A call out for food and farming champions
Welcome to
Woodoaks Farm
Woodoaks Farm lies just to the west of London at Maple Cross in Hertfordshire. It extends to just over 300 acres and includes arable and pastureland and around 75 acres of semi-natural woodland.
The farm has been in the Findlay Family since the 1920’s and in November 2020 Sally Findlay donated Woodoaks to the Soil Association Land Trust to ensure it will be farmed sustainably into the future; producing good food, improving wildlife and continuing to welcome people.
As the next custodians of the farm, we will transition to organic and become a showcase for a robust and regenerative system that will support a climate friendly future with plenty of biodiversity and a vibrant and dynamic sustainable food hub.
It will create a landscape where nature and people can flourish, restoring beautiful countryside, improving habitats and increasing biodiversity for everyone to enjoy. It will be a place where local enterprise can thrive re-connecting the community with the food they eat and the land that grows it, and that will provide opportunities to learn and get involved.
New Enterprises at Woodoaks Farm
We believe that Woodoaks has the potential to produce so much more than commodity crops for mass markets.
We want a greater diversity of crops, livestock and producers on the farm to lovingly grow, rear and process foods for local markets and beyond.
We are looking for a diverse mix of food and farming entrepreneurs to co-create the future we have imagined for Woodoaks Farm.
We want to create a cluster of organic food and farming businesses working together to build direct relationships with customers, and develop short, farmer-focused supply chains to re-connect consumers with food production and nature.
We are looking for valuable enterprise partners who will share our vision and objectives for the farm.
Who will respect the rural, agricultural character of the site and add to the diversity of crops, livestock, and food available from the farm and add value to raw produce.
We believe that collaboration will reduce risks and bring benefits through shared infrastructure, costs, and experience.
The opportunities
Promoting local food growing
Woodoaks Farm will be a place where people come to understand how sustainable food is grown. The enterprises will help empower people to make more informed food choices in the future.
Supporting the local community
Woodoaks will be a busy, happy and interesting place where people feel welcome and feel they can get involved and discover more about food production, our rural heritage and nature.
Enhancing biodiversity
Woodoaks Enterprises will help support the regeneration of natural habitats, improving the soil and reduce harmful inputs so a rich diversity of species can thrive.
Ensuring long term future of Woodoaks
Enterprises will thrive thanks to all the site can offer. In turn they’ll help to ensure the long-term future of this natural landscape.
Woodoaks offers an opportunity to help shape the future of food and farming. Thanks to its fantastic location and its natural resources the farm has great potential for businesses to flourish.
Key assets of the farm include: Land, Buildings and Shared Infrastructure.
Read more
The Farm
Woodoaks Farm extends to just over 300 acres with 287K people living within 5 miles and 2.5m within 15 miles, this makes Woodoaks Farm the perfect location for enterprise. Watch the video here
What we are looking for
Diversity of produce is important to us, so if you are a market gardener selling niche culturally rich products, we want you to apply as much as the market gardener who wants to grow more traditional produce – all organic of course.
Whether you are a start-up or established business we are open minded about the mix of enterprises but the types of things we would welcome could include:
• Horticulture
• Poultry
• Novel crops
• Agroforestry
• Small-scale dairy
• Dairy produce
• Meat production
• An on-site bakery
• A farm shop
• Deliveries for local people
