The Award celebrates the environmental achievements of farmers and gives recognition from the farming and conservation industry for their outstanding efforts to achieve that delicate balance between farming successfully and making space for the promotion of wildlife and good habitat management.
Out of 5 national finalists, Lee Farm, which is under a contract farming partnership between the Estate and Dominic Gardner, was the runner-up. To win this prestigious award, Dominic and his team have managed the chalk soils sustainably by bringing in large quantities of soil improving products and by fully integrating the sheep flock into the arable rotation, both of which utilise modern technology to optimise margins, whilst protecting the numerous heritage assets on this part of the Downs.
We are currently restoring chalk grassland and have developed a unique way of creating instant woodland by using a Hymac 360 to dig up and replant semi-mature thinnings that would otherwise be felled for firewood. There is also much provision for winter food and habitat for farmland birds which are exceptionally well integrated into the sensitive farming practices and the Estate’s prestigious pheasant and partridge shoot.
