Farming
Matfen Home Farms
Matfen Home Farms is a Farming Partnership operated by Sir Hugh Blackett, Lady Blackett and their son Henry Blackett. The Farming operating manages both Arable and Grassland along with a mixture of commercial and amenity woodland. Working in collaboration with Contractors the Estate produces cereals, oilseeds, meat and timber.
Arable
Working in partnership with local farm Contractors Maughan Agri the Arable operation produces Wheat, Barley and Oilseed Rape. These important commodities are used for a range of human and animal feeds, biofuels, lubricants and a range of other bi-products.
We use largely conventional methods to ensure high productivity and maximise the efficiency of our use of natural resources. In future years we will look to improve the sustainability of our operation by harnessing nature to improve soil fertility while capturing Carbon dioxide to offset emissions.
Livestock
The farm runs a flock of 1,450 commercial sheep, producing over 2000 lambs annually. This provides around 50 tonnes of lamb meat for consumption across the UK and Europe. Our sheep are a mixture of North Country Mules and Texels with the majority being bred on-farm and some replacements being brought in from other local breeders. The sheep are looked after by our Contract partner Iain Bonn, ably assisted by his Border Collies Jess, Meg and Brock
The farm also plays host to a local herd of Longhorn Cattle from the Reiver Longhorn herd, run by Ridley Armstrong of Bridge End Farm. Ridley’s Longhorns graze land around Halton Castle in the Spring and Summer months providing land management services while filling their bellies.
Forestry
The estate manages the woodland which supplies the chip wood for biomass boilers for Matfen Hall Hotel and Halton Castle.
Environmental
The management of land in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way is paramount to the owners of the Matfen Estate.