SEZINCOTE FARMS
Sezincote Farms
Sezincote Farms is a family partnership that is now on its third generation. We farm just under 2,000 acres in-hand in the North Cotswolds. The farm lies between Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold, 3 miles to the west.
There are a further 3 tenanted farms within the estate.
The farm consists mainly of Cotswold brash on the higher ground where most of our arable enterprise is concentrated and clay loam over ridge & furrow on the lower ground where our permanent pasture lies and where the cattle graze from April to November.
The farm buildings are centered around the old Model Farm Buildings which were built in the early 19th century at the same time as the house. Of course these beautiful old buildings slowly became unusable due to the ever increasing size of modern equipment and so when another family business was sold in 1996 we built a bespoke range of cattle yards to house our newly expanding herd and also a grain dryer and storage for up to 1600 tonnes of grain. This gives us the flexibility to “play” the markets and not be forced to sell due to lack of storage space.
Sezincote is a traditional, mixed farm enterprise that is in its first year of conversion to an organic system of farming.
On the cattle side, our mainly Limousin herd of cows are being crossed with Angus bulls to breed animals that will finish easily on a diet based on grass and silage alone. It is likely that whilst changing systems we will add some homegrown rolled oats or barley to their diet but eventually we will be in a position to sell our beef as pasture fed.
The arable rotation has changed more significantly as we need to build in a 2 year clover ley as part of the nitrogen building phase. With no fertilisers being applied, we need to enrich the soils through the use of green manures and cover crops and we will graze all arable areas with both cattle and sheep.
To balance the system we are increasing our flock of Lleyn ewes to around 1,000 and will lamb them in the late spring, outside.
