Crops

One thousand acres (400 hectares) are used for arable production, producing milling wheat, malting barley, oats, oilseed rape and field beans. The variety of milling wheat we grow is called Solstice and it is sold to local mills throughout East Anglia. The malting barley is a variety called Optic and is often sold to local maltsters. When the high specification demanded for milling wheat or malting barley is not met, perhaps because of the weather affecting the crop, then the crop will be sold for animal feed.

Currently prices have been quoted in the media as being very high for grain, what they have not publicised is the fact that the inputs such as fuel, seed, and fertilizer have also rocketed in price. Arable farming works on a very long time scale with a four year rotation planned to maximize health, vigour and yield in the crops. The usual rotation here is : Wheat, Beans Wheat Oilseed Rape with Spring Barley grown on the lighter chalky ground.

We try to feed our rare breed livestock on home grown rations whenever they need additional food. Our next project is to look at pressing some of the rapeseed (canola) that we grow to produce oil, either for cooking or bio-fuels, and the by product from this will be an excellent source or protein for cattle and sheep. The current protein used, this winter, has been home grown lupin seeds.

The soil type at Offley Hoo varies between chalk on the lower ground and slopes and clay cap on the higher ground.