Sandy Lane organic farm

Organic production: what to consider

Certified organic for growing vegetables for more than 35 years, the farm produces a vast array of vegetable varieties to support year-round direct sales. These include field-scale veg production, a market garden, protected cropping, top fruit, pigs, sheep and laying hens.

The farm has about 20 hectares under vegetables. A range of soil types suit different crops, but in general it’s mostly a sandy, free draining soil that’s well suited to vegetable production, especially root vegetables. The farm operates a ten-year crop rotation to boost fertility and reduce the incidence of pests and disease: one rotation for the field-scale produce and one rotation for the market garden.

Soil fertility is key to success. Fertility is built up by incorporating green manures in the rotations. These include clover and other legumes that fix nitrogen and boost soil health. Woodchip is used in the polytunnels to boost fertility.

Pests are tackled in several ways:

• crop rotations, for example, carrot flies lay their eggs around the carrots, so rotating the crop means that any overwintering pupae in the soil hatch well away from the new crop

• physical barriers, such as nets and electric fences, are used to deter pests

• establishing habitats for natural predators, including beetle banks and tall hedgerows with plants, such as cow parsley

As George explains:

Overwintered brassicas, such as sprouting broccoli, are allowed to flower to attract predatory wasps.

Weeds are an issue for any organic grower. Establishing a stale seed bed means that young weeds are removed before the crop is sown, which reduces competition with weeds. Couch grass can be a major problem in organic systems, so George is utilising buckwheat to suppress it.

A move to direct sales

When George returned to the farm, the focus was on wholesale vegetables, but he flipped the model to direct sales, which has proved a very wise business decision. George explains:

“Wholesale prices had been flat, so by selling direct we have kept the volume the same, but the value is much greater."

The farm is just outside Oxford and George has seen a growing demand for more provenance, flavour, freshness and organically grown produce and this has offered huge opportunities.

George believes that having multiple sales channels and marketing them all as one gives customers choice and drives loyalty.

The Sandy Lane Farm box scheme delivers 450 veg boxes a week and is very customer-centric. George co-founded the Growing Good veg box platform and Sandy Lane was its first user. As George says:

“It is amazing that even though almost every order is customised, we are packing more boxes faster, on a smaller footprint, with errors almost eradicated and with less admin time. Flexibility for customers has allowed us to grow box numbers and basket spend."

With some 80 box schemes in the UK using it, it has proved to be a valuable community to identify and share best practice.

In addition, George’s partner, Cate, runs a farm shop three days a week in their barn. As well as selling their own produce, they invite local businesses to sell bread, milk, cheese, honey and organic meat.

Cate describes it as: “A humble operation, that’s not at all glossy, and loved by customers who value field to fork freshness."

It creates a sense of community for customers of all ages, who come along and have a coffee, chat and buy great food.  Every two weeks, a team also sells veg at a farmers’ market in Oxford.

Diversification is crucial to the farm

The farm still raises its own traditional rare breed pigs, sheep and laying hens and all sales are direct. The vegetable production is designed to be diverse, in both produce and growing methods, allowing the farm to cope with multiple weather outcomes, and keep a team of around 14 employed year-round. Diversity in growing, in sales outlets and in nature, allows more resilience to external shocks.

Among some team favourites to grow are squash, sweetcorn and veg inspired by Italian and Japanese cuisine, as they rely on the use of fresh vegetables.

George says it’s important to be entrepreneurial and play to your strengths:

George adds: "As I get older, I am trying to see if I can make myself less critical to the business, with a team that can keep our operation running and make decisions themselves."

It is also important to build on successes and move away from things that don’t work – you can’t do everything, so focus on what works and what pays the bills. George says “We can’t continue to farm in a nature-friendly, sustainable way unless we are financially sustainable.”

Looking ahead, long, dry summers will be their biggest challenge. Water storage and distribution will be the investment focus in the medium to long term.

George sees Soil Association Certification as a valuable asset to the business in many ways. Our experience of certification and inspection has been balanced and helpful. The logo gives customers reassurance about their farming practices, and the Soil Association Charity affords many opportunities in knowledge sharing, guidance and networking. George is proud to be a Soil Association “Farm to fork” Ambassador and has received communication support including guidance on public speaking and social media. He has even visited parliament to share his experiences of running a nature-friendly farming business.