The Farm

The 300 acre farm is at the heart of everything we do.

  • Three crop rotation of oats, wheat & spring barley
  • Permanent pasture envelops Pickmere Lake
  • Core sustainability values
  • Countryside Stewardship mid tier scheme
  • Abdundance of wildlife

Farming has been an integral part of the Estate and has evolved over the generations. From a piggery and dairy unit in its infancy, on-site slaughter house and beef production unit, through to today’s practice of environmental schemes, arable production and grazing Land.

Farming is always changing and an ever influential part of this process is diversification. In an industry that is influenced by external variables such as consumer tastes, climate change, political forces and the increasing dependence on supermarkets the need to diversify is becoming an essential part of a sustainable farming future.

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Arable Farming

The arable unit comprises of a three crop rotation of oats, wheat and spring barley: The Oats grow well on our rich soil and the produce is sold to our local miller, Mornflakes, famous for their mighty oats. The Malting Spring Barley is also sold off farm to Soufflet, formerly Molsen Coors and used in the brewing of beer. The Wheat is purchased by Frontier Agriculture Ltd and is the UK’s largest crop production and grain marketing business.

Pasture

The permanent pasture envelops Pickmere Lake and is perfect grazing land for livestock. Cheshire is famous for its dairy produce and a local dairy farmer has exclusive grazing rights to this land. Sustainability is a core value on which our farm is founded, with great emphasis on environmental and ethical standards.

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Biodiversity

Mere View Estate has a long history in participating in environmental schemes and until recently, the farm was part of the higher entry level scheme, a scheme which promotes environmentally friendly farming. This scheme focussed on the biodiversity of Pickmere Lake, with a heavy emphasis on reducing the application of fertiliser. The results after a 10 year strategy are crystal clears waters now enjoyed by the wildlife the Lake supports. The farm has now moved on to a Countryside Stewardship mid tier scheme. The practice requires large areas of the Farm to be assigned to bird and wildflower mixes. This improves the biodiversity of the Estate and provides a balance between commercial and environmental enterprise.