An organic farm with a holistic approach
A diverse organic farming business with a philosophy of producing excellent quality, healthy food for today whilst preserving and enhancing the environment for tomorrow and years to come.
Here is James to give you a brief overview of the farm and its operation.
Where are we?
Based in Gringley on the Hill, Doncaster, Pollybell leads the way in sustainable farming practice in the UK. The farm has many elements that work together to complement one another with the aim of reducing reliance on external inputs thus producing products with integrity. We direct all our efforts to ensure that we work with our environment and engage with all our stakeholders; the local community; education and research organisations; accreditation bodies; our customers and their shoppers.
Pollybell farming sustainably
Pollybell is a family owned diverse organic farming business. The Brown family have a strong history in farming for the past 120 years and immense passion for growing healthy, affordable food whilst enhancing the land and surrounding environment. The farm covers 5,000 acres crossing the three county borders of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.
We produce a wide portfolio of products and sell into varying markets including retail, wholesale and processing. Whilst cereals, vegetables and livestock are at the core of our business we truly believe that by farming in a holistic manner we preserve and improve the land in which we farm for future generations. We work hard to be become the best in our chosen areas and strive for excellence across the board through the ongoing commitment of our small team.
The Pollybell Way™
Pollybell leads the way in sustainable farming practice in the UK. We direct all our efforts to ensure that we work with our environment and engage with all our stakeholders; the local community; education and research organisations; accreditation bodies; our customers and their shoppers.
The Pollybell Way is more than a basic adherence to a set of organic standards, it is an approach that informs each aspect of what we do and how we work every day.
Our approach is based on the concept of ‘Permanence’ as espoused by Lady Eve Balfour, founder of the Soil Association. To this we have brought our unique perspective and methods.
The scale and scope of our farming integration, our investment and accompanying innovation make Pollybell Farm highly productive.
The Pollybell Way marries the principles of organic farming to the demands of farming efficiently in the 21st Century.
Environment and Wildlife
The effect we have on the environment around us is at the centre of everything we do and we strive to not only limit the effect we have but to enhance the land we live and work on for future generations to come. Within our farm we have three Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). These depict what a unique environment we have and we work tirelessly to preserve and manage these.
We work with experts outside our own business to harness their own skills in helping us deliver our philosophy. We have undergone a recent survey and this has highlighted that we are in the top 1% nationally for farmland birds and we have over 185 different bird species recorded across the farm with many of these being endangered or at risk.
We are now expanding our work to establish a deeper understanding of our invertebrate populations as we realise the importance of these not only as a food source for our growing bird and mammal population but also to improve soil health and act as predators for some pest species across the farm.
For more information, please follow pollybell.co.uk