NIGEL AKEHURST VISITS: CHURCH FARM
TOUR DE FORCE This month Nigel Akehurst visits Jenny and Andrew Flake, known as Passmore Coombe, at Church Farm in Coombes, set in the South Downs National Park, to learn more about their diversified beef, sheep and arable family farm.
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Church Farm is set in the hamlet of Coombes, in between Shoreham and Steyning, West Sussex, and is where the Passmore family has been farming for five generations since 1901. A 1,000-acre working farm, it stretches from the hills of the Downs to the banks of the River Adur, with 140 acres some two metres below high tide. Today the farm is run by Jenny and Andrew, her 28 year-old son, who took over from his Uncle Trevor, who passed away six years ago. The family is passionate about farming, the environment and food education. Over the past 40 years they have received half a million visitors to the farm, said Jenny, who started running farm tours at Coombe in 1979. Before that her late parents Dick and Mary Passmore ran open days for the public throughout the 1960s and 70s. Dick was passionate about food education and conservation, and in recognition for his work received an MBE in 1992.
FARM VISIT
Arriving at the farm I meet Jenny, Andrew and his partner Gussie, along with their two young children James and Connie. We take a tour of the farmyard, checking out the collection of traditional and more modern farm buildings. They explain that most of the barns are being used to house their flock of expectant ewes which have just started to lamb. At the time, only 25 had lambed, with another 575 to go over the next six weeks, explained Jenny. They lamb all their sheep indoors, with ewes and
new-born lambs penned in wooden pens for two days before being taken out to pasture. It’s a system that suits the farm being open to the public, who get to see more of the action come rain or shine. This year they are open until 24 April; they typically receive over 20,000 visitors each year. “Bookings are taken through their website www. coombes.co.uk. Ticket prices are kept low (£4 per child and £5 for adults) to make it accessible for most families,” said Jenny. “Refreshments can be purchased on site in their dedicated visitor space, but families can also bring their own picnics to eat,” she added. Visitors travel from all over, and on their busiest days they can have up to 2,000 people through their gates. “It produces a good supplemental income – for the farm and myself,” said Jenny. “Without the public we wouldn’t be able to afford to lamb inside because of the additional feed and labour costs,” she added. Visitors are also able to see their herd of pedigree
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Sussex cows and new born calves in their cattle barns. They can also take a tractor and trailer ride up onto the Downs to see sheep and cattle out grazing in the fields. Eager to see more of the farm myself, I take up Andrew’s offer of a quick tour of the fields. I jump into the back of his pickup truck and we drive up onto the Downs behind the farmyard and along a flint track with far-reaching views out to the English Channel. Arriving at a large 60-acre field, Andrew calls out to his flock of ‘early lambers’ – 200 mainly Charolais ewes and their offspring – which come running over to greet us. Reaching down, he points out their new herbal ley which he planted back in the autumn. “The ley includes 15 different species, including two types of nitrogen fixing clover, and was planted as part of a land management option developed with and funded by Southern Water aiming to reduce nitrate leaching into groundwater,” said Andrew. I ask how he thinks it’s performing? It’s early
