Jody wanted to create a farm that would work as closely as possible with nature, harnessing 21st century science and the most environmentally friendly farming methods available.
“I’ve always been a foodie, and when I moved to England in 1996, I bought Laverstoke Park with a dream of producing the best-tasting, healthiest food,” says Jody. “I travelled the world going to lectures about farming without chemicals, and that’s how I came across organics and biodynamics.
“But I went at it like I would F1, scrutinising everything. I set up chemistry and microbiology labs to study the soil, and had four mass spectrometers [used to analyse molecules and chemical structure].”
Over two decades later, Laverstoke Park is respected as a superb maker of authentic buffalo mozzarella (as well as other buffalo dairy treats) – the only one of its kind in the UK. At the heart of the farm are Jody’s herds of Asian water buffalo, producing protein-rich and nutritious milk, perfect for making cheese. They live outdoors, spending their days grazing on some very special pasture.
“We specially select what we like to call the ‘Laverstoke Mix’ – a unique blend of 31 herbs, grasses, and clovers – for our organic pastures, both to increase biodiversity in the soil, and to improve milk flavour. A normal farm would just have rye grass and possibly some clover,” Jody says.
“To produce the best-tasting food, you have to follow nature really strictly. The two keys are slow-grown plants and animals, and a biodiverse landscape, which means you don’t need to rely on chemicals. I planted 130,000 trees and 8 miles of hedges, and slowly improved our soil quality; it’s amazing to think that a handful of healthy soil has more living organisms in it than there are people on Earth!”
Jody and his team go above and beyond organic methods to make their farm truly sustainable. “We have a purpose-built compost site of 7 acres. Local councils bring in green waste, and in 9 weeks we’ve processed it into beautiful, living compost that goes back on our farm.”
“As well as buffalo, we have a herd of Native Aberdeen Angus cows. They’re now an endangered species, and we have them on a breeding program at the farm – to increase the diversity of the farm and look after their precious bloodline.”
Laverstoke Park Farm is also home to the charity festival CarFest, which raises money for UK children’s charities, with use of the land donated for free. Jody loves seeing families and children enjoying the countryside, and firmly believes that young people should learn how food is produced. The farm also has an Education Centre, which has been visited by 17,000 children since 2003, all free of charge. “Organic is what your grandmother would call food. I look at us as natural farmers,” says Jody. “It’s an expensive way to do farming, but it’s the right way.”
