THE FARMS
Our milk is produced on two farms - Garthorne Farm, Archdeacon Newton in Teesdale, run by Barry, Philip and Eddie. The farm produces organic milk and cream and is the home of Acorn Dairy.

The farm staff work as part of a team to care for the animals and manage the crops.

Barry is the herd manager and manages the farm on a day to day basis.

Philip is the herdsman who is responsible for the milking of the cows.

Eddie is responsible for the daily feeding of the cows and hand rearing of the young calves.

CONVERSION
The biggest problem we encountered in changing from conventional to organic farming has been our own mindset. How on earth could we grow healthy crops and animals without the use of fertilizers, pesticides, drugs and chemicals? We had become so enslaved into using drugs and chemicals purely because they had the commercial effect of increased production. Increasing output whilst reducing production costs using such techniques, is seen as the virtuous cycle of the commercial world. Taking the first step outside this intensification cocoon was very difficult.

We went back to basics and with the assistance of other organic farmers we began to develop systems and procedures which would ensure the prevention of problems occurring in the first place which, in turn would reduce the necessity for corrective measures.

We have developed a crop rotation, mixing spring and autumn sown crops to assist in the arrest of weeds, plant disease and pests. The animals have more space in their housing areas and all the young stock are now kept on the farm and receive more human attention and care than previously. The net effect of this increased farm diversity is to reduce the farm output, which is combined with increased costs of production; we have been able to employ an extra stockman.

To square this economic circle we now sell directly to the end consumer, cutting out the various middle men, yet retaining realistic competitive prices for our organic produce, delivered direct to the customers' door.

The farm completed its two year conversion period in April 2000. A period where chemicals are not used on the farm prior to achieving organic certification. The farm is 330 acres and is of a mixed soil type, sandy clay loam over boulder clay and ranges from peat to heavy blue clay, courtesy of the ice age.

Farming organically relies on using a crop rotation to break pest, weed and disease cycles which conventional agriculture treats with pesticides. The crop rotation on Garthorne Farm is:-

Year 1 - Maize
Spring sown to provide an energy rich forage for winter livestock feeding.

Year 2 - Wheat/Triticale/Beans
Autumn/winter sown after the maize harvest to provide a whole crop silage, a fibrous energy forage to balance both clover grazing (summer) and clover silage (winter). A catch crop of Westerwoldes/Italian rye grass is sown in July. This provides ground cover over the winter and helps weed suppression. This is then grazed or silaged early the following spring.

Year 3 - Peas
The peas are spring sown after the westerwoldes and are undersown with a perennial rye grass and red/white clover mix.

Year 4 - Grass and clover
Used for silage and then grazing.

Year 5 - Grass and clover
Used for silage and then grazing, ploughed in mid/late winter ready for forage maize.

Natural Sustainable Soil Fertility
Is built around deep rooting legumes (red clover and beans) and recycling farmyard manure as compost. The legumes maintain a well aerated free draining soil structure through their deep rooting system. They also provide natural fertilizer by fixing nitrogen from the air in a form other plants can use (hence maize and wheat following the clover in the rotation).

Compost is produced by mixing air with farmyard manure (through a muck spreader) two to three times. This allows the farmyard manure to heat up killing off any weed seeds and potentially harmful bacteria. The compost is spread on the fields largely during spring and summer.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT
The diversity of wildlife to be found around the farm has increased greatly since the farm entered organic conversion in 1998. Both insects and small birds have benefited from the increased hedgerow size and the absence of chemicals on the farm. The farm has set aside 10 acres, which is being transformed into a reversion meadow. This has involved the digging of ponds, which have been designed specifically for wildlife, namely amphibians and ground nesting birds, such as moorhens and ducks. These ground nesting birds are already nesting on the island to protect themselves from predators such as foxes, which are seen regularly around the farm. Kestrels,Sparrowhawks, Curlews, Fieldfares and Herons have also recently been seen on the farm.

The banks of the pond will be planted with native shrubs and trees; this will help to promote the natural environment. Creating this natural environment has benefits for the farm; predators such as frogs and other amphibians prey on pests such as slugs, which attack young crops in wet conditions.

Other animals such as crows, which can themselves cause damage to cereal crops, do also have a beneficial role to play. Crows will actively hunt out leather jackets and wireworm in ploughed out grassland, so helping to protect the following crop from insect attack.

We are beginning to see the benefits of this integrated approach to organic farming. Encouraging wildlife and increasing the crop diversity is helping nature keep its natural balance.

We are continuing our countryside stewardship work by laying and coppicing the hedges and replacing Hawthorne Quicks (as seen above) which did not take root in previous years.