Farm overview
Working at the Boughton Estate is the dynamic duo consisting of Ben, who manages the farm, and James, who is the Director at The Conant Farming Company – a contracting business across Rutland and Northamptonshire. Boughton is part of Buccleuch Estates and is a working landscape of sensitively managed farmland and historic woodlands as well as diverse enterprises such as renewable energy and country rental properties. The farm has a large arable operation of 1570ha as well as a large number of commercial ewes and cattle. In 2022, Boughton replaced traditional three-year continual cropping cycles with less intensive eight-year arable cycles, contributing to improved soil fertility and reduced carbon emissions. Ben runs a host of on farm trials, such as cultivating legume and cover crops, to understand how they can better manage the land to improve soil health, increase yield and minimise requirements on inputs. The farm also runs a higher and a mid-tier agri environment scheme as well as working with the local council in Biodiversity offsetting.
Project activities
- Creative Arena – an interactive event to discuss and evaluate climate friendly principles which can be adopted on farm (May 2023).
- Demonstration event – Biodiversity and farm tour (May 2023).
- Training – BASIS Certificate in Sustainable Land Management course at The Allerton Project (January 2024).
- Trials – Winter cover crop followed by summer fallow (Kings).
- Lead Commercial Farm visits – Brixworth Farming, Courteenhall, G.D. Jewers & Son, J. H. Simpson & Son, Manor Farm, Rookery Farm, Winwick Manor Farm.
- Demonstration Farm activities – ‘Future Farming Focus and Funding’ (November 2024).
