@FarmersOfTheUK Tweets
Nathan (@mrnathannelson) and Jason (@earthlyideas) spent the week from 18th January 2021 tweeting as @FarmersOfTheUK, a twitter that features a different farm each week.
Each farm approaches the week different, but with the common thread being the story of the farm, and more importantly ineracting with other farmers and interested readers.
Nathan & Jason came across the account when looking for good information about Deepdale Farm’s move to regenerative agriculture, and it has been invaluable as a source of inspiration.
This is what they tweeted about @DeepdaleFarm, hope you enjoy the threads.
Good morning from @DeepdaleFarm. @mrnathannelson & I (@EarthlyIdeas) are looking forward to posting as @FarmersOfTheUK this week, from our in transition organic farm on the beautiful North Norfolk Coast, England … Big thanks to @AbiReader for last week. https://t.co/ZQmyfLkLGI
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
So where is @DeepdaleFarm? Well we are in a small village called @BurnhamDeepdale, overlooking the sea, approximately half way between Hunstanton & Wells-next-the-Sea on the beautiful North Norfolk Coast. That’s out East, possibly the only county in England without a motorway. pic.twitter.com/NagupPBGVZ
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
London is South of us, Norwich is South East, and if you head directly North from the farm, then you won’t hit land, you’d hit the ice of the North Pole.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
@DeepdaleFarm overlooks the tidal harbour of Brancaster Staithe, Scolt Head Island & the wind farms of the North Sea, so sea air, big skies, & weirdly one of the driest places in the UK (most of the time) despite all that water.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
2020 was interesting year for everyone, 2021 has decided to flex its muscles & compete, but last 12 months has been seminal for future of @DeepdaleFarm. When positivity was lacking, creativity took over, we developed plan for large Countryside Stewardship scheme & going organic. pic.twitter.com/Ryh4z4xqmn
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Using @thelandapp we completely redesigned @DeepdaleFarm. We spent 1st lockdown talking to hugely inspiring people, reading books like Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown, & considering impending changes to government farming rules. With big changes ahead, we wanted some certainty. pic.twitter.com/o7YnUb9jTl
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
We are now certified as ‘In Transition’ by @ofgorganic & in our 1st year of transition as we move to being fully organic. pic.twitter.com/yCjTsxUIxZ
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Frustrations today for @mrnathannelson at @DeepdaleFarm trying to repair field left in heck of mess by potato contractors. Was harvested when very wet, with no break in weather since to make necessary repairs & wrong time of year to plant cover crops. pic.twitter.com/jVKVYOFLU6
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
We’re moving to organic rotation scheme, 2 years clover, 1 year wheat oats or similar, 1 year legume, 1 year malting barley. No more root crops for moment, while we repair our soils, making sure all fields are covered all the time. Video of a cover crop earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/UrYNaQp05E
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
We’ll explain more about tests we’ve carried out to see what’s wrong with our soils, more about flooding we’ve faced in last year mainly due to poor soil health, & lots more about the exciting steps we are taking with regenerative agriculture. Lots to explain, later in the week.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
If you’d like some bed time listening, then try Farm Chat with @mrnathannelson & @EarthlyIdeas, which is part of the Deepdale Podcast. Team at @DeepdaleFarm put together this podcast each month, lovely team project.https://t.co/xebi12k9MC
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Jason started the Deepdale Podcast a few years ago, chatting about North Norfolk Coast for visitors to @DeepdaleFarm campsite, but quickly it was clear listeners wanted to hear about life on the farm from tree planting with our Hedge Collective to going organic. pic.twitter.com/aDL9cWJNAx
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
There are interviews with local partners, for example this month Jason interviews Rachel & David from @moongazerale, chat about local events, book recommendations, favourite music, & the now famous Top 5s from Simon (which even got a mention on international podcast @unitedweag) pic.twitter.com/wQgYKJhOgU
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
We learn all the time creating the Deepdale Podcast, both the technicalities of recording & editing, and what to include. Interviews are always lovely as you get to ask questions that you always wanted to know the answer to. For example hare names used for beers.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Constantly try new things. Love @ChrisHaycock7 top music releases 2020 in December episode, most listened to Deepdale Podcast episode.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Each team member has different interests & passions, like listeners & visitors, so why not celebrate them, connecting factor is @DeepdaleFarm. pic.twitter.com/TOoAPpQ4ZH
If you love listen you can subscribe to Deepdale Podcast through any good podcast directory, @Apple @Google @Castbox_fm (our host) or through @YouTube channel. Hard getting podcast listed in all these places, but great feeling when see yourself listed.https://t.co/1EbWqxEyKK
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
