Farming & Forestry
Food and wood production have shaped the High Weald landscape over many centuries.
Historically, these activities fed and provided for the people who lived here, and created habitats that sustained abundant wildlife. We blend inspiration from the past with modern-day innovations to strike a respectful balance between production and nature.
Sussex cattle with virtual fences
We graze Sussex cattle, a breed ideally suited to this landscape. We currently have 100 head of cattle, grazed at low density over 1,100 acres. Our cattle have access to areas of wood pasture, which includes trees and shrubs and provides shade and varied forage. Our cattle collars use GPS tracking to keep animals within a virtual boundary. This means we can be flexible about targeting grazing, save on wire fencing costs, and easily locate each animal when turned out into large, free-roaming areas.
We take a high welfare approach to our livestock. We use modern, state-of-the-art cattle handling facilities which are low-stress for the animals and safe for staff. Calving takes place over winter in our barns, where cows benefit from deep bedding, massage brushes and special red lighting to not disturb them during night checks.
Non-calving animals stay out over winter, supplemented with species-rich hay.
More about wildlife in our pastures
Our other livestock
We have a small flock of Wiltshire horn and Hebridean sheep, two traditional breeds chosen for their hardiness and ability to thrive in our varied landscapes. The sheep are used to aftermath graze our hay meadows. By grazing the aftermath, they reduce vigorous growth of grasses, encouraging wildflowers to flourish and support a rich diversity of insects and birds. Because sheep are lighter than cattle, they cause far less soil disturbance, making them ideal for sensitive areas such as hay meadows.
Our Oxford Sandy and Black x Tamworth pigs help with targeted soil disturbance and bracken bashing.
These traditional breeds are hardy and inquisitive, making them great for conservation work. Their natural rooting behaviour breaks up compacted ground and creates opportunities for wild plants to regenerate.
We have a small flock of goats to control bramble and browse woody regrowth in areas we want to keep open.
Wild deer stalking
We cull more than 200 wild deer at Wadhurst Park each year to reduce their browsing impact on woodland regeneration and scrubby habitats. Our experienced stalkers put welfare and safety first, using thermal imaging and working at night under license. Our on-site deer larder facility provides hygienic cold storage for carcasses, ready to be collected by butchers and game-dealers.
The overpopulation of wild deer and their ecological impact means venison is considered a highly sustainable meat – yet demand remains low.
Haymaking
Each year we take around 270 acres of hay. We use some as winter feed for our cattle, and the rest is sold.
We want to increase the diversity and resilience of our meadows, so every year we spread some ‘green hay’ from our richest wildflower meadows onto species-poor meadows. We have developed a quick and cost-effective way to do this, by cutting and baling the grass from the donor field, moving the bales quickly to the receiving field, and using a bale shredder to spray it around.
Coppicing
We coppice two hectares of woodland every year, equating to around 200 tonnes. Our rangers fell by hand using chainsaws. We usually extract our wood in the winter using a mini-forwarder, which can handle difficult terrain with minimum ground impact. We keep ‘standard’ timber trees within the coppices and protect re-growth from deer browsing by building ‘dead hedges’.
Our wood harvest fuels a biomass boiler which heats 10 buildings on the estate. We also produce high quality charcoal using a modern, retort style kiln which is quicker and more energy efficient than traditional methods.
We occasionally sell cordwood (3m lengths of coppiced trunks), to businesses which process it further into firewood.
Hedge cutting and laying
We cut most of our hedges on a three year cycle, which saves work and benefits wildlife. We periodically re-lay old hedges when they get too big or thin at the base. We largely use the South of England style, a strong ‘double brush’ style whereby the smaller, dense branches are left on both sides of the finished hedge. Elsewhere we use a ‘conservation’ technique that saves time but still regenerates the hedge habitat and retains structural diversity, deadwood, and varied growth forms that benefit birds, mammals, and invertebrates.