Eastbrook Farm is a 1,337 acre organic farm in the Wiltshire Downs, crossed by the pre-Roman road The Ridgeway and dotted with ancient barrows. A dry ice-age valley, typical in this area of stunning and relatively unexplored landscapes, sweeps from The Ridgeway to the village of Bishopstone and during spring and summer it is carpeted with wild flowers, and home to soaring buzzards and kestrels. Come and see for yourself. Watch the hares, enjoy the livestock.
Eastbrook Farm is owned by the Church of England and has been farmed by the Browning family since 1950. Helen took over from her father Bob Browning in 1984, and gently moved the farming towards a wholly organic system. Helen describes it as ‘working with nature rather than seeking to dominate it'. It seems to work. There's a natural balance to the way things even out, with subtle management tweaking things back into line whenever needed. And there appears to be a maturing and mellowing about the place, whether it’s the plants, the people, the animals or the soil, all getting used to each other's footprints.
It all might sound a bit pious, and you probably think that we wander round with fettling sticks and funny hats, but really Eastbrook is a very modern place. We adopt all the suitable current technology that there is, and at the same time we try to pioneer techniques that are suitable for the farm, and for our customers. Life is changing so quickly at the moment (have people always said this?) that we are constantly thinking afresh about water use and climate change, fossil fuel use, how we employ people, how to get the best from our animals and soils; how we turn all this into a really useful local business that puts as much into the community as it takes out.
