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Farmer Stories

Anna Biesty - Restoring soil health and preventing flooding on the Norfolk coast

England
Case Study
arable
Crops
Environmental Land Management scheme
Farming Champions
flood management
Hedgerows
Organic
pesticide reduction
soil health
stacking enterprises

A dramatic flooding incident was the turning point for Deepdale Farm to embrace more nature-friendly practices. However, as the need for food production grows, this arable farm now faces significant challenges in finding the right balance between nature, soil health, viability and profitability.

Nestled in a corner of the North Norfolk coast, between the seaside towns of Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea, lies Deepdale Farm, spanning 300 hectares. The fields stretch right down to the sea, where the land meets the water in marshlands that provide excellent habitats for birds. The arable farm is currently at a pivotal stage in its nature-friendly farming journey, with co-manager Anna Biesty working to navigate important questions about what its future holds.

The land has been in Anna’s family since the 1930s, but it was her father, Alister Borthwick, who first took a serious interest in farming. He farmed through a challenging period in the 1980s and ‘90s when he had to run the village pub as well as the farm to make ends meet. He later farmed alongside Anna’s brother Jason, until his sudden death in September 2019.

While changing the way they farmed had been vaguely discussed, the transition to a nature-friendly approach at Deepdale, began in a sudden and dramatic way.

“Minor flooding had been a regular issue,” Anna recalls. “But in March 2020, one particular field, with a long sloping gradient, had been ploughed down the way, rather than across, after carrots had been harvested. Sustained heavy rainfall cut ravines into the field, washing the top soil down into a cottage below and blocking the main Norfolk coast road. It was pretty horrendous.”

Working with Norfolk Rivers Trust, it quickly became apparent just how degraded the soil had become from conventional farming.

“They tried to do soil samples and it wouldn’t stay on the spade,” Anna says. “It was like trying to take samples on a sand dune. Any root structure had been totally lost.”

It was clear to the family that drastic action was needed. Bunds were created to hold excess water, cover crops were planted, a bank was built halfway down the field, and a small woodland was established to help slow the flow. Next, they teamed up with Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and pored over old maps to see where hedges had once been. New hedgerows were planted, and beetle banks were created to break up the fields.

After that, it was decided that large areas of the farm would need to be rested from food production to allow the soil to recover. Around 60% of Deepdale’s land was placed in environmental stewardship, with flower-rich margins and wild seed bird mixes being introduced. At the same time, the decision was made to go organic, which was believed to support their application for a five-year Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid-Tier agreement.

For many farmers, changes like these would be a bitter pill to swallow but for Anna, who now co-manages the farm with her sister Fiona, there seemed to be few alternatives.

“Our soil was in such a poor state we really couldn’t continue farming the way we had been,” Anna explains. “This was a way to take the pressure off us, giving us a guaranteed income without the need for intensive farming. It ensured that the farm was financially viable while we could repair our soils.”

Where crop growing could continue, changes were made to what was produced and the rotations. In Anna’s dad’s day, the farm typically produced wheat, barley and root vegetables. Now, the farm has switched to a five-year rotation, including two years of clover leys. Initial attempts to grow beans were unsuccessful, and with the barley market low, oats were substituted as a break crop. Winter cover crops are selected for being quick-growing and frost-resistant, while the longer fallow periods of clover are crucial for building soil fertility and increasing organic matter.

When I look back at pictures of our farm, I don't recognise it. It looked like a desert, whereas now it looks like soil.

Anna Biesty

The switch to organic farming means pesticides or other chemicals were last used at Deepdale in 2020. The farm also uses min-till, which Anna says helps to keep living roots in the soil over winter, while providing the flexibility to plough in weeds to prepare the seed beds for drilling. Weed burdens are a particular problem at Deepdale, as the farm did not do a final spray before converting to organic and removing the chemicals.

Now, though, with the initial CS agreement entering its final year, Anna faces major questions about maintaining what has been built up at Deepdale over the past few years while increasing food production. Anna intends for about 75% of the farm to have crops growing, a balance between food and nature she says “sits better with us” than the current arrangement. 

“At the time, we didn’t have a choice about what to do,” Anna says. “We needed to secure the future of our farm and our most important natural asset, the soil. The farm has needed the break of these five years to reset. Going forward, we know how we want to farm, fully on board with both organic and nature-friendly farming.”

Anna’s plans for Deepdale’s future include bringing the farm’s 30 hectares of woodland under management, while its 25 kilometres of hedgerows have been placed into the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) with a three-year cutting rotation. Anna is also planning to improve the hedges’ health with a programme of coppicing, laying and gapping up.

Another change is the introduction of livestock. They are working with shepherds to bring animals on site for grazing for part of the year. 

The farm is also part of the North Norfolk Cluster Group and a keen supporter of the Landscape Recovery (LR) element of the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs). Anna is particularly hoping LR will help resolve what to do with Deepdale’s reclaimed marshland, which is difficult to crop, but, from a fresh water spring, provides irrigation; a vital asset as the farm faces the impact of climate change.

Maintaining financial viability has meant diversification has long been part of the thinking at Deepdale, with Anna’s grandad establishing different businesses on the land. Stables have now been converted into self-catering accommodation, and a large campsite is open 365 days a year.

As well as bringing in extra income, Anna says having holidaymakers on farm is important for educational purposes. “I’d like to have more signs around the campsite, especially where it looks directly onto a field, to explain what we’re doing,” Anna says. “I’d also like to do more farm walks and have some permissive paths, to teach people more about land use and nature-friendly farming.”

We needed to secure the future of our farm and our most important natural asset, the soil. The farm has needed the break of these five years to reset.

Anna Biesty

The future may still need mapping out, but Anna says the recent changes at Deepdale are already noticeable, both on and off the farm. “When I look back at pictures, I don’t recognise it,” she says. “It looked like a desert, whereas now it looks like soil. 

“Last time we had very heavy rain, we almost became an island. Roads were blocked and there were villages cut off all over Norfolk, but we didn’t have any flooding. The slope, the banks, the cover crops, the woodland - it all worked. Our last-resort ditch was dry, and our village was dry. 

My mum is the heart and soul of the village, and everyone noticed that we didn’t have a flooding problem. She could say that our changing farming practices had helped. It showed that how you farm matters, because it affects your community.”