FARM NAME: Mindrum Estate, Northumberland
FARM SIZE: 465ha
DESCRIPTION: Mindrum is a mixed organic farm located in North Northumberland, on the Scottish border. Led by Tom Fairfax, a former conventional farmer responding to ever-tightening margins, the farm is now firmly in the midst of a regenerative transition. Tom applies a holistic approach to managing soil health and plant–animal interactions in order to deliver the farms Mission: “to produce healthy food from healthy ground.”
Mindrum’s strategy is based on working with natural systems rather than against them. Circular economy principles underpin the operation, with the majority of agricultural inputs — including fertility, feed, and infrastructure — produced on-site. This self-sufficiency supports both ecological resilience and financial viability.
The farm produces organic lamb and beef from a flock of 950 Suffolk Mule ewes and a herd of 95 Beef Shorthorn–Angus cross suckler cows. Arable operations include a diverse range of organic cereals grown across approximately 100 hectares. Over 50 hectares of woodland and semi-natural habitats provide a foundation for biodiversity and integrated land management. An ambitious five-year agroforestry programme is underway, aimed at increasing productivity, improving ecological function, and enhancing long-term farm resilience.
Mindrum is also an active centre for education and public engagement. The farm regularly hosts school visits, educational walks, and practical learning days — inspiring both children and adults to explore the connections between farming, food, and nature.
THEIR APPROACH TO FEEDING THE SOIL:
Tom employs a diverse range of regenerative practices designed to feed and activate the soil, investing considerable time and energy into a range of composting methods, adaptive grazing, seed mixes, and crop rotations. His goal is to harness the inherent productive power of the soil, enabling it to drive plant growth and system momentum with minimal external input.
This approach centres on regenerating the farm’s natural assets using a range of agroecological, agroforestry, and permaculture principles. The farm uses a wide toolkit ranging from bokashi, fermentation, Korean Natural Farming (KNF), vermicomposting, thermal composting, to the deployment of diverse cover crops, adaptive use of livestock (particularly native breed) and adaptive management. Collectively and individually, these tools have a range of effects and interactions. The exciting thing about the soil ecosystem is that it is not just a production medium which responds to management, it also reflects and communicates the health of the system within which it exists. Tom sees the key to this strategy as “using the correct tool correctly” and uses a number of time-tested information management approaches to assist with operational decision making.
Korean Natural Farming, to take a particular example, involves the management of indigenous soil microorganisms — bacteria, fungi, and other beneficial microbes — to support wider production systems in the soil. These microbial communities improve soil carbon and water retention, nutrient cycling, and resilience against pest and disease pressure. They also help reduce nutrient runoff, making KNF a powerful soil fertility and water quality lever, but also, in conjunction with other observation approaches, an effective indicator of impact and system dynamics.
Vermicompost is another key product, used not only as a soil amendment but also to “innoculate” seeds at sowing or tree roots before planting— coating them with living biology to give developing plants an early edge.
CHALLENGES:
Farmers are often defined by the way that they manage challenges. In a dynamic production environment which welcomes diversity and change, challenges often represent opportunities to tune the system or indicators that action is needed somewhere in the system.
Weather - Every farm is at the mercy of the weather – we have to deal with what nature throws at us! On the positive side, the approach we have been following appears to have made the farm a bit more Weatherproof and resilient as “the ground” appears to be a tremendous buffer as it becomes more functional.
Probably the biggest source of challenge comes from inconsistent government intent. With this in mind we are working hard to reduce dependence on government support. Whilst we are not out of the woods yet – our system appears to be increasingly resilient from a financial perspective too.
Managing complexity – having nature as a business partner does introduce some “curved balls” and life is not always predictable. Once we managed to adjust our mindset, and system to flex, we have found that our system is able to be surprisingly flexible when required. Life may be complex but it doesn’t need to be complicated.
Like so many of us, Tom is also grappling with how growers can get society to take more of an interest in how our food is produced. Read his blog for some of his insights.
TOP TIPS:
Take the first step!
Listen to the ground.
Don’t expect it to be perfect first time… or the next time or even the next!
It might be complex but it rarely needs to be complicated!
Channel your inner microbe. (Try thinking like an amoeba 😊)
Use the correct tools correctly but remember, a fool with a tool… is still a fool!