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Hope Farm
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The farm

RSPB staff (Roger Buisson) checking ears of wheat at Hope Farm, Cambridgeshire

In 1999, we purchased Hope Farm, a 181-hectare (450-acre) arable farm in Cambridgeshire. It is contract farmed by one of our neighbouring farmers.

On the farm we predominately grow autumn sown crops because they are generally considered to be more profitable than the traditional spring-sown ones.

For the first five years only two crops were grown: wheat and oilseed rape, in a three-year rotation (wheat: wheat: oilseed rape). Currently we have a four-year rotation of wheat: spring beans: wheat: oilseed rape. The rotation was altered to include spring beans in 2006 after considering both economic and environmental impacts.

Along with the arable land, there are just over 5 ha of permanent pasture, which is grazed by horses and sheep. The soil is predominantly heavy clay.

Key farm facts

  • Total farm area: 181 ha (450 acres)
  • Area of cropping: 160 (harvest 2010) ha (418 acres)
  • Area of pasture: 6 ha (15 acres)
  • Soil type: Hanslope calcereous clay loam
  • Smallest field: 0.93 ha (2 acres)
  • Largest field: 34.17 ha (84 acres)
  • Length of hedgerows: 10.3 km (6.4 miles)
  • Area of woodland: 0.5 ha (1.2 acres)

Last modified: 11 November 2009

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