“We’re trying to work with biodiversity here; creating something sustainable, with respect for and value of the local ecosystem,” says Kate Assouad Maciver-Redwood. “The animals graze in the pastures, and in turn they produce manure which replenishes soil fertility, and this helps with growing the vegetables.” Riverford has this traditional mixed system to thank for organic purple sprouting broccoli, calabrese, romanesco, leeks and beetroot, as well as pasture grazing beef and lamb.
The carbon footprints of pasture-grazing farms like Haye Farm are significantly lower than those where cereal crops are grown to feed animals. Grasses help to capture and store carbon in the soil, so that less is released into the atmosphere – and the animals are fed a natural, healthy diet, without needing to plough (which damages the soil, and releases carbon) for cereal crops.
Haye Farm is located on the Cornish bank of the River Tamar, part of the National Trust’s Cotehele Estate: a medieval site with an agricultural history stretching back to before the Norman conquest.
“We started the tenancy agreement with the National Trust in the autumn of the year 2000, at a time when the country was burning pyres of shot Bos taurus (including cows, bulls, heifers, and steers),” the pair say.
The foot-and-mouth disease crisis was at its peak; a challenging time to start raising a suckler herd. Not to be deterred, Kate and Andy formally registered the holding for organic conversion. Soon they were rearing 100 Lleyn sheep, and a small South Devon-breed suckler herd, made up of a bull called Ferdinand (named from the classic children’s book) and his harem of cows.
Suckler herds live in their natural family groups, “treated as sentient beings, and part of a herd,” explains Kate. “Calves live with and are fed by their mothers (hence the term ‘suckler’), until the mothers get fed up and push them off! So they are naturally weaned onto the grass – both permanent pastures and species-rich mixed herbal leys.”
Kate and Andy’s suckler herd is also what is called a ‘closed’ herd: descendants of a long line who have lived and reared their calves on the farm, rather than being bought and sold each year. “The farm provides a home for the suckler herd,” says Kate. “Ferdinand mates with his harem, and the calves are born here and continue to live here, and become part of the wider ecosystem.”
Welfare is a top priority for the Maciver-Redwoods at every stage of their animals’ lives. “We use a small local abattoir, so all our animals are born, bred, and live on the farm, and then taken under an hour away, up the road to Lang’s at Ashburton,” says Kate. “They don’t get transported far.”
While on the farm, the animals enjoy as natural and healthy a life as possible. Sheep roam and graze outside all year long; the cows remain on the meadows until the rough winter weather arrives, when they are kept cosy inside and fed homegrown organic hay, haylage and silage.
Soon Kate and Andy decided that they wanted to venture into the world of veg. “The Tamar Valley was once really well known for its orchards and market gardens. But so much of that has been scrubbed out now, and we wanted to be part of a regenerative process in the area,” says Kate.
The pair approached the South Devon Organic Producers (SDOP) co-operative, founded by Riverford’s Guy Singh-Watson, and have been growing for us ever since.
All this beautiful food has won the Maciver-Redwoods some mighty acclaim. Their broad beans, Charlotte potatoes, beef and lamb won them a National Trust Fine Farm Produce Award, and their lamb was chosen by twice-Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw to be cooked on the BBC’s Great British Menu, celebrating some of the nation’s best food producers!
Sustainability was at the heart of Kate and Andrew’s decision to move to Haye. They are members of the Higher-Level Stewardship Scheme (previously the Countryside Stewardship Scheme), growing hedgerows and wide field margins where wildlife can thrive. Through a scheme with Natural England, they allow the fresh water running down their valley towards the River Tamar to create pools; a haven for wetland-loving creatures such as waterfowl (including sightings of the rare bittern) and voles. For generations, the farm has also been home to families of barn owls.
"We arrived intending to honour and join Nature's dance, working with her. We endeavour to learn something of her fine balance (if somewhat clumsily!), and how to become custodians of this beautiful, breath-taking and breath-giving countryside.” So what does the future of the farm hold? “We’ve already planted over 4000 trees in the hedgerow we’ve built – including the familiar hazelnut trees, which the squirrels love – as well as allowing natural regeneration of various trees through scrub, and planting an apple tree and some cherry tree orchards. But looking forward, we would like to learn much more about how we can grow more nut and fruit trees. We’d like to work with Riverford, and join them in their intelligent organisation of nuttiness!”
“It has been very heartening to hear about Riverford organising the planting of walnut trees – and some of these coming from what is now known as Turkey. I personally have maternal family roots from this part of the world, and it would be, I think, very healing in many ways to be part of this endeavour,” says Kate.
“We’d also like to grow perennial vegetables, and get smarter at understanding seed – being able to collect our own and share precious seed.”
