John Ker

SOMERSET

Beef (organic)

BEEF (ORGANIC), SOMERSET: John runs a 123-acre (50-hectare) organic beef farm between the Blackdown hills and Exmoor National Park, with a firm focus on environmental enrichment and biodiversity. Recently the farm has diversified to include a luxury holiday let in the house where John was born, and another inside a converted shipping container located in a remote spot on the farm. John also sublets a glamping site.

“To use the modern buzz words, we farm in a nature friendly way and incorporate a lot of regenerative farming principles,” says John. “The farm has been certified organic for over two decades. I spend time watching my livestock before taking any decisions on things like feed, grazing, or reseeding fields to rejuvenate them. Some might see this as lazy farming but I believe it’s important not to do anything too fast.”

John buys in three-month-old organic dairy-cross beef calves and rears them on grass pasture until they are mature at 24 months. John also has a herd of pedigree Dexter cattle which he takes to shows, and is immensely proud to have won the breed champion category at both the North Somerset and Devon County shows. The shows are not only about winning though. “Days off the farm are good for me. More farmers need to do that,” he says. “It also enables me to talk to the public about what we’re doing on the farm.”

If things are quiet, John helps out on neighbouring farms. He also works as a freelance soil sampler for soil health specialists Farm Carbon Toolkit and Terrafarmer and is training to be a certified agronomist. In addition John is taking part in the PRISM 2030 programme, led by ABP meat processors, aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of beef and lamb farming.

The farm was purchased by John’s grandfather in the 1950s and since then has gone through many changes in systems, produce and people. “I tried most things to escape the farm,” John laughs. “I went to Welbeck military college and was on track to join the army. A nasty ankle injury stopped that and I then spent two years working in France as a river guide in kayaks and canoes before taking a sports science degree at Bangor university. After all this I still ended up back at the family farm, eventually taking it over from my parents.”

Now a father of three, John has no regrets. “There’s nothing quite beats seeing my pedigree Dexters give birth and wondering if the new calf will be a heifer (female) or a bull, and whether it will be black, red or dun. I also love turning the cattle out in the spring and watching them stretch their legs and enjoy the fresh grass. Or seeing my oldest two sons watching me hay-making and loving every second. These moments show me why I’ve done what I’ve done.”

As with his soils and plants, diversity in the businesses he runs is key. “If I ran a single business, that would be vulnerable to changes in the financial climate, so it’s essential to have several businesses at the same time. The holiday lets are a vital and much-loved part of what we do, and many of our guests have been coming ever since we started them over a decade ago.”

Contact John

John still kayaks when he can. He also runs a local Beaver scout group in his ‘spare’ time, and enjoys taking his children sailing in North Devon where his parents moved after retiring from the farm

Talking Point

Being an organic beef farmer I am keen to demonstrate how farming cows on grass can store carbon and reduce carbon emissions. Often government policy is steered towards tree planting to achieve these things, perhaps because trees are relatively easy to count and calculate exact amounts of carbon. But the picture is far more complex so there is not just one way to solve our environmental problems. In some instances, a field, meadow or hedgerow might be just as useful, or more useful, than trees in storing carbon.

Declared interests

Member of Soil Association

Member of Nature Friendly Farming network

Member of ABP food processor’s Prism 2030 project

Happy to talk about

agricultural machinery agricultural policy agroforestry air quality animal feed animal health animal rights activism animal welfare antibiotic reduction antibiotic resistance antibiotic use attracting staff badger cull badger vaccination beef beef production bees biodiversity biosecurity Bovine TB Brexit bull calves butchery calf hutches calf rearing CAP carbon emissions carbon footprint carbon neutral carbon reduction CCTV in abattoirs changing consumer tastes cheap food chemical use climate change clover Common Agricultural Policy conservation agriculture cow comfort cow/calf separation depression diet direct sales diversity drought education Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) environmental stewardship extensive agriculture family farming farm assurance farm education farm safety farm succession farm suicide farm to fork farmers’ markets flooding flower rich meadows fly-grazing fly-tipping food safety food waste foodie culture forage forage research fresh produce grassland management ground source heat pumps growing a business hay healthy eating herbal leys hunting individual pens labour shortages lamb lamb production local food loss of small abattoirs low inputs manure management mental health in farming nature friendly farming next generation Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) organic organic cereal production pasture-fed livestock planning permission policy development public access public engagement public money for public goods rare breeds Red Tractor reducing inputs regenerative agriculture renewable energy rise of veganism rural crime rural planning policy rural tourism sausages second income self sufficiency sheep sheep production sheep shearing slaughter small scale farming soil management straw stress subsidies supermarkets supply chains traceability tractors water quality wildlife wildlife crime work/life balance working off farm