Farming at Newton Farms
Family and Farming is the Heart of Our Business
Newton Farms is a progressive mixed farm based in the village of Newton in South Cambridgeshire. The farm has been run by Henry Hurrell since 1972 and George his eldest son was incorporated into the business in 2015 following a stint working within the Agri-Business team for a leading land agency in Norfolk. In 2018, Jack Hurrell joined the business to create a family farming partnership.
Newton Farms operates across six sites in Cambridgeshire. The first being in Newton where 1000 ha of land is farmed. This is a combination of land owned, rented and farmed under contract farming agreements. The second farm is situated in the village of Swaffham Prior where 800 ha of land is farmed. Half the farm at Swaffham Prior is irrigated from our reservoir with the majority of the remainder benefiting from a neighbours bore hole. A further 90 ha of land is farmed in the village of Stretham near Ely, and this farm has an abstraction licence to remove water from the River Ouse.
In 2015, Newton Farms entered into a contract farming agreement across 200 ha of land at Mill and Dells Farm, Great Chesterford. This farm is on relatively heavy clay and is undulating.
In 2022 Newton Farms took on the farming of Vicarage Farm, Swaffham Prior and Rectory Farm, Little Shelford.
Learn More About What We Do
Cropping
Newton Farms has historically grown many crops. A staple of Winter Wheat, Oil Seed Rape, Legumes, Sugar Beet and Barley are adhered to. However, niche crops such as Millet, Canary Seed and Linseed have been grown to take advantage of emerging markets. Winter Rye and Maize are currently being grown on the farm at Stretham and are being supplied to a local Anaerobic Digester. Land with water availability is rented to local Potato growers.
Precision Agriculture
Newton Farms have always invested heavily in machinery. We run a fleet of modern machinery and have also invested in more specific GPS controlled implements such as fertiliser spreaders and sprayers. Tractors utilise RTK GPS to ensure that every pass is as accurate and efficient as possible.
Environmentally Friendly Farming
At Newton Farms, we really care about the environment. We grow field scale cover crops in between commercial crops to ensure that we are putting nutrients back into the soil. We utilise our own farm yard manure as well as sewage sludge, chicken litter and digestate to ensure our farming policy is long term and sustainable. We utilise modern direct drilling methods along side tried and tested cultivation methods to ensure we are at the cutting edge of environmentally friendly farming. Click the link below to learn about our Environmental Agreements and obligations.