What it's like to be a farmer: We love working with animals!

It became England’s first community-owned farm when it was saved from development through a pioneering national campaign in 2006 and now welcomes 25,000 visitors a year.

Sharing their land and helping people of all ages to gain a better understanding of where their food comes from is incredibly important to sister and brother team Charlotte and Ben Hollins.

“People want to know where their meat comes from and to be able to see that the animals are happy and well-looked after. When they come here they can see the animals in the fields and it gives them reassurance ,” says tenant farmer Ben, aged 33.

They inherited the tenancy to the 140-acre farm, near Market Drayton, which has been organic for 65 years, from their late father Arthur in 2004 but then faced a race against time to raise £800,000 to prevent it from being sold to developers.

They came up with the idea to sell thousands of co-operative shares in a community trust that would buy the land and hold it in perpetuity.

Their successful campaign even attracted support from the likes of the Prince of Wales, Sting and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Now Fordhall, which has more than 8,000 community shareholders, is thriving again and is home to 200 sheep, 150 cattle and around 80 Gloucester Old Spot and Tamworth pigs.

As tenant farmer, Ben is in charge of the farmland and livestock, the butchery, farm shop and bakery as well as hog roasts and his catering trailers.

While Charlotte, 35, manages the Fordhall Community Land Initiative, which owns the farm and runs the on-site cafe and glamping yurts as well as educational projects such as the Care Farm, which provides opportunities for people with learning difficulties to work outside. It also organises around 70 school visits a year as well as a wide range of community events.

Ben and Charlotte, who grew up at Fordhall, which has been worked by the family for three generations, are committed to carrying on their father’s legacy. Fordhall operates a system of outdoor grazing called Foggage Farming which was developed by their father and means the cattle and sheep live outdoors throughout the year, making them completely grass fed.

A typical day will see Ben start at the crack of dawn tending to the livestock which could include checking on the newborn lambs, tagging calves or moving sheep around the farm. He may also be needed behind the counter serving customers in the butchery, farmshop and bakery as well as organising supplies for both the farm and catering side of the business.

“My favourite part is working with the animals, you can’t beat that. Although I enjoy meeting the customers in the shop, if I’m inside working, I’m always thinking about what needs to be done outside,”says Ben,

Everything Ben rears at Fordhall is sold direct to the public through the farm shop, online shop, farmers’ markets or outside catering.

“A farm our size just wouldn’t be viable without doing this and our other enterprises. We are always looking to add value to our meat and by selling directly to the public, we can set our own prices and we are not tied into outside contracts – we cut out the middle man,” explains Ben.

Their grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef and homemade sausage rolls and pork pies are among their best-selling items.

The farm was was named Paleo Meat Supplier of the Year last year after becoming popular with those following a Paleo diet, which is based on the eating habits of our ancestors.

“I do think more people are making an effort to buy British and to buy meat that they know is free range and hasn’t been messed about with. Our most popular is our Aberdeen Angus beef we know people will travel quite a distance for it,” adds Ben, who studied agriculture at Harper Adams Agricultural College.

Charlotte, whose duties can range from applying for grants to lighting the fires in the yurts ahead of visits, believes that opening up the gates to the public helps to provide a valuable insight into what it is truly like to farm in the UK. She says she is pleased that more have followed suit since visitors were first welcomed to Fordhall, helping to raise awareness for people of all ages.

“I think that it’s important that the general public have a closer link with where the food comes from and I think it’s important for the farmer to have the support of the community and to know they are not alone.

“It used to be that lots of people worked on a farm but now the work has become more mechanised, a lot of farmers are selling to contracts and middle men so they are not meeting their customers – it had become a very isolated industry.

“Although markets are on the decline, the number of farm shops is on the rise and more people are going to their local farm to get produce where they can see where it has come from,” explains Charlotte, who studied environmental management at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.

Education is an important part of what they are trying to achieve and Charlotte says she is particularly proud of their Care Farm and their youth project, which works with a small number of students who may be struggling in a conventional education setting.

“I think this is the most rewarding part because you see how these young people progress and gain confidence by being part of something where they can see they are making a difference whether it’s growing veg or helping out with maintenance work,” says Charlotte.

“Going forward we want to ensure the land is there for the community to appreciate, enjoy and learn from while at the same time providing education and promoting organic farming methods, conservation and biodiversity,” she adds.

Heather Large

l Fordhall Farm is holding its spring open day on April 15, from 10am until 4pm. Visit www.fordhallfarm.com