Springwater Farm

Join us on Sunday 14th July here at Springwater Farm for a fun and educational day learning all things nature and farming. 🚜

All three sessions are FREE to attend & require prior booking. Please join us for either one session, or all three the choice is yours! 🌿

Enjoy fresh farm burgers & vegetarian options also catered for 🍔

Booking link is in the poster or below. Please message us for anymore info required

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/bctevents

How is it summer solstice already? 🌕
To think our days are only getting shorter from here seems scary when there is so much yet to be accomplished.

Jason has spent the last two weeks silaging for ourselves every hour of the night while contracting during the day, he still has lots of silaging left… 🚜

We’ve set out dormouse tubes around specific soil types on the farm with the within the funding we have received through our project. We look forward to surveying the tubes again this November to see if there has been any activity 🤞🏼

We’ve installed water troughs so we can graze more of our fields to improve biodiversity and build good soil health, alongside increasing our cattle numbers to produce more & certified beef. 🥩
This is our first summer at our new farm tenancy, so we’re still getting to grips with field names, water pipe locations etc but we’re really enjoying deepening our knowledge of the land here & getting to know it better through grazing.

We’ve welcomed level 3 business agri students from onto the farm to discuss what it’s like to be a new entrant into farming, farm tenancy’s & business viability.
We hosted for other farmers with to look at the app which we have started using to record data on our farm such as soil health, biodiversity surveys & grazing / cropping methods. We look forwarded to building on this year on year to see a positive improvement in our farms ecosystems, fertility & profitability. 🌿

The last couple of weeks has also brought several meetings which to some people might seem shocking that farmers have so many meetings, but for us, it’s imperative for our business to remain in alignment with our visions, goals and plans.

We took some highlands to slaughter, this means that in JULY we will have FRESH HIGHLAND BEEF ready.
Slow grown, flavoursome, award winning beef raised here in the Devonshire countryside.

For a final note, today Daisy our friendliest cow on the farm calved. She gave birth to a beautiful heifer calf🥰

Yesterday we welcomed level 3 business agri students on the farm🌱

Our walk and talk was limited due the poor weather conditions however we made it down the wetlands (pictured) and around the farm buildings to discuss business viability, the joys & challenges of being first generation farm tenants & why our farming system works so well for us.

It was great to connect with other young people in the industry & thankfully our boys behaved while Jason was unfortunately too busy to join on this occasion.

We are grateful to have this opportunity to openly discuss complex concerns around agriculture in a safe environment that hopefully gives every party food for thought to go away with & feel enriched.

Today we hosted for with the because we have recently been selected as one of the five focus farms within a funded regenerative/ soil health focus project.

The app will help farmers like ourselves who are on a regenerative journey to gain a better understanding of our land by connecting with it in more depth than ever before & pushing us to make positive changes to our farming systems while providing the data.

Today we undertook a broad range of soil samples on the farm to show us more about our soil health, it’s structure & biodiversity. We chose two extremes to soil sample from, a field which has just been cut for silage & our wetlands🌱

It was lovely welcoming with other likeminded farmers today onto our farm, many of whom are new entrants like ourselves.

We also received a surprise tractor cab hamper from who wanted to kindly show Jason support for the long hours he is working at the moment. Today has really show how wholesome it feels to connect with others in a very isolated industry. Thank you it looks delicious 🚜😍🧀

Come and join us for an open farm walk & talk this July 🌱

Silage season is underway 🌱🚜

Producing fodder is an essential part of a farmers seasonal calendar. To be a farmer you have to be many things, a good mathematician being one of those. You have to ensure you are making enough hay/silage in summer for your animals to eat during the winter months, otherwise you will be buying in fodder at a price you cannot forecast.

We aren’t even half way through making our own silage yet, but for perspective Jason worked 39hours solid at the beginning of this week.
No sleep, no rests.
It’s a busy time for ALL farmers, you’ve no doubt seen an increase of tractors running the road. They aren’t seeing their families, they don’t get weekends off, they just have to crack on while the weather windows allow.

