A LONG-established organic farm has joined the group of demonstration farms within the farmer-led Forward Farming project.

York Grounds Farm, Raywell, near Cottingham, is a 101-hectare mixed arable and livestock farm owned by the Thompson family who have farmed organically for the past 50 years. Richard Thompson is the chairman of Organic Farmers and Growers, the body responsible for the certification of some 30pc of the nation's organically-produced food.

The York Grounds cropping rotation is designed to maintain soil fertility while allowing for the production of high-value cash crops. A two-year grass clover ley is used to boost fertility and to support the nutritional demands of potatoes, winter wheat and spring barley. Stubble turnips are used as a catch crop following cereals to provide forage for the sheep and to reduce nitrogen losses over winter.

The potatoes are sold for pre-packing and will fetch in the order of £200 per tonne when they leave the farm's purpose-built cold store in the new year.

"The potato varieties we have gone for are Cara and Sante, and they have yielded in excess of 35 tonnes per hectare in a difficult year. The dry autumn made it necessary to harvest the crop at a snail's pace to prevent damage," said Mr Thompson.

The wheat is destined for biscuit making and should make £165 per tonne, more than twice the price of non-organic grain.

"We find it difficult to achieve the necessary protein content for breadmaking wheat, but biscuit varieties, such as Clare, typically yield a respectable five tonnes per hectare. The barley is undersown with grass and clover and is normally sold for organic malting - a very useful niche market," says Mr Thompson.

The livestock enterprises comprise 60 Continental cross beef cattle bought as yearlings, 350 contract store pigs and 250 Suffolk cross store sheep, all of which are FABBL farm-assured and certified organic by Organic Farmers and Growers. The beef and sheep are sold through the Organic Livestock Market Co-operative.

Mr Thompson is participating in an ADAS organic farm costings scheme, which will enable useful comparison with organic farms in other parts of the country. There will be a Forward Farming demonstration at York Grounds Farm on the afternoon of Thursday, November 20. Further details are available from the organisers at Bishop Burton College, near Beverley. Telephone Bill Meredith on (01964) 553000.

BILL MEREDITH

Agriculture sector head, Bishop Burton College

Updated: 11:55 Wednesday, November 12, 2003