Arable
The farm is one of the core enterprises on the Estate, consisting of over 2,700 acres of arable land of our own and land farmed under a contract farming agreement and stubble-to-stubble contracting on neighbouring land.
Rougham Estate has a range of soil types ranging from blowing sands to the north on the edge of the Breckland series of soils to heavier clays to the south.
Due to the range of soil types, cropping rotations vary across the Estate. To the north the cropping rotation is dominated by Rye, Sugar Beet and Spring Barley.
In the middle of the Estate the cropping rotation is made of a mixture of Wheat, Malting Barley, Oilseed Rape and Sugar Beet. To the south of the Estate the cropping rotation is more dominated by Wheat, Oilseed Rape and some Sugar Beet. Where irrigation is available from neighbours some land is rented out for potatoes and onions. Some land to the north of the Estate is also rented out for pigs.
Crops
Where possible crops are grown on contracts to try and secure prices and premiums and to create better links between us the growers and the end users.
For example:
- All of our Rye is grown on contract for Ryvita; in fact, one in every 20 Ryvita crisp breads contains rye (the main raw ingredient) grown on Rougham Estate
- Our Milling Wheat is grown to produce bread
- Our Sugar Beet is all grown for British Sugar to produce Silver Spoon Sugar
- Our Malting Barley is grown to produce beer
Soil
For more than a decade we have worked hard to improve the health of our soils and the wider environment across the Estate and the land we farm. This has been done by reducing cultivations, applying muck and organic matter back onto the land, introducing cover cropping and livestock grazing back into our rotation and reducing our pesticide and manufactured fertiliser inputs.
With all of these measures we have seen a huge increase in the water retention of our soils, our soils are easier to cultivate (meaning that we use less fuel) and our soils have greater resilience and fertility, meaning that we create the perfect conditions for our crops to thrive.
Gallery
Rougham Estate is a member of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) and is Red Tractor Assured.
Our Team
We are very proud of our extremely dedicated team here at Rougham Estate to produce good quality produce and to farm in as sustainably possible way we can to protect our soils and environment.
We are always looking for dedicated people to join our harvest team for temporary positions between June and September, please contact the Estate Office for further information.