There are a lot of amazing farming podcasts we’ve taken inspiration from. @BBCFarmingToday @farmerama__ @RandRFarmingPod @dewinggrain @farm_pod @MTF_podcast @NFFNUK and Crop It Like It’s Hot podcast. We have learnt so much from them. What do you listen to? pic.twitter.com/uHr5DDGDJD
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
Beautiful photo overlooking @DeepdaleFarm by talented @christaylorfoto, taken by drone while filming with @earthlyideas for @Wildeastuk Defintely worth checking Chris’ website & YouTube channel for stunning photos & videos of this beautiful part of world. https://t.co/WxyzN9ATtu pic.twitter.com/eUcW49YkNt
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 18, 2021
@DeepdaleFarm is a lot more than just an arable farm. Having said that, none of our diversifications would have been possible without the farm’s support, both financially & resources. Its been said that we farm both crops & tourists. pic.twitter.com/kLg991dtxp
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
@DeepdaleFarm was a diversification from life & work in London for the Great Grandfather & Grandfather of @EarthlyIdeas, although it quickly became the permanent home rather than a country bolt hole. Lots of diversifications were tried from building company to car garage.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
It was parents of @EarthlyIdeas who really found right mix of diversification at @DeepdaleFarm, starting with small campsite, run for 28 days in August on 2 small horse paddocks. They also converted our Granary into accommodation, originally a bunk house barn, now private rooms. pic.twitter.com/hQx9IBazDR
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
After travelling extensively, working for @UNAIDS & @chameleonsafari in Namibia, @EarthlyIdeas returned to @DeepdaleFarm with the idea of building a backpackers hostel. We converted the Stables, once home of the shire horses for the farm, which are now ensuite private rooms. pic.twitter.com/37a9hkMKSM
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
Not long after we converted the next door car garage into @DalegateMarket with independent shops, cafe, supermarket (@DeepdaleStores) & pop up shops, which host local artisans & producers throughout the year. We also run events like Deepdale Christmas Market. pic.twitter.com/koGcm2Kyh9
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
When @EarthlyIdeas teamed up with @ChrisHaycock7 to run campsite & rooms, they began Deepdale Hygge, Deepdale Festival & Sunday Sessions reflecting their love of music. Sadly Covid pandemic hasn’t been kind to the performing arts, we look forward to welcoming back artists soon. pic.twitter.com/TGbLrjCLB6
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
Its been great to have the farm to keep us busy & entertained when the tourism side of the business has been so interrupted. The team are really looking forward to welcoming back visitors soon.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
This winter we produced our first batch of Traditional Plain Flour. We worked with the lovely Michelle at Letheringsett Water Mill. Hopefully later this year we’ll have Strong White Flour for bread making, but for the moment we’ll have to just cope with cake, pancakes & batter! pic.twitter.com/lVZRuDbKiK
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
Our next @DeepdaleFarm product will hopefully be beer. Most of our team rather enjoy a pint of quality ale or lager, particularly at our events, but those pints would be extra special if brewed from Deepdale grown malting barley. pic.twitter.com/onEhnBDpCp
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
This year’s Spring Barley is suitable for malting, although we’ll probably move to Winter Barley from this September as our new organic rotation takes shape. We are looking forward to working with @CrispMalt to create Deepdale malt & from that our own range of Deepdale beers! pic.twitter.com/9PtbAqlalA
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
What keeps you awake at night? I can only imagine worries of livestock farmers when weather turns nasty, so thoughts go out to all those affected by the current collection of storms.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
Are they getting more frequent, it feels like it, but maybe I’m just more atune to the affects. pic.twitter.com/m5Xn6bVtBJ
We can kind of laugh about it now, but when @mrnathannelson started at @DeepdaleFarm, Jan 2020, I (@EarthlyIdeas) had list of worries. In his 1st week we had major flooding & Nathan ingratiated himself with Stephen, our Estate Caretaker, by strapping on waders & clearing drains. pic.twitter.com/ol33YZD2cH
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
After that, particularly when Covid hit, the worries list was quickly forgotten. @mrnathannelson will say more in the week, but we’ve had huge help & advice from both Norfolk Rivers IDB (@The_WMA) & @N_Rivers_Trust who have done huge amounts of work, depaniced us & inspired us.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
Stay safe in these strange times, hope you get some sleep. Fingers crossed #StormChristoph impacts less than expected.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 19, 2021
We’re taking advantage of a relatively quiet time with no guests staying at our campsite or rooms to get our barns re-roofed. We cleared our barn of grain from the last harvest quickly to make space for the work. pic.twitter.com/i8mnKaABRw
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
This includes getting our much-loved pantile roofed brick barn done. We’re doing it sensitively, keeping and reusing the tiles. The brick barn has been an awesome events space and will be even better in the future for hosting gigs, movie nights and much more – when we’re allowed. pic.twitter.com/6TSulRgmDD
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