At the end of the week it was brilliant to attend a Riverlfy bioblitz event looking at the water quality of the river Culm. Having good water quality is just another part of being a regenerative farmer. It’s about multiple aspects of your farm being considered, biodiversity, hedgerow & tree health & water quality just being some of those.

Sunday, it was good to reconnect as a family again- even if it was installing the compost toilet for farm visitors to use & our .uk campers. The orchard is really taking shape now, Jason’s been busy tidying it up with the digger, the trees have been pruned, the guards have been removed & sheep have grazed it allowing the orchard to now finally breath again.

God bless farmers.

Did you know highlands do NOT live in herds?? ✋🏼

A group of cows are called a “herd” but a group of highlands are called a “Fold” (bet you hadn’t HERD that before!)

The word ‘fold’ dates back to the olden days in Scotland when highland cattle were brought into an open stone shelter at night called a fold. This protected them from the weather and wolves 💨 🐺

📸GCSE art student

Smokey our bull with some homebred heifers enjoying grazing the wetlands.
They are lightweight animals which means they will not poach the ground excessively, they will use their horns to forage through any overgrown/wild areas to graze them & highlands love more diverse/ rougher pastures to eat over traditional fields so they really have found their heaven🌿

📸 Aerial Dimensions For Photography & Videography

The compost toilet has arrived!!! 🌿

Educational, camping, fun or just for a nosey visits will now have more facilities on the farm 🤘🏼

We appreciate this isn’t the most exciting news, but for us.. this is the beginning of something rather exciting. This is the start of community building, knowledge exchanged, inspired children (hopefully) and much much more 🍃

Watch this space 🤩
Made locally by Shire shepherd huts ✨

Ever heard the saying ‘nature doesn’t hurry yet everything is accomplished’?
Well… this week we took on that moto. We slowed down, felt gratitude for the life we live & didn’t sweat the small stuff🌱🤘🏼

The beginning of the week Jason was busy on silage while at home on the farm we had a bird survey which identified a Grasshopper Warbler. This migrant bird faces threat due to habitat loss so it was a real positive start to the week for us knowing this bird was on our farm.

Tuesday evening we welcomed a local Beaver group out who like the cubs, enjoyed a highland cow experiance & nature trail. Again, some brillant questions asked and it was a pleasure to host for such engaging and enthusiastic young people. The nature trail organised by the Nature Engagment Team at Killerton also stirred up a lot of excitement trailing around the the current archeological dig happening on the farm 😍

The middle of the week Jason & I celebrated my 24th birthday. We never celebrate birthdays, but this weeks motto was ringing in the back of our minds. We ventured off to our favourite place, Porlock Weir on Exmoor and came back to the farm feeling optimistic & fresh. It’s amazing the energy boost that stepping off the farm for 24 hours can bring, (even if you are still receiving business calls the whole time ahah!)

Then the end of the week was organic certification paperwork, meetings, working on the wetlands & new life.
While fencing a boundary on the wetlands, Jason & the team had the pleasure of hearing a Cuckoo bird chanting away 🍃🌿
One of our bulls Smokey & our homebred heifers we moved into the wetlands to graze for this summer. We took on 300 acres of wetlands with the farm tenancy & to finally see it grazed by the highlands is just so beautiful. The highlands thrive in these sorts of habitats because they are lightweight & enjoy the shade from all the ancient trees.

Finally, we welcomed another pedigree calf today. The gender is still unknown because mum is very protective, however it was lovely to see more new life on the farm. We calve all year around but haven’t had any newborns in a few weeks so it was about time! 💫

This week has been nothing short of good for the soul✨

Monday began with moving more highlands to front park so all you lovely public can enjoy their company while they conservation graze this summer 🌱

Tuesday we welcomed our local Cub group here on the farm where we discussed the benefits of organic farming in a regenerative way & what nature friendly farming means to us. The children had some marvellous questions & really got us thinking at times (which we like!). We also did a meet and greet with Anna our halter trained highland heifer which went down a real hit! Then the Nature Engagment Team National Trust, Killerton laid out a beautiful nature trail around the farm followed alongside a farming questionnaire.

