Producer Details: Maple Farm Kelsale

The Kendall family has been farming at Maple Farm in Kelsale for over 50 years.

Unlike a lot of farms, it has not changed much during this time. The fields are very small with high hedges around them. They have kept the ancient woodlands as well as planting several new woods in recent years. Their fields are surrounded by wide margins of native grasses and wildflowers that provide a habitat for plants, insects, birds and larger animals. Some years ago, they converted Maple Farm Kelsale to organic production.

Maple Farm relies on the best bits of modern farming which have taken away many of the back-breaking jobs but otherwise Maple Farm would seem remarkably familiar to our ancestors. Fields of wheat and rye stand next to meadows with cattle and sheep. Their pigs live in the woodland which keeps them cool in summer and dry in winter. The hens will be found foraging the rich pastures that have been planted for them or searching the woodland edges for insects. Their delicious eggs with dark yellow yolks are proof that they are finding a good diet. The market garden produces a wide range of fruit and vegetables grown in soils fertilised by natural composts and plants such as clover.

One hundred years ago Maple Farm, along with its neighbours, would have been producing all of the fresh food that the local town and villages needed. They hope that this can be the case again.

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