Mixed permanent grasses on chalk loam.
Our fields are old permanent pasture, not short-rotation leys. The species mix — ryegrass, timothy, cocksfoot, fescues, plus native clovers and herbs — gives a sward that copes with both dry and wet summers, and produces hay with a balanced palatability.
We rest fields properly between cuts, soil-test on a rotation, and only fertilise where the analysis says we should. Where a sward is tiring, we overseed rather than ploughing back to start over.
Watch the forecast. Watch the sward. Then mow.
Hay is made by sun and wind, not by a calendar date. We mow when the heads have formed and the leaf is still soft — usually mid-June through July depending on the year — and only when the forecast looks settled enough for a clear three-day weather window.
Cut grass is left to wilt, turned to even out drying, then rowed up when the moisture has come down to baling level. If we see the weather turning, we hold off; bale damp and you ruin a stack.
Modern enough where it matters, traditional where it counts.
We use GPS guidance for cutting and overseeding — you save fuel, you avoid double-passes, and you place inputs accurately. But we still inspect every field on foot before mowing, and the call to bale or wait is a person looking at a handful of grass, not a screen.
Equipment is maintained in-house. We’d rather spend a winter morning servicing the baler than break down on a cutting day.
Stacked under cover the same day they’re baled.
Every bale that leaves our farm has been under a roof from baling day onwards. Our barn is large enough to hold a full season’s production, ventilated to let bales settle, and sealed against rodents and birds.
We log each batch by cut date and field. If you ever have a question about a load, we can tell you exactly what came off where, and when.
Want to look around in person?
Visitors welcome by appointment.