Willowford Farm

02/09/2026

I've started a podcast called On Common Ground exploring positive examples of land sharing. The first episode is on the link below. In it I speak to Sue Seymour about farming beside an internationally important bog and planting the "right trees in the right place".

https://zurl.co/SoG3V

16/08/2026

I found this wasp's nest that has been raided by a brave badger in the meadow.

🐝 vs 🦡

27/06/2026

We got our sheep clipped a couple of weeks ago. It was really exciting to see the fleece, which we will now send off to be processed into yarn.

It was also a relief to get the fleece off the sheep, especially when the heat wave arrived last week and with it the threat of flies.

04/06/2026

The hay meadows have sprung to life now the livestock have been moved off and the longer, warmer days are here. Over the last 15 years they've transformed from a sward dominated by rye and white clover to a species rich medley of grasses and wildflowers that supports a whole ecosystem - from insects to birds and small mammals, their predators and so on. We do lose a little quantity but gain a load of quality forage that the livestock love.

It's a joyful part of the farm.

13/05/2026

Dung beetles are absolutely vital and fascinating creatures. But they are under threat from our modern chemical, grain and shed dependent farming systems. Without them animal dung would just accumulate on the pasture, as they found in Austrailia where there are no native dung beetles interested in recycling the European poo. Not only do they recycle waste and enrich the soil, they also encourage earthworms and other soil life, reduce parasite burdens in livestock by making the dung less hospitable to their eggs, and their tunneling allows air and water to pe*****te over a meter deep. We need to learn to love them and not take them for granted.

Thanks to Dung Beetles for Farmers for their brilliantly informative website.

💩🪲🐄🌱

11/05/2026

It's great to see the market garden filling up with summer crops. They look tiny now but in the next few weeks growth is incredibly strong and the garden changes day to day. The tricky part is keeping up!

06/05/2026

Great to see most of the apple trees I grafted last month seem to have taken 🍎🌳😃

04/05/2026

We're experimenting with some specialist wool breeds to see if we can produce high quality, fine wool in our wet climate in NE Cumbria.

Wool made Britain rich, but in recent years most farmers have moved to meat breeds and wool has little value. But its an amazing resource that is woven into our culture and heritage.

We hope that by crossing super-fine Merinos with hardier Black Welsh Mountains, we might stumble on a compromise between fineness and durability that can be grown here. Time will tell...

04/05/2026

Nature doesn't hang around! Feels like winter is only just over and this dandelion has already flowered and set seed 🌱🌻

29/04/2026

Today is the last day to double your donation to conservation projects like this one to reintroduce lynx to Kielder Forest

https://zurl.co/36b6A

The state of nature in the UK is dire, and we need positive and tangible action to turn the tide. …