Our Story
We are an organic and regenerative farm on the Ampney Brook in the Cotswolds, producing 100% grass-fed beef, population and heritage grains and no-dig fruit, vegetables and salad.
We nurture biodiversity and healthy soil, care for our animals to the highest welfare standards and produce nourishing, affordable food for our community.
Our 100% grass-fed Hereford cattle graze outside all year round in harmony with wildlife on diverse pastures. Heritage and population cereals are resilient crops which thrive in our minimum till arable rotation and provide nutrient rich grains for milling and distilling. Our no-dig market garden produces nutrient dense food powered by sunshine and springs.
Sign up to try our vegetables and buy our beef on Primal Meats. This year our grains will go to Cotswold Flour, Shipton Mill and Cann Mills via the South West Grain Network.
Our Approach
Organic
We are certified organic by the Soil Association so we don’t use any chemicals on our pasture, arable and market garden. Synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides are damaging to soil, water, biodiversity and the environment. We rotate different crops around our land and grow fertility building plants including legumes which naturally fix nitrogen, cover crops to outcompete weeds and wildflowers to support beneficial insects.
Regenerative
We want to put back more than we take out from our land, starting with soil. Healthy soil is alive with biology and fungal networks; it has a crumb-like structure with plenty of space for air and water, enabling it to soak up rain like a sponge and store it for drought periods. We grow a diverse range of plants on the farm and in the market garden, each with a different root system, feeding the soil biology below ground as well as cattle, sheep, wildlife and people above ground. We rotationally graze animals to give areas of the farm a rest from being munched. During this rest, plants regenerate their leaves and roots, giving more opportunity for photosynthesis; they take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and send it down their roots as sugars into the soil, feeding soil dwelling organisms and storing carbon under our feet. We don’t plough our fields, instead we do shallow cultivations (minimum till) to prepare seed beds for arable crops, in order to disturb the soil structure, earthworms and fungal networks as little as possible.
The bigger picture
Climate change is caused by large volumes of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide trapping heat in our atmosphere which creates a warming effect. When organic and regenerative farming principles are followed together, there is potential to draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide into the soil, which will slow and reverse climate change. Our farming approach includes diverse crops, minimum tillage, composting, holistic grazing and crop rotation to encourage photosynthesis and active soil biology which will increase the amount of carbon we store in our farm soils. This approach builds healthy soil, plants, livestock, people and planet.
Pasture for Life
Our Hereford cattle are certified by Pasture for Life as 100% pasture-fed, grazing grasses, herbs, legumes, wildflowers, trees and hedges outside all year round. They live healthy lives with minimal stress and need very little veterinary care or antibiotics. Cattle are ruminants; they have a microbial stomach designed to digest and extract nutrients from foraged plants, not grain.
Countryside Stewardship
The farm is in a government stewardship scheme which supports with protecting and enhancing the natural environment; for us this means growing herbal pastures, creating plentiful habitat for wildlife and improving water quality in the Ampney Brook.
Community
Cultivating relationships is at the heart of our farming endeavours; enhancing the lives of our team, nourishing our community and inviting people to connect with where their food comes from.
Meet the Team
Tony Norris
Tony oversees farm and market garden practical operations, making sure the day-to-day rhythm runs smoothly. The cattle come first, but there is plenty to do, including grazing management, arable operations, haymaking, fencing, hedge and tree planting. In addition to working on the farm Tony is a local legend; he has many years of experience teaching students at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester and manages the RAU vineyard close by.
Annie Landless
Annie works full time alongside Tony, overseeing the farm and market garden, she is often out and about in the fields with her dog or keeping on top of farm planning and paperwork behind the scenes. In addition to working on the farm Annie trains farmers in methods to visually assess soil health with Soilmentor and mentors farmers in the Cotswolds transitioning to regenerative farming with Pasture for Life.
Mariel Poulos
Mariel manages the market garden, growing a tasty array of fruit and vegetables in a polytunnel and on the field. Mariel trained at Sadeh, a jewish farm and environmental community centre using no dig gardening practices. She is passionate about healing the soil, growing healthy plants and producing nutritious food, as well as educating and supporting volunteers and young people with learning about food growing.
Aaron Kinnear
Aaron assists in both the market garden and farm work. He is passionate about nature friendly practises, encouraging biodiversity and wildness in the garden. Aaron is studying for a degree in British Wildlife Conservation at the RAU. We are lucky he is a man of many talents as he readily switches between using his green fingers in the market garden and handling cattle or fencing on the farm.
Beneeta Jacobs
Beneeta came to us as a passionate volunteer while she was studying agriculture at the Royal Agricultural University. She has since graduated and come on board as a part-time Assistant Grower in the market garden. She is dedicated to the future of organic farming and a keen entomologist, often found closely examining the weird and wonderful invertebrate creatures in our market garden.