The brick barn is the main stage for the @DeepdaleFarm Festival in September amongst other things – we’ve had some amazing nights with bands like the brilliant @ManTLifeboats who headlined here in 2019. pic.twitter.com/BWyNheATS7
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
In 2020, we harvested 160 hectares of winter wheat. Not the greatest harvest, many other farmers had it the same, but we still had over 880 tonnes of wheat. In previous years we’ve had well over 1,000. This year will be very different. We’re harvesting less, and different crops. pic.twitter.com/t7NJHyWYlD
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
This year we’ll be harvesting 10ha winter wheat, 20ha spring beans and 20ha spring barley. We’ll need to think about how to sort and store that. Also in our #organic rotation we’re looking at bi-cropping, for example, wheat and beans or oats and peas. pic.twitter.com/Rh660RCL3n
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
We want to send more of our wheat off to Letheringsett Watermill so we can sell our own flour – so we need better facilities to bag up 25kg sacks they can handle at the mill. The last time we bagged up our wheat was a bit ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/1p7Dd8Ufjc
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
It was really interesting to see @hanslope‘s recent tweet about the new Farm Investment Fund and the responses – seems a lot of farmers are thinking about modernising their facilities, bi-cropping, bagging and the like. https://t.co/LBsMU307tu
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
Good morning. Any suggestions for jobs you can do with a tractor that only goes backwards? pic.twitter.com/1DgsGWT7qG
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
It’s fixed! The tractor goes forwards as well as backwards now, but we feel we missed an opportunity to try some of the suggestions:
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
* Backwards racing
* Turning the seat around
* Time travel?https://t.co/OWa4smLoac
Learning about cover crops and planting them for the first time at @DeepdaleFarm was our gateway into changing the way we farm altogether. We’ve learned a great deal in the past year – helped by incredible resources like @agricology and brilliant people like the @WSF_NRT team. pic.twitter.com/t2mqtZYxni
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
We had a bad experience with runoff and erosion on the farm last winter. Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis added up to the wettest February in a decade, with soil damage and flooding. @The_WMA did some emergency works to alleviate the issue and put us in touch with @N_Rivers_Trust. pic.twitter.com/eDQ282MrIj
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
The Water Sensitive Farming team at @N_Rivers_Trust listened, looked at our farm and offered advice – including to use cover crops on fields that had just had carrots harvested. Carrots were harvested in March, leaving bare soil, lacking life and susceptible to erosion. pic.twitter.com/Gj6L8HcOEy
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
What is a cover crop? It’s generally a non-cash crop that is planted to enrich the soil. With the help of @CotswoldSeeds we chose a mix of 9 species designed to suppress weeds, boost soil fertility, build organic matter, stimulate soil biology and shield the soil from erosion. pic.twitter.com/htca2lds6N
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
Our cover crop mix was vetch, crimson clover, Persian clover, forage pea, diamente rye, mustard, fodder radish, tillage radish and phacelia. A mix of complementary functions, root structures, growth rates and foliage. pic.twitter.com/fmHAQQEnkG
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
The cover crops looked fantastic last year and hopefully contributed to repairing fields left in a bad shape after root crops – they also provided a fantastic resource for wildlife. pic.twitter.com/Ol6Mm6TJ0u
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
Crucially, cover crops have shown us the value of continuous green cover on our fields for reducing runoff and erosion. This is the same field after heavy rain, a year ago after carrots had been cropped over winter and last week with a cover crop in place. pic.twitter.com/9voXt67UzX
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
We’re still learning, but planting cover crops for the first time has taught us a lot about protecting and improving our soils – and they’ll be an integral part of our toolkit in the future.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 20, 2021
Good afternoon. It’s a beautiful clear day today on the North Norfolk coast, but even the pinkies are struggling in the wind. pic.twitter.com/Ko4ukQj1iG
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Down on our marsh fields, @The_WMA Norfolk Rivers IDB are doing some de-silting work on our ditches and clearing some reeds that are choking the channels. pic.twitter.com/oAXDy65lxU
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Before we started this work, we walked the field with an ecologist to check for any habitat, species we need to be aware of. The diggers are, for example, only removing silt from the centre of the channel, leaving possible water vole burrows in the channel sides intact. pic.twitter.com/7ceC2cOIPg
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Changing skies over #Norfolk this evening. Thinking of those affected by flooding at the moment and hoping you’re doing OK. pic.twitter.com/kq7jzZBLyf
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
We mentioned we’d redesigned @DeepdaleFarm, here’s a little more detail.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Farm is 260 hectares of farm land, with some permanent grass & some beautiful woodland.
