Good Earth

21st April 2021

Healthy soil means a healthy planet – and Goodwood’s new farmer is focused on making the most of the estate’s natural legacy.

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Words by Catherine Peel

 

The recent Netflix documentary Kiss The Ground opens with the dulcet tones of actor Woody Harrelson explaining that the solution to global warming is “right under our feet and as old as dirt”. It’s compelling viewing and about as sexy as soil gets, with supermodel Gisele Bündchen even making an appearance. The idea is simply that if we can capture enough carbon and store it in our soil, we can reverse global warming.

The idea of carbon sequestration through soil is an exciting one (honestly) because it allows farming to be the solution rather than the problem. Although agriculture is sometimes blamed for draining the soil of its nutrients – and it’s certainly true that soil in some parts of the world is in decline due to intensive farming methods and heavy pesticide use – in this and other countries there are many people farming in a way that actually makes the soil healthier. 

Although the characteristics and productivity of healthy soil have been long coveted, the biology of soil is an area that has only come under the research spotlight more recently. By farming in a way that optimises photosynthesis it is thought that we can repair damaged water cycles and capture greenhouse gases while addressing one of humanity’s biggest challenges.

Soil is the beginning of everything

Susan, Duchess of Richmond

Early societies understood the need to nurture and look after the soil, as well as harvest from it. “To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of soil,” said Xenophon, the Ancient Greek philosopher. And the importance of soil has long been at the heart of farming at Goodwood. The farm had the first 100 per cent organically fed dairy in the country and is the UK’s largest lowland organic farm. Organic principles were passionately embraced by Susan, Duchess of Richmond (the current Duke’s mother) who was one of the Soil Association’s earliest members and who firmly believes that “soil is the beginning of everything”.

Goodwood is a mixed farm where the manures from the livestock are returned to the soils as a natural fertiliser and source of rich organic matter. The cattle and sheep are grazed extensively to maintain the grass and return nutrients. Crops are grown that not only produce the food that we eat but naturally feed the soil and enhance it. The soil is tested every year to make sure the fields are getting what they need and, in between crops growing in spring, cover crops such as mustard, kale and turnips help return the soil to its optimum condition so there’s no bare ground over winter.

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Paul Dovey, the new farmer at Goodwood Home Farm, was one of the very first batch of students to study Organic Agriculture at college (he attended Broomfield at Derby College during the 1990s). The course was set up by the Soil Association, so Paul benefitted from being in at the start of the modern wave of the organic movement. 

Since then, he’s always worked in organic farming, both in this country and internationally, and is thrilled to have landed his dream job at Goodwood.

I love the farm-to-fork philosophy and the fact that in our restaurants and farmshop, and at our events, much of the food has been produced on our doorstep. Over the next decade we will see massive changes, with challenges such as Brexit, climate change and preparing ourselves to be net zero (the NFU’s ambitious goal is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of agriculture in England and Wales by 2040), but I am so excited to see what we can do"

Soil, of course, is where it all begins and ends and Paul is focused on increasing its organic matter and measuring soil sequestration accurately, to better understand progress. But, he adds, “It’s great to be part of a real team – working closely with forestry and other parts of the business, and we’re privileged to be so connected to the land that surrounds us.”

To find out more about Goodwood’s range of organic products visit Goodwood Home Farm.

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