Now for Wednesday evening ✨
We were fortunate enough to nominated for the ‘Rising Star’ award in the Devon Farm Business Awards. Over 200 people were nominated for this category so to be able to be in the top 3 was very exciting indeed! However had the joy of watching our well deserving neighbour receive this award. A huge congratualtions to - it was so special to see young people paving the way for the future of agricultural which was the discussion topic of the night. We also must congratulate our friend and founder of Peter Grieg for receiving the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award. We truly are so happy for you and everything you have achieved for the promotion of ethical British farming.
We would also like to thank the kind person who took the time to nominate us, to think you thought we were worthy of this award & you thought of us when the nominations came up really has humbled us in a way you will never know, so to you we are so grateful.

Saturday .uk launched our orchard as a new space for you to camp here on the farm 🏕️. So if you are a nature lover like ourselves or are simply just in need of some quiet time alone then become a member today for only £20 to unlock this sacred space✨
You will 100% see a highland cow during your stay and you are only a flat 10 minute walk from Killerton house and it’s cafe, what is there not to love?

And to finish off the weekend, homemade highland beef burgers for dinner in the evening sun ☀️

On Tuesday night we hosted for our local cubs group here on the farm and it felt so good for the soul to engage with so many inquisitive and outdoors led children.

We first had a conversation about organic farming & what it means to be a nature friendly farmer while the children brushed Anna one of our halter trained highland heifers.
The children had some really brilliant questions & we throughly enjoyed discussing a vast variety of topics with them, we were so impressed how many highland cow facts they already knew!

Then a nature trail took place on the farm kindly organised by the Nature Engagment Team at Killerton National Trust which led the children to discover their overall word for the question ‘what is the secret to nature friendly farming’….. HEALTHY SOIL 🌱☀️🦔

That evening we were so grateful for dry weather, our local community and a good relationship with our landlords so we could help provide a well received experience for all. What a beautiful month May is turning out to be ✨

Our bull Rodney loves nothing more than a good scratch, when we check him he waits for someone to scratch him else he’s rather confused why you have even bothered to come!

Another week gone by and we are now into my favourite month, May 🌱☀️
This week has been less structured. Our motto became, achieve what you can, when you can.

Illness meant simple jobs became exhausting & we didn’t get to celebrate our wedding anniversary off the farm for a night as planned 🤍 however there were so many positives …
We let more cattle out to pasture and we now have highlands grazing the parklands at .

Fencing repairs took longer than planned, and we had escapee pigs & cows to capture. One bullock managed to jump the fence, swim the river & disguise himself in with our neighbours cows… the big horns blew his cover quiet quickly. Thank goodness for our helpful neighbour which meant this issue was resolved quickly. As for the pig, let’s not go there, but he’s now settled down & enjoying his new paddock with friends.

Cattle sheds have started to be cleared out (you know it’s the end of winter where this job takes place!), and Jason has been busy on his digger. Now for a busy week ahead contracting for Jason.

Spot the odd one out, we will give you a clue… he’s being rather cocky about it 🌱😂

There is no finer sight than seeing your cattle grazing on pasture, it’s been a long winter but it’s great to see them back out where they belong again.

