ABOUT THE FARM
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New House Farm is 240 acres of grassland and woodland in Monmouthshire, South East Wales, managed by me, Sarah - with the support of family and friends. The farm is part of the Old Lands Estate regenerative farm cluster.
I moved into New House Farm in the spring of 2024 and I’m slowly learning the lay of the land - what challenges and benefits it may bring as I work my way through the first seasons here. The farm is in a quiet, rural corner of Monmouthshire, sitting amidst gentle rolling hills, with streams passing through the middle of the farm, feeding the River Trothy, a tributary to the River Wye at the Northern boundary of the farm.
My long-term vision for the farm is to develop a resilient, diverse landscape with working ecosystems that support hardy cattle with minimal inputs. Soil health is key to all decisions made on the farm. Improving soil health to improve livestock stock health to provide nutrition dense food to consumers.
The heart of New House Farm is a herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle. These hardy, traditional types of Angus are perfectly suited to grass-based systems.
My approach to grazing is focused on mob grazing, which provides longer rest periods for the fields. This extended rest allows deeper-rooting grasses, such as cocksfoot and tall fescue, to establish, which in turn lengthens the grazing season—even on the challenging clay soils we have here.
In the winter, when the plants are dormant, bale grazing will be used to supplement the livestock’s nutrition and to introduce greater seed species diversity into the fields. In the early years, I will source hay from nearby hay meadows, (as opposed to taking a hay cut from my own farm), that contain the specific plant species I want to establish here. In this first year I will be using hay from a diverse meadow at Old Lands as well as from Kingcoed Meadow, which is managed by Monmouthshire Meadows Group.
New House Farm has a mix of permanent pasture and temporary leys, with the leys currently dominated by ryegrass. In order to enhance species diversity and improve the livestock-carrying capacity of the fields in the years to come, bale grazing will target these ley fields. Greater increase in plant diversity and rooting depth will help to draw up more nutrients from the soils - this will take time, but is key to increasing the nutritional content of the food produced on the farm.
Housing cattle is one of the most significant expenses in a beef production system. Therefore, the long-term goal at New House Farm is to increase biodiversity in the fields; focusing on deep-rooting grasses to extend the grazing season and reduce overall costs, thus producing nutrient-rich beef. Whilst the majority of the farm will be permanent pasture, a couple of herbal leys will be established for finishing stock, these fields also provide fantastic pollen and nectar sources for wildlife into the early autumn. To minimise the use of machinery and herbicides, Tamworth pigs will be used to prepare the ground for seeding and for short periods of high impact, to clear brambles and scrub in the woods.
Beef and pork will be for sale from the farm throughout the year – by purchasing our produce, you will be directly supporting my farm. Thank you!
MY STORY
Growing up in rural South West Wales, surrounded by farms, I developed a passion for agriculture and the outdoors. At 13, after a lot of persuasion, I convinced my parents to let me buy a sheepdog for £45 from our family friends' farm, the Tyrells. My love for the countryside began to grow from there! Not living on a farm, I had no sheep to herd, so I tried to train my sheepdog, Boris, to round up the six garden chickens—though without much success!
Whenever I could, I spent weekends and holidays helping out on local farms. I particularly enjoyed lambing season on Gower, or getting a call early in the morning inviting me to watch a cow caesarean at the local dairy farm. I learned a huge amount from a great group of local farmers.
I went on to study Bio-Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool in 2013. After three fantastic years, in my favourite city, I considered staying on to study Veterinary as a post grad degree, but decided to explore other career opportunities in Agriculture where I could make a positive impact on livestock health and welfare.
In the years after graduating, I worked with some fantastic companies; gaining experience in laboratory work at the Veterinary Tissue Bank, and running farmer workshops on responsible antibiotic use, dairy cattle sensor technologies, as well as working with farms to improve water quality. I learned a lot and built a strong network in the industry, but was missing the hands-on work with animals and the satisfaction of working outdoors. No number of Zoom meetings can compare to the tangible win of fixing a leaking water trough! So, alongside working in industry, I began working weekends and part-time on local farms again, mainly in the Midlands, gaining more practical experience on dairy farms.
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In 2018, while working for an agriculture charity in the Livestock team, I became interested in the work of the Soil and Water team. They were integrating livestock into arable systems. Livestock disease wasn’t even on the agenda in their meetings. Instead, they focused on soil health, organic matter, water quality, and reducing artificial inputs. This sparked my interest in land management, especially the concept that if animals are kept in the right environment, they’re less likely to get sick in the first place—rather than just accepting disease and mortality as part of conventional farming systems. I soon found myself energised and inspired by the principles of regenerative farming and mob grazing; this led to a job at Phepson Angus on the Worcestershire/Gloucestershire borders.
That’s where my eyes were truly opened to a whole new way of managing land and livestock: “Farming in Nature’s Image.” I was able to work with herds of cattle at various stages of transitioning from conventional to regenerative systems, across over 1000 acres of diverse soil types and habitats. The management of cattle wasn’t just about the livestock outcomes but also about the environmental and social impacts of the farm decisions. The cattle were part of a ‘working ecosystem’ that allowed space for nature, increased biodiversity, and required minimal human intervention. The animals were allowed to express natural herd behaviours that I had never seen before on any other farm I’d worked at. It ticked all the boxes for me—improving livestock health and welfare while working with nature, and I experienced the most job and lifestyle satisfaction and fulfilment than I had anywhere else.
The farming system at Phepson also taught me how a better work-life balance can be achieved on a farm. I began to have more interest and learn about the plants and birds that were popping up across the fields that I’d never seen before.
And now, in the Spring of 2024, I’m excited to have taken on the tenancy at New House Farm in Monmouthshire, South East Wales—a new chapter on a beautiful piece of land, back in Wales. Thank - you for reading this far! I look forward to sharing updates over the coming years.
