at the heart of our business. Since 1882 the Pitts family has worked the land in and around Oving, and John Pitts, our owner, still oversees our operations today. Since John took over the reins in the late 1980s the Farm has diversified into several other business streams. Here we share some of the reasons behind our decision to diversify…
When we began farming here in 1882 everything was centred around our crops and cattle. These mainstays of the business meant long hours and hard work but provided good sources of income, as well as employment opportunities to the local community. Through two World Wars and the inter-war period the Pitts family oversaw the Farm, including a revolution in food production at Woodhorn.
When John took over the Farm in 1989, it was against a backdrop of tough times for farmers – nationally the sector experienced enormous challenges with squeezed prices, tighter margins, intensification and the use of chemicals taking its toll on livelihoods, soil health and production.
Farming is of course vulnerable to various risks, including weather-related disasters, pest invasions, market price fluctuations and disease outbreaks. Diversification into other areas can help mitigate these risks and avoid the Farm having to bear the responsibility of the whole enterprise. Added to this John had a growing interest in the Farm’s responsibility to the wider environment and the community.
So change was necessary for a range of economic and environmental reasons. Sustainability became an important factor and the search for new and alternative revenue streams became a key focus.
In 1995 we took the first step, converting some of our old farm buildings into office space for local companies to use. Today we have a mix of 27,000sq ft light industrial, storage and offices supporting more than a dozen businesses.
Three years later came the decision to start the process of conversation to a fully organic farm. At the same point we began a green waste composting business taking waste from gardens and the horticultural sector to create peat-free products. This has developed into a core revenue stream, with three sites, diverting 100,000 of green waste from landfill and producing 50,000 of compost and topsoil for gardeners and landscapers.
And in 2012, we took advantage of the combination of our position in sunny West Sussex, to establish our own solar farm which now is home to 13,800 solar panels creating 5.4 MW of power.
Today the Farm supports an organic dairy herd of 250 cows. We grow a range of crops – the majority of which feed our dairy herd; we are 96% self-sufficient. But we also supply wheat for organic bread making, barley to a European co-operative for organic beer, and oats for oat milk. The Farm works on the basis of very little bare soil – providing a green bridge between crop yields to reduce run off and manage rainfall. And we operate within DEFRA’s mid-tier Countryside stewardship scheme to help the environmental value of our farmland. We’re also part of Organic Herd, a co-operative of organic farmers with 120 members across the UK. Together we supply milk to Yeo Valley and Sainsbury’s, amongst others and champion sustainable and ethical practices for animals, the environment and dairy.
Our latest venture, launched in 2023, is selling our organic milk direct to the public through The Oving Cow Shed, in our local village. The milk is pasteurised in our dairy, before being transferred to the Shed less than a mile away for people in and around the area to enjoy.
At the core of these steps to diversify has been a focus on conservation and welfare – of people, animals and the land which everything rests upon. We’re a farm that’s been part of the community for a long time. Diversification has given us the opportunity to ensure that remains the case for many years to come.
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