Products

Key Facts:

Example Farm Location: Hoo-Be Agrics, Fenwick Steads, Belford, Northumberland

Soil Type: Impeded drainage, slightly acid, loamy and clayey.

Annual Rainfall: 400mm – 700mm

Average Temperature Range: 5 – 12.5 Degrees Celsius

James and Rosie Hutchinson have been farming since 1979 and have a lot of experience in the care of many different crops. Until recently they were district councillors and James is a director of Coastal Grains. The Fenwick Steads site covers just over 700 acres which overlooks Holy Island, designated an area of “Outstanding Natural Beauty” by Natural England.

The farm itself is situated on the north Northumberland coast just south of Berwick. James and Rosie grow mainly a range of combinable crops such as Wheat, Barley, Maize (which is unusual for the region) and the Rapeseed that will become Oleifera oil. They also grow some very interesting crops such as Borage and Evening Primrose.

Not limited to just arable farming, James and Rosie also own a herd of beef cattle that they market to local butchers so that everything is fully traceable. Andulusian horses are kept in large fields surrounding the arable land and Fenwick is also home to a population of dogs of all shapes and sizes!

One of the main projects over the last few years has been to alter the cultivation system of the crops. James and Rosie are aiming to do as little ploughing as possible to improve the soil structure and thus make it easier to cultivate a crop. To achieve this James builds and customises much of his own machinery in order to get exactly the sort of unique style of farming and harvesting that they require.