The farm grows arable crops including oilseed rape, oats and wheat, as well as growing 18,000 Christmas trees to be sold to the public in the local Leeds area. We also do a land swap with a local produce grower, so you’ll also find cabbages and cauliflowers growing in our fields.
Some of the land isn’t suitable for growing arable crops and these woodland areas and water meadows are farmed to enhance the local environment. In addition, we grow around 20 acres of wild bird seed mixes - grown especially to attract wildlife and pollinators on to the farm. The farm is part of a number of environmental stewardship schemes, which ensure the land is looked after responsibly and in harmony with nature. The estate has also won awards from the Royal Forestry Society and runs a programme of events every year for school children to come and learn about the woodland environment.
Most years, a good proportion of Methley wheat makes the grade to be used by Warburtons to be made into bread or crumpets. Our oats also get used by Morning Foods to be made into porridge or flapjacks!
A farm wouldn’t be a farm without some livestock and here we ‘employ’ a flock of 45 pedigree Shropshire sheep to graze the Christmas tree plantation to keep the undergrowth under control. In this ancient parkland there is a continual tree planting programme in operation to ensure that there continues to be established trees in the park for centuries to come.