Environment

We are always looking to improve our environmental position, whether in the way we farm, through producing energy, through biodiverse solutions, government schemes for sustainable farming or looking to the future aiming for carbon net zero alongside our customers. It is about balance, ensuring that our crops are looked after, inputs are minimised but necessary and protecting our waterways from any farmland pollution. For other parts of the farm go to whole farm, environment, blackcurrants, apples, vineyards, other enterprises and White Heron Drinks.

Solar

We have 720 kW of solar which is spread across our poultry shed roofs. One of our poultry sites is up to 70% self sufficient as we also have huge batteries that store 220 kW Our first solar array was erected in 2010 and in 2025 we continue to expand our solar installations with a vision of becoming as self sufficient as possible.

Biomass Boilers

We have three huge 600kw biomass plants that combust all the chicken manure that we produce, they provide heat for the following cycles of chickens – the bi-product ash is always removed from the county and our local watercourses. Alongside this we dry timber for the building and carpentry industry with the excess heat that we produce. We also have a 160 kW wood chip boiler that keeps all our holiday guests cosily warm. All of our wood chip is sourced from our sustainably managed estate woodlands, including our own.

The chicken litter burning plant has a 100 tonne negative pressure manure store and the whole system is fed automatically to ensure optimum burning. This is run from an office in Ireland! The system is an assisted fluidised bed. This is a bed of sand which is heated to 800 degrees at which point the manure is incorporated slowly and gradually after which it is self sustaining.

Farm bio-diversity

We use various measures across the farm to help biodiversity. Currently we have a large area of sustainable farming incentive land which is planted with phacelia, kale, milet and quinoa providing a wonderful habitat and larder for bees, butterflies, insects and farmland birds. A local beekeeper has a number of hives across the farm and we bring in additional bees in the summer to pollinate the fruit crops. Most of our fields have 6 metre margins full of wild flowers and pollen and nectar mixes as well as in non-productive field corners. Hedges are cut 2 in 5 years to provide overwinter fruit for birds, in field trees have grown up and there are over 50 bird boxes around the farm. All our ponds are carefully managed and we are looking at introducing an on-farm wetland in the next year or so. Our pest management is carefully monitored and managed so we minimise sprays and maximise production responsibly.

As part of a Higher Level Environmental Stewardship Scheme, we also have areas of pollen and nectar mix and wild bird mix which encourage a huge diversity of invertebrates, wild birds, bees and butterflies. Our annual farmland bird count has identified annually 130 different species.