Haye Farm remains a working farm having been in the family for over sixty years. The black and white timber framed farmhouse is grade II listed; it sits at the entrance to the farmyard with its surrounding collection of farm buildings both old and new. The 50 acres of grassland comprises grazed pasture, orchard and hay meadow. The land is in a Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) agreement with land management targeting wildlife and habitat improvement
The farm has both a pedigree herd of DEXTER CATTLE and flock of WILTSHIRE HORN SHEEP. These rare native British breeds graze the pasture and orchards and assist in work to improve the conservation value of the grassland
Haye Farm has traditional standard fruit orchards of apple, pear, plum and cherry. The orchards have been extensively replanted as part of the CSS agreement mainly with old and local varieties. The orchard fruit is sold in season and apple/pear juice is for sale throughout the year
Educational access is also funded through the CSS allowing school groups the opportunity to visit and tour the farm without charge. It gives children an insight into life on the farm and provides an opportunity to find out where their food comes from. Enquiries are welcome from any school wishing to do a farm visit
Permaculture
What is Permaculture.
Permaculture was developed in the 1970’s in Australia based on the idea of Permanent Culture or Permanent Agriculture. It is a commonsense approach to designing sustainable lifestyles, equally applicable in the city, town or country
Nature is taken as our example, by observing nature a set of principles have been established. By using these simple design principles we can create robust systems that provide for our needs of food, water, shelter and energy
What ever your subject permaculture can provide the answers, whether it be gardening, farming, planning, building homes, transition towns, economic regeneration, business or green lifestyles, the application of Permaculture principles empowers you to make the right choices for a sustainable future
Through permaculture, you can find inspiration and new ways to make a positive difference in the World. Learning permaculture design has the potential to totally change your life. Find out more here
Permaculture at Haye Farm
Stuart Norgrove has lived on the farm all his life, he completed a permaculture design course in 1995. The design principles learned have been applied on the farm in many different situations since. Stuart says "I'm custodian of this land for a very short moment in time but take great pride in nurturing the land. Permaculture has helped to guide me, and inspired the creation of a forest garden, the foggage winter grazing system, and many other methods and ideas that helped me work with natural systems."
The forest garden at Haye Farm was started in 1997. Many of the species planted are rare and unusual fruits and edible plants, with the aim of providing food with little human input. Find out more here
Foggage is a winter grazing system designed to provide winter feed when little else is available. Animals graze grass saved from late summer reducing/eliminating the need for hay or other supplementary feeds.