Our highlands can be found on the public footpath from Killerton house, down to to Columbjohn Farm (us) and back towards Ellerhayes again (main track currently shut but minor diversion is assessable).Or why not enjoy a stroll to Columbjohn chapel while you visit the cows, only a 2 minute walk away.
📸 GCSE art student

So looking forward to celebrating next month at the Devon Farm Business Awards with so many other lovely local farmers 🌱✨

Here are the next category finalists for the Devon Farm Business Awards 2024! 🏆

For the Rising Star category sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers and Savills , working alongside Devon Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, our inspirational finalists are:

⭐ Jason and Amelia Greenway, Springwater Farm

⭐ Emily Peters, The Udder Stuff

⭐ Robynne Leigh-Firbank, Caseberry Farm

Three young people paving the way for a bright future for farming in Devon and beyond! We wish them the best of luck for the night of the awards on the 15th May, the night before the Devon County Show

If you want to join us on the night to celebrate these amazing people, get your tickets here: https://www.farmbusinessawards.org.uk/devon-farm-awards

This morning we welcomed RENEW from Exeter University onto the farm to discuss our farming journey so far and how our regenerative system has worked for us & the issues we have faced.
It was brilliant to connect with a diverse range of students with who were all on such different missions & brought some well balanced questions.
RENEW is a five-year partnership programme to develop solutions to one of the major environmental challenges for humankind: the renewal of biodiversity.

This weekend marked the beginning of a new season for us, Spring.
Our highlands ran for freedom and bucked for joy as we let them out onto pasture after a very long winter.

This weekend also brought new life, McDonald calved unaided a lookalike heifer calf for us after some concerns a couple weeks ago when she randomly prolapse & we had to call the vet. Thankfully mother and baby are well, much to our concerns over the last couple weeks.

Prior to releasing the highlands we had to install water troughs to the fields and check all fencing was secure before we turned them out. This was a successful job after a team family & friend effort.

Jason & Ray fully serviced the digger before Jason resurfaces a public footpath/ bridlepath farm track this week (if your local the track from Cubby/ Columbjohn woods will be closed). Once this is complete you can push a pram or ride a bike straight to Ellerhayes to our farm with ease!

I was trusted to drive a mini digger with Rupert… my first and last time….

And we were fortunate enough to have Warren from Aerial Dimensions for Photography and Videography out to capture the release of the highlands… we cannot wait to share those photos with you soon…

Today was a humbling day which has filled us up with gratitude. We have been lucky enough to be shortlisted in the top 3 finalists for this years Devon Farm Business Awards in the ‘Rising Star’ category.
To think someone (we know who you are now!) kindly made the effort to nominate us and feel we were potentially worthy of this award has really humbled us.

As we’ve always said we wouldn’t be here on our journey today without the support from others, so thank you for the support, it means more than you’ll know.
We look forward to attending the awards evening next month and celebrating with other farmers✨

📸 Sep 23’

Dear followers… we need your thoughts…
This weekend we explored the untouched wetlands which came within our farm tenancy (how luck are we 😍). We also sorted cattle & installed new water piped into our fields before the cows are let out to pasture.

While on the wetlands we encountered a diverse range of wildlife, here’s some to name a few…
a swan laying on eggs, kingfishers, deer, ducks, foxes & a pair of birds which we cannot identify…
Can you help?!
This pair was soaring VERY high, dark in colour, a much larger wingspan than a buzzard and not swooping much but just staying hovering VERY HIGH. Our initial thoughts were red kites, however they usually fly lower than this pair was and it is currently their breeding season. Goshawks are also known in our area, but again we are hesitant because they usually fly alone…
Any ideas?
This weekend made us very excited to graze our cows & calves on this beautiful private wetland this summer 🌱

Part 1
Let’s talk about abattoirs.
You might shy away while reading that statement, you might even be the sort of person who deeply cares for the meat they invest in yet does not want to consider the slaughter process.
But, to make fully conscious choices about the meat you eat you need to consider the WHOLE journey, not just the lifestyle the animal has lead while being reared on farm.

From the birth of our animals right through to finish around 3 years old (significantly longer than a commercial breed) every aspect of that animals life has been carefully considered by ourselves, the farmers.
We decide their diets (Pasture for Life only!) while allowing them a free range lifestyle grazing on Soil Association organic certified pastures.
Therefore ensuring our animals are subject to a humane, stress free slaughter is only another piece to the journey they embark on with us.