We realised soil repair had to be key aim in next few years, so talked to anyone who would answer our calls. pic.twitter.com/KFbU6xgeWw
From discussions, reading & lots of podcast listening, became clear that we needed regenerative farming practices.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Countryside stewardship & organic practices met those needs, guaranteed income over next 5 years, particularly while farming goes through turmoil post Brexit. pic.twitter.com/cnEFpPquij
Many farmers we’d spoken to had mentioned issue with rotation & irregular field sizes. Some years they’d have too little grazing & crop to cut for silage, other years they too much, as areas would change with size of the fields.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Our fields are no less irregular in size.
We’d started our plan for stewardship by adding 6 to 10m margins to each field, then we cut out less producive corners of fields, but it all felt very piecemeal rather than proper plan to repair @DeepdaleFarm & embrace conservation.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
We looked at fields that needed to rest completely, fields that are unworkable, areas that @WSF_NRT had identified as most at risk of erosion, recommendations from @NorfolkFWAG, such as beatle banks & ponds.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
In what appeared as a moment of madness, brought on by frustration about Covid situation, @EarthlyIdeas started drawing on the farm map. He was playing with the idea of having rotating cropping areas that were each the same size.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
It became clear we could have 20 plots on farm, each 5 hectares in size. This would allow 5 year rotation, 4 plots in each year of rotation.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Essentially we cut out 20 plots from our fields (pink areas), trying to keep them as rectangular as possible for ease of working. pic.twitter.com/bWhYVOknUC
Everything else goes into countryside stewardship, so 160 hectares – AB8, OP2, GS2, AB11, Beetle Banks …
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Farming would now be 20 hectares of clover year 1, 20 x clover year 2, 20 x winter wheat or oats, 20 x legume & 20 x malting barley.
Quite a change, but it made complete sense to @EarthlyIdeas & @mrnathannelson, was surprise to @NorfolkFWAG & @WSF_NRT but they both seemed to like it a lot, took a while to explain to many others.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
But now the general description is ‘never seen it before, but it makes sense’.
In 5 years time, when our stewardship scheme ends, we should be in great position for ELMS, whatever that ends up being.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 21, 2021
Between now & then, we’ll have rebuilt soils, much more protection against erosion & flooding, greater conservation, plus @DeepdaleFarm will look beautiful!
