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Nature-friendly farming

Wild flowers at the nature-friendly Wimpole Home Farm, Cambridgeshire
Wild flowers thriving in a wild field margin | © National Trust/Phil Morley

Discover how farmers are making more space for nature using innovative, low-carbon farming methods on our land.

Working with farmers to support nature

Around 80 per cent of our land is farmed in some way, either by tenant farmers, commoners with grazing rights, those with annual grazing licences or our own staff teams. Farmers play a vital role in helping nature thrive in the countryside, while running sustainable businesses producing good food.

Many farmers are already playing their part, from creating field margins and planting hedgerows, to restoring traditional hay meadows and using livestock for conservation grazing. Below, you'll discover how some of them are helping nature to return.

Nature-friendly farming in action

Low Sizergh Farm

Low Sizergh Farm, Cumbria

Low Sizergh is a family-run, organic dairy farm on 341 acres of land in Cumbria. Richard Park oversees the farm team while his sister, Alison, runs the farm shop and café diversifications. They are the second of the farm's three-generation tenancy.

Driven by a passion for farming and local food, they strive to connect people with the land and its produce. Their holistic principles and organic farming system focus on what's best for the land, the environment, animal welfare, and their local community.

The farm is admired for its diverse herbal leys, which benefit soil, flora, and fauna while supporting good milk production from the 170 crossbred cows. The herd of crossbred Holsteins, Viking Red, and Montbeliardes produces about 7,000 litres each year.

The shop attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually, has nearly 50 full- and part-time members of staff, and offers a huge range of products from Cumbria and its neighbouring counties.

The Parks work hard to mitigate the effects of a broken food system at a global level. They tell the story of where food comes from and what's involved in getting it onto people's plates, encouraging people to buy more food from local farmers. Visitors can watch milking, walk a free farm trail, and try raw milk straight from the cows thanks to a vending machine just a few yards from the milking parlour.

The holistic approach extends beyond the farm and the environment into the community, and for almost two decades, Low Sizergh has been the headquarters of Growing Well, a mental health charity championing recovery through outdoor activity and participation in its market gardens.

Two white sheep graze among long grass on a hill overlooking a misty green valley

Our views on land and farming

Learn about our ambitions for the land in our care and how we're working with farmers and common rights holders to support nature-friendly, low-carbon farming.

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