AN exciting partnership has been announced to manage a Quantock Hills farm to benefit nature, climate, and agriculture.

The Quantock Hills National Landscape and Somerset Council are partnering to develop a flagship demonstrator farm.

New Stowey Farm is an 116-acre holding close to Nether Stowey and was previously tenanted, most recently for grazing, and will continue to operate as a working farm, employing regenerative agriculture techniques.

The new partnership aims to create nature-rich farmland through habitat creation and restoration, realise carbon sequestration and climate actions, and engage communities to increase understanding of agriculture and provide opportunities for learning, training, and volunteering.

The Quantocks team will work with stakeholders including graziers, community groups, and environmental experts to demonstrate the potential to deliver a range of agricultural, environmental, climate, and community benefits.

Looking across New Stowey Farm, on the Quantock Hills.
Looking across New Stowey Farm, on the Quantock Hills. PHOTO: Royston Hunt 2024. ( )

Visitors will notice some changes in the coming months as the barn will be rebuilt, grazing livestock will be reintroduced, and rights of way across the farm will be improved.

The longer-term aims include establishing a community orchard, planting in-field trees, improving woodland health, and assessing how modifications to the stream can restore natural hydrological processes.

Quantocks manager Iain Porter said: “New Stowey Farm presents huge opportunities to engage our communities to develop and showcase the opportunities agriculture has to deliver on many public benefits.”

A new partnership aims to turn New Stowey Farm into an exemplar of how climate change can be combatted.
A new partnership aims to turn New Stowey Farm into an exemplar of how climate change can be combatted. PHOTO: Royston Hunt 2024. ( )

Projects manager Mark Baker said: “It has never been more important to understand how farming can sustain livelihoods while responding to the climate and ecological emergencies.

“We are eager to preserve and promote the economic and cultural value of New Stowey as a working farm and explore how livestock can promote biodiversity and resilience to a changing climate.

“This will contribute to nature recovery plans across the greater Quantock Hills area.

“Most importantly, we aim to involve local communities with this work.”

Somerset executive Cllr Dixie Darch said: “I am so excited about this opportunity to showcase what can be done through regenerative farming, working with nature alongside food production.

“This will be a learning project for all of us as we witness how the land responds to a new kind of management and stewardship.”