Our team is small, just 4 of us. @mrnathannelson, Stephen, Estelle & @EarthlyIdeas. We bring in contractors where needed, working with other local farmers like @JackRobinson80, and our tourism team & hedge collective help out with stuff like tree planting & woods work. pic.twitter.com/trjDGOFH2J
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Stephen is Estate Caretaker, his job is wide & varied, helping Estelle & @EarthlyIdeas manage aspects across whole estate including @DalegateMarket.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
At his interview we asked whether he was comfortable driving dragons, week later he was driving @GoGoKingTut across Norfolk. pic.twitter.com/EEx6Pa3LUm
In case you wondered, @GoGoKingTut was fund raising project for awesome local charity @break_charity. Dragons appeared across Norwich & Norfolk, sponsored by local firms, then auctioned to raise money for charity.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Also collectively sponsored Boudicc’Hare more recently. pic.twitter.com/wJQqkCQU7M
We’re taking advantage of a break in the weather to plant a new area of woodland at the base of one of our fields. Mixed species going in from oak to hornbeam, beech, hazel, crab apple, rowan and more. pic.twitter.com/qX1lZuSPQt
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Roots are being dipped in Rootgrow, mycorrhizal fungi that support establishment. We’ve used it for most new planting we’ve been doing over the past few years. pic.twitter.com/cPUodW2Y6t
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
We’re using plastic rabbit tubes here because we have plenty of rabbits, hares and deer around and these whips would be heavily grazed. Fencing costs quickly add up. We’ll take the tubes off in year 2/3 when the whips are getting away and reuse them. pic.twitter.com/YF1ca9lwII
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
As an experiment last year, we planted a new hedge with no protection. Whips were grazed but quickly put on scrubby growth, and the survival rate was impressive. These plants should make for a good thick hedge – guards left on for too long make for bushes on stilts. pic.twitter.com/JHlVCAQ19T
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Tree planting is going great guns with a few of the farm team (socially distanced) helping out. It’s a shame we can’t have our amazing conservation volunteers, the Hedge Collective, around to help because of Covid. pic.twitter.com/goJuC7soWc
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Job’s a good ‘un. About 600 trees planted today. pic.twitter.com/ptZM5ENol9
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
I mentioned our conservation volunteers. Since 2016, we’ve been running volunteering weekends on the farm with groups of up to 25 people. Many of the same people have come back time and time again. We call them the Hedge Collective. pic.twitter.com/yG6S0szVOS
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
In the past few years, the Hedge Collective have planted thousands of hedging plants and trees, cleared scrub, built dead hedges, dismantled old pheasant pens and more, and done it all with a smile on their face. They’re an amazing bunch. pic.twitter.com/lDjGhHT4SC
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
We’re looking forward to Covid ending, not just so we can welcome guests back to our campsite and rooms, but so that we can get volunteers out onto the farm to help us with hedgerow restoration, woodland work and more. Working with them is one of the most fun parts of the job. pic.twitter.com/Tzi0uRcDSQ
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Yep, we’d rather not use plastic guards and in some cases it’s just cheaper to replace the whips than buy the guards. https://t.co/yapGZmtu9Y
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
There’s a very good thread on this by @Stumpupfortrees – plastic guards absolutely shouldn’t be the default. https://t.co/zjK1yLzelT
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Worth a watch whether you have a veg patch or a farm https://t.co/prQwpmNZv1 https://t.co/LUug5h5BEM
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 22, 2021
Good morning from a slightly snowy, very cold North Norfolk Coast. Sadly not the blue skies of yesterday, but a good reason to get those other jobs done at @DeepdaleFarm.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
Many years ago we installed a weather station, that records historical data & captures photos of the sky. https://t.co/RQNthXqOEG
The page it updates on our website is one of the most popular, as kite surfers, birders, walkers, sailors & other visitors to the North Norfolk Coast use it to find out the weather, and we also give them information about the tides too.https://t.co/TE14l9WGy7
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We mentioned that we’ve shifted @DeepdaleFarm towards #RegenerativeAgriculture. There has been a lot of interesting discussion on Regen Ag, #Agroecology, #NatureFriendlyFarming and #Rewilding over the past year or more. Starting out, it all seemed quite bewildering. Thread 👇 pic.twitter.com/532CViXZPR
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
This question by @JanetHughes at @DefraGovUK last month stimulated some fascinating discussion: https://t.co/OOlq5orjeF – with a roll call of brilliant people producing good food in a way that respects the soil and landscape and supports biodiversity and communities.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We’ve been following amazing farmers, conservationists and landscape managers and learnt a great deal from videos, farm walks and conversations. Zoom’s OK but we can’t be the only ones looking forward to more face to face meetups again! pic.twitter.com/gUodgUGq7R
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We have developed our own understanding of what Regen Ag / Agroecology is for us at @DeepdaleFarm, and we’ll continue to evolve it over the next few very uncertain years as we try and change the farm to be ready for the future. pic.twitter.com/YWtmQZt6tn
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
It’s about repairing and protecting our depleted soils, so we are converting to #organic and removing root veg, getting to know our soil better, farming for soil health, minimising tillage and using cover crops and environmental crops for soil shielding and improvement. pic.twitter.com/y44yBKfG8y
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
It’s about growing more diverse crops and trying to move from producing commodity crops to making food – starting with milling flour from our farm and moving on to (we hope) beer and other things, working with local producers we love. pic.twitter.com/lTR4qrWgCn
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
It’s about doing much more for biodiversity and the amazing landscape we’re a part of, by massively increasing what we provide for pollinators and other wildlife and working collaboratively with others beyond the farm boundary. pic.twitter.com/Rxi6bGFdWA
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
…and it’s about doing more to connect with people through anything from our events and festivals to volunteering and developing the farm as a place to learn and enjoy. pic.twitter.com/U1St3mllNK
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We absolutely don’t expect to get all this right, but you’ve got to start somewhere, haven’t you?
