We are committed to continuous improvement in the sustainability of our farming.
We do this through LEAF – Linking Environment and Farming – whose LEAF Marque we joined in 2006.
The LEAF Marque was launched in 2002 and is now the leading scheme in the UK for supporting improved sustainability in farming, with retailers such as Waitrose, M&S, Lidl, Tesco, Aldi and Asda asking their growers to take part.
The LEAF system involves a whole-farm approach that seeks continuous improvement in nine key areas including managing soil and water, conserving energy, protecting crops, enhancing wildlife habitats and reaching out to local communities. An annual audit tracks our progress.
LEAF principles are closely integrated into our farming practice and you can find out more about this in our Farming section.
Here are some of the actions we take.
We supply potatoes direct to local retailers to ensure a connection between locally grown produce and the people who live near our farm. We encourage farm visits from schools and community groups, and our LEAF Marque room was purpose-built to help with this.
Currently about 7 per cent of our land is set aside for wildlife, more than the minimum requirement of 5 per cent. Field margins, wild flower strips and hedgerows provide habitats and food sources for insects, animals and birds.
We track four species of birds – yellowhammer, skylark, grey partridge and barn owl.
Although our main way to improve our carbon footprint is through more efficient equipment, we also have two small wind turbines which each produce 75,000 KW a year, intended to contribute towards the energy costs of our storage facilities.
We are very conscious of recycling and recycle all waste oil, plastic, chemical containers, paper and boxes. We try to minimise what we buy and source as much as we can from local suppliers.