Downland Farming is a family farm of 178 acres (72 hectares).  It has been farmed by our family for over 100 years.

We are located on the Berkshire Downs.  This rolling chalk downland landscape is part of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape.  The landscape has a long history of farming and settlement.  The way in which the land has been farmed has evolved over the centuries.  

Early man was a hunter and gatherer choosing sites that had access to valleys where the permeable chalk met the impermeable clay.  They farmed by grazing sheep on the higher ground.  They have left their mark on the landscape in burial grounds.

The farming landscape has changed over the last 100 years.  During the Second World War farmers were encouraged to plough up marginal land to produce more food.  Food security was important for our island nation.  After the war field sizes have increased to meet the needs of larger machinery.  Farmers were encouraged to grub out hedges to help maximise yields along with the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.  This intensive farming has left its mark on the landscape, especially in lost hedgerows.

Today we are farming more sustainably to support nature by caring for flora and fauna.  Our soil health is at the heart of all we do.  Protecting the soil and the environment is our prime focus.  To support this way of farming we are planting hedges, flower rich margins around fields, beetle banks and a small woodland.  The photos below and on the following pages show how the landscape is responding to our nature friendly way of farming.