Daphne and Pat Saunders

14 July 2010

It's not the size of the farm that matters

Daphne Saunders

The Saunders have 1,400 acres, and produce much of their own animal feed. The also have a brand new eco-milking shed that even extracts the heat from the milk to put back into the production process.

Things continually change - there is no blue print out there. We've been pioneers in a sense

Pat Saunders

There were a number of factors behind the Saunders' decision to go organic.

The first was a desire to reduce costs. Before going organic the Saunders were spending around £75,000 each January on fertilizer and sprays - insecticides and herbicides for the coming season.

And it wasn't until November when the crops had been harvested and sold that these costs were re-couped. Pat says that "now there are much lower initial costs so there are big savings".

While they were the first in their area to make the switch to organic, 19 of their neighbouring farms have now followed suit.

Reducing soy feed

Reducing soy feed in dairies can be difficult, as dairy cows need a high-protein diet and soy is both rich in protein and cheap.

However, the Saunders have reduced the need for soy by producing a range of feeds on their 400 acre farm. They grow wheat, oats, barley, peas, beans, and other legumes. The grass contains both red and white clover which helps boost its output - Pat says "in a drought our grass keeps growing. We had 3 cuts last year".

All silage is grown and stored on site and some organic soy is added to the winter feed. They've also tried growing soy but found that it required warmer soil.

Going to market

The 1.8 million litres of milk produced by the Saunders each year is sold through the Organic Cooperative. They also sell some meat to the local butchers.

They tried to work with London Hospitals to provide organic milk but after going through the hard work of setting up processing, bottling and delivery the hospital decided they "couldn't afford to go organic". It's been a completely different story with the local schools however.

The local Farringdon food proposed a trial scheme to provide organic meat to a local school one day a week. The trial proved so successful - and the organic meals were such a hit with the children - that the school began purchasing more local organic meat. 9 more schools have done the same.

Environmental stewardship

Conservation is an important part of the work on the farm.

The Saunders have made many improvements over the last 15 years, including creating a pond and planting two miles of hedgerows that provide valuable wildlife corridors through the farm.

The farm also contains a registered Site of Special Scientific Interest - wetlands support the saprophytic yellow rattle plant and are the most Westerly habitat of the rare black hairsteak butterfly.

At the moment people are concerned about farming's commercial outputs. Eventually they'll be concerned with its outputs for life.

Pat Saunders