How two growers are using regenerative farming to protect water >More in
John Hawkins
Pressure to reverse excessive nitrate leaching into both the Wessex Water borehole and wider Poole Harbour catchments has led Dorset farmer John Hawkins to radically reshape his farm in the past three years.
The borehole supplies up to 8m litres of water a day, but can be out of action for three to six months of the year because of excessive nitrogen, explains Tim Stephens, a catchment adviser for Wessex Water, who has supported Mr Hawkins closely during the transition.
In total, about 2,000t of nitrogen from 400-500 farms, plus Wessex Water sewage works, enters the Poole Harbour catchment a year.
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Luke Paterson of Dilham Hall with one of the glamping pods at Tonnage Bridge
- Credit: Chris Hill
When Luke Paterson took on his family s farm five years ago, he could not have predicted the economic shocks which were to follow.
But despite Brexit, harvest disasters and a worldwide pandemic, the business has thrived - thanks to a diversification strategy which has equipped it with new incomes and the resilience to ride out the storms of an ever-changing industry.
Mr Paterson is the fourth generation of his family to farm at Dilham Hall, near North Walsham.
He bought his brother Joe out of the business in 2016 - a move which itself was only possible due to the security of income from his brokerage firm Paterson Ag, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.