Laurence Burge
Laurence started out as an enthusiastic volunteer with us and has since officially joined the team as an Assistant Grower. He showed amazing commitment to the market garden and learning about growing, taking on responsibility for the perennial fruit beds. He's done a fantastic job using mulching practises and is passionate about Charles Dowding's no dig growing methods.
Chris Cox
Chris is our market garden apprentice, he is doing his work placement with us while he studies horticulture at Lackham College. Chris grew up helping out on their family allotment and is passionate about gardening. He brings a dedicated work ethic and bags of enthusiasm to our small team as he tries his hand at all the growing techniques we teach him.
Götz Bechtolsheimer
Götz and his family took on the farm in 2020; they have lived close by in Ampney St Peter for many years. Götz’s vision for the farm is to work with nature, taking a regenerative approach on the farm to build biodiversity, soil health, water and air quality while producing healthy food.
Ilona Ellis
Ilona works closely with Götz and the team, expertly and efficiently supporting the day-to-day running of the farm office. Ilona is a keen gardener herself and spends her free time tending to her flowerbeds and cooking up delicious meals from scratch.
'Soil, biodiversity, human health and planetary health are at the heart of our farming system.
Our Produce
Population and heritage Grains
Our arable fields are planted with population and heritage varieties of grain which are genetically diverse and can cope with challenging growing conditions, unlike monoculture varieties which require synthetic nitrogen, pesticides and fungicides to grow successfully. We grow a mix of wheats for milling and bread making including winter sown Emmer, Einkorn, Miller’s Choice & Wakelyns YQ and spring sown Mariagertoba.
100% Grass-fed Beef
Herefords are a native and hardy breed, best suited to living outside, doing what cattle do best, eating a pasture-based diet of grasses, herbs, legumes and wildflowers. 100% pasture-fed beef has lower fat levels than grain-fed beef and is rich in omega-3 and vitamins. We collaborate with Simon Cutter of Model Farm to butcher our beef to the highest standard. Try our pasture-fed, organic beef by buying a box from Primal Meats.
No-dig Fruit, Vegetables and Salad
We grow fruit, vegetables and salad using the zero-dig method and with the utmost care for the land. We make our own compost and mulches, recycling local manure and woodchip to feed the soil and paths in our no-dig beds. We extend our growing season using a polytunnel which was made and manufactured in the UK. We are powered by springs and sunshine, carefully producing organic food packed with essential nutrients for our local community. Sign up to hear about how to buy our veggies.
Footpaths
Please help us to create a peaceful environment for our wildlife and livestock by sticking to the footpaths and following our guidelines.
Public footpaths: These paths are marked in red and open all year round for you to enjoy.
Permissive footpaths: These paths are marked in yellow and you are welcome to walk them as long as the guidelines are followed. We maintain the right to shut these paths at any time.
Dogs: We welcome dogs but are aware they can disturb or harm our livestock and wildlife. Please keep dogs on a lead to avoid issues but let go of the lead if chased by cattle. Please clean up any dog mess and take it away with you.
Livestock: Please take extra care when walking through fields with livestock, especially during spring and autumn when we are calving and lambing. We rotate our livestock around the farm, including cows and calves, bulls, ewes and lambs. Please check yellow permissive footpaths for alternative routes to walking on public footpaths through fields with livestock in them.
Gates: Please shut all gates behind you.
Work with us
Regen Stock Person and Land Stewardship Assistant
Full-time with rotational weekend work | Accommodation available from late summer | Salary in accordance with experience
Closing date: Sunday 21st April
We are looking for a hardworking, energetic, and dynamic team player with a passion for regenerative farming, soil health and biodiversity to assist with day-to-day farm jobs. This is hands-on role across our 600-acre certified organic mixed farm with a variety of seasonal tasks including cattle moving, feeding, electric fencing, handling and husbandry, routine yard, machinery and equipment maintenance, habitat and biodiversity management, maintenance of fences, hedges, woodlands and stewardship areas, tractor driving, farm infrastructure setup and improvements. We are keen to start another enterprise this year such as a small flock of heritage breed sheep/ pastured poultry/ woodland pigs/ composting. There will be an opportunity to play a key part in this. Outwintering and lambing experience would be a bonus!
The successful candidate will have experience with daily management of livestock to a high welfare standard in a regenerative and/or organic setting, knowledge of biodiversity and soil health principles, practical skills required for farm maintenance and infrastructure tasks, ability to create and follow clear systems for land and yard stewardship, excellent communication skills, a strong work ethic and above all be a team player with a willingness to get stuck in and try new approaches.
Please send CV or any questions to paddy@perdixpartnership.co.uk
Sign up
Sign up to hear when we have tasty organic produce available for sale:
Contact
We’d love to hear from you so please get in touch!
Email: info@ampneybrookfarm.co.uk
Phone: 07745524594