Producer Spotlight on Chapel House Farm, Craswall
Simon and Anita Dale farm in Craswall and Much Dewchurch and are a great example of field to fork eating, closing the food loop in Herefordshire's Golden Valley. They are an inspiration!
Their White Park cattle and rare breed sheep are tough, out all year and require no inputs. They are mob grazed, moving regularly so as to rest the soil as well providing opportunity for wild flowers and grasses to flourish. Similarly, the rooting pigs disrupt the soil but are moved so as not to damage it. The eating, browsing and moving of these key grazers mimic the large herbivores that used to roam Ancient Britain and allow the flora, fauna, fungi, protoctista and bacteria vital for rich diverse ecosystems to flourish.
Simon also grows Fava beans, (legumes being key to nitrogen fixing, carbon sequestration, soil organic matter as well as rich in protein and fibre) and Population and Landrace wheat varieties, which are milled in Craswall and supplied to local bakers including Kates bakery Hay and Daphne's Presteigne , also selling direct to the customer as flours, pastas and pies at Hay market., and Hay evening market. They hold wonderful pop ups in their barn, and foraging courses too. Sign up for calendar updates Chapel House Farm.
Simon will be on the Q&A panel for our screening of “Six Inches of Soil” at The Hub Peterchurch next Friday 28th February.