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
Fantastic place to start read Gabe Brown’s Dirt to Soil. Rotate grazing, cover crops, keeping soil covered all time.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
If you want something today, watch Kiss The Ground on Netflix, features Gabe & other farmers, giving really excellent starting points.https://t.co/aruSSV3JZB
With various jobs to do around the farm, projects to plan and stuff to make sense of, we’ve tried out a few different apps and digital services, and stuck with some. Be really interested to hear what other farms are using. pic.twitter.com/4y0uxHnd0A
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We started out with a lot of historical info for the farm in Gatekeeper. It sort of has its own logic, but it has caused us headaches at times. We still use it for stock control and to keep fieldwork records, but we’ve looked to ‘friendlier’ and mobile-friendly alternatives.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We love @thelandapp. This mapping software allowed us to design our own Countryside Stewardship scheme with brilliant tools to edit fields and features, and we still use it for planning various projects. Imports @Ruralpay mapping data. pic.twitter.com/vtM47oGD8m
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We’ve started managing field work in @fieldmargin – great mobile app and improving all the time, it gives us a bird’s eye view of farm work. Also imports RPA mapping data though we actually imported all the field sections we designed in the Land App. pic.twitter.com/JhV0f0jy0T
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
The @onesoilplatform is a free app that provides NDVI imagery showing vegetative growth – along with walking the field we can see imagery, often just days old, that shows us the health of crops and green cover. pic.twitter.com/ELfD0crQKg
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We use @what3words for sharing location data with contractors and emergency services if we ever need it. We used W3W to record notes and management prescriptions for a survey of our hedgerows. pic.twitter.com/jtQJUzlh8Q
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
Other than that, we’re keeping track of small jobs around the farmyard and office with @Microsoft To Do, and, every so often, bits of paper. We still meet once a week as a team to chat about work. How are you getting organised? pic.twitter.com/4y86tJyFDa
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
We’re arable for the time being so livestock management not a requirement, which possibly simplifies things for us… Fieldmargin herd management is quite new. Aware of @_Breedr for beef farmers. Never tried Muddy Boots!
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
Good night from @DeepdaleFarm. We hope you are surviving the cold & wet of our environment & the continuing strangeness of the covid situation. Thoughts to anyone detrimentally affected by any of those. Our last day tomorrow, sleep well, see you in the morning.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 23, 2021
There is so much turmoil in our world – political, financial & environmental, that often we just keep our heads down at @DeepdaleFarm & @DalegateMarket creating our own eco system, doing things our own way, figuring we’ll find a way through the noise & mess. pic.twitter.com/GdZqT8OJ3I
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
With the campsite, accommodation & shops, its been somewhat easier to be independent of changing world, following our own path.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
However farm has been blown by fickle winds of commodity prices, input markets & government whim.
