ABOUT OVERBURY FARMS MANAGER & TEAM
Penelope Bossom, Managing Partner of Overbury Enterprises, has a team led by Farm Manager, Jake Freestone. Jake manages six staff, including part-time Graham and Wilf Harrison, Overbury's 4th Hartpury sandwich year placement. Where the team once comprised about thirty men, larger machinery and new technology enable just four highly-skilled men, all living on the Estate, to carry out all the farming activities throughout the year.
Graham, Tim, Derek, and Gordon have worked for Overbury Farms for over 40 years, and Will joined the team in September 2023. The team have seen dramatic changes on the farm during their lifetimes, not least in the size and complexity of machinery; as machinery grew in power, the number of men required to do the work has dropped, but new skills and technologies need to be mastered. All have their own particular areas and skills, but all work together as a team, and we can complete the majority of the farm operations ourselves.
The team now plants, grows, and harvests crops for our neighbours at the Kemerton Estate, working on a contract farming agreement. Modern equipment uses satellites for tractor guidance, precision application of crop inputs, and measurement of yield and quality at harvest.
Our sheep flock, managed by Sam Page and Shirley Arbury, graze the permanent pasture fields on Bredon Hill and, more recently, grass fields within the arable rotation filled with herbs and legumes to improve our soil and sheep health whilst eliminating fertiliser requirements. They lamb outdoors in April, and the lambs are sold from the grass fields when they reach a certain weight. They are sold to Pilgrims Food. We are breeding our own wool-shedding sheep to reduce costs and improve sheep welfare. These are based around a maternal flock of Lleyn ewes mated with Exlana and Wiltshire rams.
JAKE FREESTONE
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Jake joined Overbury Farms as Farm Manager in 2003 with previous farm management experience with The Buccleugh Estates (BQ Farms) and Velcourt. In 2013 Jake undertook a Nuffield Farming Scholarship ‘Breaking the Wheat Yield in the UK’.
The results of his study changed the Farming System at Overbury switching to a Regenerative Agriculture system putting the soil at the centre of how we now farm. This involves, direct drilling all of our own crops, covering the fields with living plants and roots at all times, growing a more diverse range of crops and rotating the sheep around the farm.
In 2021 Jake was awarded the Farmers Weekly Environmental Champion and the British Farming Awards Arable Innovator of the Year. This follows the award of the Soil Farmer of the Year in 2020. He has spoken at the Oxford Farming Conference, The Real Oxford Farming Conference the NFU and CLA Annual Conferences on a wide range of topics from Precision Farming, to Regenerative Agricultural techniques and Carbon.
GRAHAM MATTY
Graham is now part-time but helps out for a number of jobs on the farm.
Graham started at Overbury in the early 70’s and has an unrivaled knowledge of the system.
Alongside Derek, Gordon, Mark and Kiele, Graham carries out general maintenance of the farm, such as erecting and repairing fences. In 2022 they have planted lots of trees for the Queens Green Canopy to mark Her Majesty"s Platinum Jubilee.
DEREK STANFORD
With over 40 years of experience with machinery on the farm, Derek is the operator of our cross-slot drill.
Irrigation (and maintenance of the irrigation equipment) of vegetables is also Derek’s responsibility, along with his share of crop-spraying.
General farm maintenance (fencing, pollarding etc) is carried out by Derek, Gordon, Mark, Graham and Kyle.
GORDON STANFORD
Gordon (Derek's brother) has worked for Overbury Farms since he was 16; their older brother Andrew retired from Overbury Farms in 2009 after 48 years’ service.
Gordon’s role includes twenty miles of hedge-cutting annually, working alongside the shepherds during lambing; digger operator (for land-drain maintenance, road-making, building work, landscaping etc) and grain-hauling during harvest.
Along with the rest of the team he will keep an eye on the ditches and culverts and other general farm maintenance such as fencing, stone-walling and tree maintenance.
TIM STANFORD
Tim (cousin of Derek and Gordon) carries out the majority of the annual spraying operation (when weather conditions permit).
Tim’s major responsibility is the all-year-round farm machinery maintenance including welding and sourcing new/replacement parts.
When the crops are ripe (July / August), and the weather is right, Tim is the main operator of the John Deere combine harvester, with yield mapping & autosteer.
WILL GOODMAN
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Will joined the team in September this year and is enjoying learning about sustainable farming in Overbury and Conderton. He has previously worked in New Zealand so brings some good experience with him to share with us all. His family lives in Great Witley near Worcester.
WILF HARRISON
Wilf has joined us for his 12 month placement from Hartpury College where he’s currently studying Level 3 foundation diploma in agriculture.
4th generation farmer on his Dads side and a 6th generation farmer on his Mums side he lives on a 180 cow dairy farm and enjoys raising his own animals.
Passionate about regenerative farming he’s attended talks where Overbury featured our Farm Manager Jake was a speaker. He’s excited to learn more about arable and sheep farming which is very different to his home dairy farm.
After finishing his course he hopes to travel through America and New Zealand so he can learn as much as he can before returning to continue farming.