INDOOR PIGS, SHEEP & ARABLE, NEWARK: Allen Farms, which Fred co-owns, rears indoor pigs and hill-grazed sheep and grows arable crops on 1,200 acres (486 hectares). But it’s the pigs that Fred is most passionate about. As manager of the Pig Unit, he cares for 850 sows, plus their offspring, and is the proud winner of several National Pig Awards, including Unit Manager of the Year in 2024.

The pigs and sheep are sent to a range of abattoirs from where their meat is sent to supermarkets, local butchers, shops, restaurants, and schools and hospitals.

Fred was raised on the family farm. But as he was growing up, he was encouraged to train in something other than farming, due to the “turbulent nature of the industry.”

He achieved a first-class degree in geography at the University of Birmingham, then moved to Australia to work for a mining company in order to qualify as a geologist. But part way through his training, Fred realised it wasn’t for him. Instead, he worked on a number of arable farms and sheep ranches in both Australia and New Zealand, gaining useful experience.

His father’s ill health in 2014 drew him back to the family farm and three years later he became director of the company, Allen Farms (Coddington) Ltd. Since Fred took over, the company has adopted the core aim of trying to be as self-sufficient as possible, with the target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. To achieve this, the farm has its own feed mill, allowing its arable crops of wheat, barley, beans and sugar beet to be milled into feed for the livestock. It also has its own borehole providing its water, and solar panels providing much of its electricity.

By keeping the pigs indoors, Fred says he reduces his carbon footprint. “They now use just 20 percent of the previous land area. Manure is stored under cover, which means releasing minimal greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. We’ve also installed infrastructure on buildings to harness the heat pigs produce. The heat is extracted to warm other pig buildings, which reduces our energy consumption.”

Fred thrives off the challenges of farming and says it’s what gets him up each morning. “No day is ever the same. No day is ever easy. Yet every day is educational in some way.”

As Fred has grown the business, he’s been forced to become less hands on. Thankfully for him, he now gets his farming fix when the staff have gone home. “Most of my evenings are spent walking the crops and sheds or running the feed mill. I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labour.”