Last year we looked to control our own destiny more. pic.twitter.com/XawzKIWc8D
Like most farmers, subsidies are big part of farm income, but their future has no certainty, highly likely to slip off cliff, with no clarity of replacement Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), no budget attached to government bill.https://t.co/vXhy0bELwF pic.twitter.com/J6FaKoa9eI
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme gives us 5 years of certainty, by which time perhaps ELMS will be clarified. Add to that organic transition, giving us time to put regenerative farming practices in place to set @DeepdaleFarm on right course for the future. pic.twitter.com/Bnv4COe6lF
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
With the new scheme we can guarantee to keep the lights on, keep the team employed, have breathing space to find the right path for @DeepdaleFarm, and find partners for the journey.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
We do love to cooperatively work with many different partners at @DeepdaleFarm. Its in our DNA to team up with others for everything from festivals to conservation work, and one of the things we have missed most during the Covid crisis. pic.twitter.com/Uceb5y7Lrj
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
At @DalegateMarket we usually work with hundreds of artisans & producers through the year. There’s the Deepdale Spring Market, Pop Up Shops & Deepdale Christmas Market. The artisans draw more visitors, we give them a place to trade with footfall, a mutual partnership. pic.twitter.com/X8izMDYEKo
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Deepdale Christmas Market was our first move into hosting artisans, it grew from 10 stalls 12 years ago (most of which blew away Saturday night), to around 150 stalls now & 20,000+ visitors over the weekend.https://t.co/V1ICLetnMB pic.twitter.com/K5PvHlEBb6
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Our Pop Up Shops are open from March until Christmas. Weekends in lower season, Thursday to Tuesday through high season, changing each week.https://t.co/GD4ffQQjQI pic.twitter.com/ijfP8a5kyu
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
We organise 3 festivals & occasional music sessions. Deepdale Festival is primarily music, Deepdale Hygge is about music, fire pits & walks. We host an amazingly talented selection of musicians & enjoy great beer from @moongazeralehttps://t.co/ZSnL3jsD31 pic.twitter.com/MdoPc7ezAR
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
We are now beginning to gather together partners to work with at @DeepdaleFarm throughout the year. Woodland crafts, activities, courses, artists in residence.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Our last evening writing as @FarmersOfTheUK, thank you for having us.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
We finish with thoughts on bigger conservation picture here on North Norfolk Coast, where @DeepdaleFarm is.
We are creating our own oasis of calm & wildlife, but wildlife needs joined up areas to thrive. pic.twitter.com/SMjP4C2sLp
Advice from @N_Rivers_Trust @NorfolkFWAG @NFFNUK @ofgorganic @NFUtweets & @CLAtweets helps us make decisions about farm.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Everything done for wildlife vital. Increase in pollinators & predators been dramatic in few short months since started our move to regen ag. pic.twitter.com/dP2Pem8nvJ
Connection of conservation areas is vital for long term success of many species.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Proud to be part of North Norfolk Coastal Group, land owners & farmers working together to create huge area of habitat along North Norfolk Coast, including @RSPBEngland @NorfolkWT @NorfolkCoastNT pic.twitter.com/MjwSQsNLSn
Plan is for all land North of A149 coast road to be farmed/managed for wildlife, either as stewardship or rewilding. This will be huge corridor along coast for wildlife, also connecting with lots of land & woods further inland. pic.twitter.com/VMBgqJecED
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
There are some major projects in this area to hugely improve the environment for wildlife. @coke_tom & @jake_fiennes lead major changes at @HolkhamEstate. Beavers already call @WildKenHill home & they lead plan for White-tailed Eagles reintroduction. pic.twitter.com/dubre1Hu2V
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Also involved with @Wildeastuk, movement for all land owners & managers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire & Lincolnshire, from estates to window boxes & everything in between, to set aside 20% of their land for wildlife.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Pledge your support: https://t.co/IZKd7xjQHc pic.twitter.com/etOl7TOirE
Future for wildlife in our beautiful part of world is getting brighter, good to know we aren’t lone island oasis.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
We’ll continue to turn @DeepdaleFarm into perfect place to stay for both humans & wildlife, to grow high quality food & continue to work with lovely people.
Thank you to everyone who has read, liked & commented on our tweets this week. Pleasure to meet so many of you.@mrnathannelson & @EarthlyIdeas are hugely proud of what we do at @DeepdaleFarm, and love interaction with other farmers & conservationists.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
Please do connect with us, on any of the various social media channels. Our website is https://t.co/CxSVcUqBQK
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
And if you’d like to hear more about @DeepdaleFarm please do take a listen to the Deepdale Podcast – https://t.co/xebi12k9MC
Stay safe and well in these strange times, and hopefully we can welcome you to @DeepdaleFarm sometime soon, the whole team are looking forward to that.
— Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) January 24, 2021
