Chris Greenaway

Herefordshire

Arable & beef

ARABLE & BEEF, HEREFORDSHIRE: Reared on a small dairy farm in Cornwall, Chris now manages the 3550-acre (1437-hectare) Garnstone farming estate in Herefordshire. Garnstone combines a number of enterprises, including beef cattle, cereals, beans and maize for animal feed, oilseed rape, grass seed, and crops to feed an anaerobic digester. A small portion of the cereals, beans and maize are fed to the estate’s own cattle but the majority is sold on the open market.

The estate also rents out ground for sheep grazing and Tenderstem broccoli cultivation, and has businesses in anaerobic digestion, forestry, poultry and property.

The anaerobic digester is owned and run with another farm, and provides heat and power for a nearby factory.

Chris wanted to be a farmer since he was a child. After the family farm was sold off, he worked weekends and holidays on neighbouring UK farms working with dairy and beef cows, pigs, sheep and cropping, then took himself off to New Zealand and Australia to gain more experience in large-scale arable, dairy and agricultural contracting businesses. That made him realise that farming was the career for him so he took a degree at Harper Adams University, and started working up the farm management ladder.

The estate where Chris now works lies within the River Wye catchment area so is environmentally sensitive. He’s therefore keen to improve the estate’s soil health and structure, and minimise run-off into the river. To achieve this he is reducing ploughing, improving drainage, planting short-term ‘cover’ crops between main crops to nourish the soil, and reducing his use of manufactured fertiliser and using organic manures instead. Cattle are kept away from water ways to avoid slurry going into the river, and herbal leys (a mix of grasses, herbs and legumes) are planted to nourish soils and reduce the need for herbicides. To prevent soils being damaged by harvesting in wet autumnal conditions, Chris plants maize varieties that can be harvested in early autumn.

Chris loves the variety that farming offers. “In one day, I could be in the office looking at the feasibility of new enterprises, repairing a machine in the field, calving a cow in the yard, and assessing crops and tractor driving in the evening. I love being out in the countryside and often have my children with me when roaming the countryside carrying out odd jobs on the estate.”

On the downside, the pressure and workload are immense, he says. “I feel the margins are so tight now, particularly with the beef, that we have to squeeze much more from our assets and sadly that includes staff.”

Contact Chris

Chris loves sport and used to play football and rugby. Today, his priority is spending time with his wife and three girls, so for sport he contents himself with occasionally trail running, and watching football and Formula 1 motor racing on television

Talking Point

Chris farms within the River Wye catchment and is keen to talk about the challenges that brings. “Phosphates in the water are contributing to the decline in biodiversity within the river and farmers are one of the sources of this. It is too simplistic and frankly deflective to say that the phosphates are coming from sewerage works or from Wales. This may be true but we as farmers in the catchment are contributing too. There are no regulations as such to stop farmers farming however we like – the Government’s Farming Rules for Water and designations of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) are good but they’re only a start. I wish more farmers took responsibility for their actions and appreciated the environmental impacts of what they are doing. It is certainly not helping our image.

At Garnstone, we’re taking the initiative by adopting measures such as reducing ploughing, keeping cattle out of water ways, and planting short-term ‘cover’ crops between main crops to improve the structure of our soils and prevent erosion. We test the level of phosphate in our waterways regularly and we are seeing good results. There is still more we can do and we will strive to get even better over the coming years.”

Declared interests

The farm is a member of the National Farmers Union

Happy to talk about

agricultural machinery agricultural policy agritech agrochemicals agroecology air quality animal health animal rights activism animal welfare arable arable production barley beef beef production biodiversity biofuels biomass Bovine TB brassicas Brexit buckwheat bull calves calf hutches calf rearing CAP carbon emissions carbon footprint carbon neutral carbon reduction Cereal production Cereals changing consumer tastes cheap food chemical use climate change clover Common Agricultural Policy conservation agriculture cover crops cow comfort cow/calf separation crop growing crops diversity education Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) environmental stewardship extensive agriculture family farming farm assurance farm diversification farm education farm safety farm suicide farm to fork fertiliser flooding flower rich meadows fly-tipping fodder food safety food waste forage fungicides glyphosate grassland management hare coursing harvest hay healthy eating herbal leys herbicides insecticides intensive farming labour shortages linseed local food local food movements low inputs manure management mental health in farming migrant workers min till mixed farming National Grid nature friendly farming neonicotinoids new entrants next generation Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) nitrates oats obesity oilseed rape organic organic cereal production organic vegetable production outdoor bred pasture-fed livestock pesticides public access public engagement public money for public goods Red Tractor reducing inputs regenerative agriculture renewable energy rise of veganism robotic milking parlours rural crime seasonal agricultural workers seasonal food second income self sufficiency soil health soil management straw stress subsidies traceability tractors vegan activism veganism vegetables water quality wheat wildlife wildlife crime work/life balance young entrants Young Farmers zero till