Country diary: A new chapter for the farm – we’re going organic | Andrea Meanwell

From 1 November we have change happening on our farm. We have decided to become an organic farm and have started the two-year conversion process with the Soil Association. We’ve always run the farm on organic principles, but now, with our small shop selling our beef, lamb and pork, we’ve decided that we will convert, prioritising soil health and biodiversity without the use of chemicals.

It has historically been tricky for hill farms to go organic because many are on commons with shared grazing and no physical boundaries between “hefts”, and with shared routes to and from the fell. Now the certifiers are keen to be flexible and adapt, so we have decided to give it a go. The process is funded by the government’s sustainable farming incentive scheme, which we were lucky to get into this year as so many farmers missed out.

Practically it will mean more record-keeping, vet permission needed for dipping sheep and longer withdrawal periods on many medicines. When we plant trees, we will need to source organic trees, or ask for a derogation if they’re not available. It will be the culmination of the change in our farming system, from the conventional upland beef and sheep farm we bought in 2018, to a regenerative model where biodiversity is considered something we produce as a public good. It would also be very unusual here – the north-west has only 2.4% of the UK’s organic land.

It’s a challenge, but it’s something we want to do as my son’s wife’s family farm has become organic and it has worked well for them. What we’re hoping to achieve for the farm is to increase biodiversity, produce quality breeding stock that can thrive outside all year without any additional inputs, produce food for local people to buy direct from the farm, and allow people to visit and understand the farmed landscape. It will be a talking point on future farm walks as well.

Our latest batch of beef will be in the farm shop for Christmas. It won’t be certified organic this year, but in future years we hope it will.