A livestock farmer who converted from intensive to "regenerative" farming methods has urged others in Suffolk to follow his lead.
Speaking at the inaugural Autumn Farming Conference at Trinity Park, Ipswich, Stuart Mayhew described the challenges and joys of converting his 500-acre family pig farm to a high welfare dairy and beef cattle operation, selling directly to the public.
The 44-year-old father-of-two - based on the Norfolk side of the border at Woodton near Bungay - acknowledged that it isn't feasible for everyone to go as far as he and wife Rebecca went with the dairy business they set up from scratch in 2016, but hopes more in the sector will be persuaded to move away from conventional or "factory" farming as he has done.
He told delegates at the conference - organised by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) East and accountants Larking Gowen - about his radical farming journey.
Prior to the switch, Stuart was involved in running the family's intensive indoor pig business at Old Hall Farm which included an arable operation. Various factors converged in the mid-2010s - including his parents spending a significant amount of time in Australia - which prompted Stuart and his ex-land agent wife to start anew. They sold the entire pig herd and reassessed.
The farm used to be "very intensive", he admits. But now he has experienced farming from both sides of the fence and believes a more environmentally-friendly approach - he is chemical-free on the farm - is the right approach.
The couple started with just one Jersey cow and a couple of calves - initially to produce milk for themselves - and the business grew from there. They now have a milking herd of around 50 to 60 of which they are currently milking around 40 cows. Cows and calves are kept together for six to nine months - unlike on conventional dairy farms. Including beef sucklers and followers, they have 215 cattle and cross-breed the Jerseys with native breeds for their beef operation. They process the milk on site and sell raw milk, ice cream, yogurt and butter from their own farm shop. They also have their own on-site butchery - and a 50-seat cafe-restaurant - and make their own pies.The shop stocks local produce - alongside what the farm itself produces.
Before the changeover, they were selling about 200 pigs a week, and had about 5,000 pigs on site at any one time. Now they have 15 sows. They are trying out a few native breeds and will probably settle on Saddlebacks. Feed is soya-free and they also keep a few hens.
It's a paradigm shift, says Stuart, but he believes other farmers will need to adjust and change too. "I don't believe the paradigm we are living in can carry on," he says. "Once you have seen something you can't unsee it."
While the shift has been tough, it's also been rewarding. Turnover last year exceeded what the old intensive pig farm made. The whole operation employs about 20 people - mainly full-time, compared to just three workers in the old days.
The next stage of the farm's evolution involves the arable operation. The Mayhews are hoping to work with Andy Cato of Wildfarmed to produce an annual cereal crop in a perennial sward which can then be used to make regenerative flour.
"We have seen where globalisation leads us," says Stuart. "I'm doing it for my children because I want them to have a better future. Someone has got to lead by example."
Changing was not an easy option, he adds, but his feeling was "I utterly have no choice".
Also among the speakers at the conference was Izzi Rainey, who grew up on her family’s Bates Moor Farm at Foulsham in Norfolk and after graduating from the Glasgow School of Art established IzziRainey, a farm-based textile company.
A live poll of delegates on the future of farming in the UK found 50% were optimistic, while 40% felt: "It’s complicated". A tenth said they were not confident about the future.
Larking Gowen partner Bruce Masson said: “Given that the farming industry faces numerous challenges and uncertainties, from major cost and supply issues due to the geopolitical turmoil, the effects of Brexit, phasing out of the Basic Payment Scheme and labour shortages, to name but a few, it was pleasing that most delegates were positive about the future, albeit with some reservations.”
CLA East director Cath Crowther chaired the event, which included presentations from Steven Rudd, Larking Gowen’s head of farms and landed estates, Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge and Shadow Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, Alec Smith, director of Suffolk-based agricultural and advisory business Sentry Ltd and Jason Cantrill, a partner at farming consultancy Ceres Rural. Emma Hayley of farm mental health charity YANA (You Are Not Alone) was among the guest speakers, and the charity was presented with a £1500 donation from the event.
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