Geoff Hallam of Brownhills Farm is the winner of the 2025 Whitegrove Farm Conservation Trophy which is kindly sponsored by Staffordshire & Birmingham Agricultural Society. The competition assesses how environmental management is successfully integrated into commercial farming.
The family run farm extends to 81ha of mainly permanent grassland and is located in the Peak District National Park north of Warslow, near Buxton. Grassland is grazed by a mixture of cattle and sheep, with a late cut of hay taken on many of the fields.
Part of the farm is currently in a Higher Level Environmental Stewardship Scheme, with the remainder recently entered into two Expanded SFI agreements, following previous ELS and Environmentally Sensitive Area schemes.
Options include management of species-rich grassland (16 ha), restoration of rough grazing for birds (9 ha), maintenance of low input grassland, maintenance of traditional farm buildings and maintenance of 2500m of stone walls which form the main field boundaries on the farm. It is proposed to restore 250m of stone wall following a successful Countryside Stewardship Capital Grant application in 2025.
Mr Hallam has also been keen to ensure that soils are managed in a sustainable manner taking advantage of SFI Actions to produce a soil management plan and sample soil organic matter/ nutrients across the farm.
These environmental management practices have fostered a diverse ecosystem, with brown hares, lapwing, and barn owls breeding on the farm. The species-rich grassland is of particular interest comprising a mixture of acid/ limestone wildflower species that include great burnet, hay rattle, eyebright, devil’s-bit scabious, ladies’ mantle and orchids. Continued careful management through cattle grazing and taking a late hay will ensure these important habitats are conserved for future generations.
A farm walk to be held in summer 2026 will showcase the environmental credentials of the farm, and further details will be provided later in the year on how you can attend.