What abbatoir we choose to build that trusting connection with has a domino effect on multiple aspects.
1. The quality of meat you the consumer receives back. If the animal was stressed at the time of slaughter their meat will be tough & potentially more bloodshot because of adrenaline (this is something we want to avoid)
2. Choosing our local abbatoir is the right choice on many levels. We choose to not only support keeping local people in a local career but we also prioritise animal welfare by doing so.
3. More often than not our animals have never left the farm, they’ve been born and raised here and have never known any different. Imagine the stress of then having an unnecessarily long journey. Why would we put our animals through that when there’s an alternative?
4. We are fortunate enough to have an organic certified, family run abbatoir only 40 mins from the farm. This means not only do we have the luxury of having a small scale local abbatoir but we also have the opportunity to build a long lasts relationship with them. This relationship is another essential layer if you want a smooth running business.
We can trust we are getting back our own animals carcasses and not our neighbours.
We trust they will butcher our animal with the integrity they deserve, cutting the meat with respect and to the requirements we have asked for.
We trust our abattoir to allow our animals to have had a quick and humane death, no shouting, no hitting, no waiting, no suffering.

Yesterday we vaccinated 120 of our highlands & blood sampled more cattle in our fold for BVD (a type of cattle disease which causes infertility & poor condition). We also welcomed a pedigree bull calf who was born early hours of the morning & needed an extra helping hand latching onto his mum.
We are pleased to say mum is providing LOTS of milk & is being a maternal mother so we have no concerns for this calf and all feeding issues have been resolved.

Since the start of 2024 we have welcomed an abundance of health pedigree bull & heifer calves which we have enjoyed watching thrive off their mothers milk & friendship groups they have created with other fellow calves.

We calve all year around so we can have a steady supply of beef in theory , however sometimes our bulls Smokey & Rodney have other ideas.

On Saturday Westcountry Rivers Trust provided training on how to assess & practise testing river quality here at the farm. It was a well attended event with an abundance of local people choosing to take part & get involved during their bank holiday weekend.
Thank you to National Trust Killerton & the Nature Engagment team at Killerton for organising this community event.

Thank you to all the customers who supported us this week by purchasing our Pasture for Life & Soil Association highland beef boxes. We had our fastest ever sell out of beef and you’ve certainly kept us busy.
We’ve delivered 2 whole highlands in beef this week from the closest delivery being to our neighbouring village and the furthest to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

What a high to mark 6 months since moving farms 👌🏻🥩

Another pedigree heifer calf who will be joining our breeding fold in a few years time 👌🏻
Lovely to see new life on the farm in this miserable weather recently 💚

Yesterday we welcomed some new additions to our fold. They were Isla, Barbara, Evelyn, Angus, Anna & Catriona.
These girls are from some fantastic Scottish lineage & we look forward to introducing them our bull this Spring when we turn everyone out to pasture.

Barbara & Evelyn are only staying with us for a summer holiday unfortunately but the other girls will be permeant members on our breeding fold.

Where has half a year gone?!!
It has been 6 months since we moved farms, being first generation tenant farmers hasn’t been easy. The uncertainty & stresses starting an agricultural business from scratch taught us a lot. However taking on a farm tenancy in late September 2023 has to be one of the most leap of faith but progressive decisions we’ve made so far.

Jasons been very busy since the farm move with renovating farm buildings, adapting the farm to suit the needs of our animals best & getting creative in so many other ways.

The past 6 months has also brought us recognition for our farming journey through winning ‘Tennant Farmer Of The Year Award’, ‘Best Food Product Of The Year’ & Gold and Platinum awards for both our pork and beef.
In our personal lives, our family has grown, we are now a family of 4 welcoming Rupert in January. To be able to raise our children on a farm connected to nature was always our goal.

Now… let’s wrap this last 6 months by delivering our fastest ever sell out of our highland beef boxes!
Thank you guys for the continued support, onto the next 6 months 💪🏼💚