Summer Meeting 2024

Marshalls Farm, Kirdford, West Sussex

Marshalls Farm, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, is a 312 ha ring-fenced block of land on the Leconfield Estate. A further 190 ha silage and youngstock support block on the same estate some 2.5 miles away on much lighter land sees yearling heifers outwintered. The farm is run by Kate Lywood (third generation tenant), father Roger Lywood, and Kate’s husband Jeremy Way, plus four full time members of staff and a number of students from various colleges and backgrounds. In June 2021 the farm finished conversion to organic status with all milk sold to Arla on an organic manufacturing contract. The dairy herd is made up of 320 crossbred (Friesian, Norwegian Red and Jersey) cows, all calved in a 12 week block from mid-February. Dairy heifer replacements are bred and reared on farm, with the herd having been closed for many years. The future plan is to increase herd numbers to approx. 350 cows. The aim is to produce as much milk from forage as possible, and feed less than one tonne of concentrate per cow per year. To April 2024 the average yield was approximately 5,700 litres with 3,700 from forage. The farm is almost entirely grass and white clover leys with some herbal leys, and 40 ha of red clover and Italian ryegrass on silage ground. A summer brassica crop is usually used as a break crop between grass leys, and provides some welcome forage in the often dry summer months.

Over 2.5 km of hedgerow was planted in January 2021, and a shelter belt of 210 mixed trees the following spring. The farm is part of biodiversity studies and is home to a number of red listed birds and rare plants, demonstrating that productive farming can work in harmony with nature. Cow and staff health and welfare are the number one priorities at Marshalls Farm.