Twelve farms, hop harvest & back at Hockham

Hello,

It's been a little while since my last newsletter, but it's certainly not been quiet at Indie Farmer.

At the end of August I wrapped up my Lund Trust Fellowship — a project that's taken me to twelve farms, vineyards, smallholdings and food businesses across the High Weald over the past year.

It's been a brilliant project to work on. I've met everyone from first-generation farmers and butchers to flower growers, vineyard owners and established farming families, all finding different ways to make a living from the land.

Since my last update, I've published the final three stories from the series:

Tibbs Farm

At Tibbs Farm in Brede, I met the family behind one of the High Weald's most distinctive mixed farms, where hops, livestock and other enterprises form part of a farming story stretching back generations.

How Tibbs Farm is Building Resilience through Diversity

In the tenth instalment of my twelve-part Indie Farmer series, supported by the Lund Trust and the High Weald National Landscape, I visited Tibbs Farm near Udimore, East Sussex, where brothers Simon and Phil Wheeler are building a more resilient family business by combining traditional farming with hospitality, direct

Indie FarmerNigel Akehurst

Dusky Slug Flowers

At Dusky Slug Flowers near Staplecross, I met a small-scale flower grower building a business on around an acre of land, including DIY wedding flowers and buckets of seasonal, locally grown blooms.

From London to flower farming: growing a new life at Dusky Slug Flowers

In the eleventh instalment of my twelve-part Indie Farmer series, supported by the Lund Trust and the High Weald National Landscape, I visited Dusky Slug Flowers, in the High Weald National Landscape, near Staplecross, East Sussex, where first-generation flower farmer Poppy Royds is building a small-scale cut

Indie FarmerNigel Akehurst

Aweside Farm

And at Aweside Farm, I explored the realities of establishing a new farming business from scratch — from growing herbs and flowers and planting thousands of trees to navigating the less glamorous challenges that come with creating a farm.

Growing enough: How Aweside Farm is rethinking resilience

In the twelfth and final instalment of my twelve-part Indie Farmer series, supported by the Lund Trust and the High Weald National Landscape, I visited Aweside Farm near Arlington, East Sussex, where first-generation farmer Sinead Fenton is growing organic edible flowers, herbs and garnishes while rethinking how to

Indie FarmerNigel Akehurst

Together they bring my twelve-part Lund Trust Fellowship series to a close. I'll share some reflections on the project soon, but I'm hugely grateful to the Lund Trust and High Weald National Landscape for giving me the opportunity to spend time documenting these farms and the people behind them.

Back to Tibbs for hop harvest

I was also back at Tibbs Farm in Brede last week, this time following the hop harvest – against a backdrop of another hot, dry summer and growing pressures on Britain's remaining hop growers..

It's part of a new documentary project I'm working on exploring the realities of growing hops in Sussex, following the story from the farm through to the breweries that ultimately turn them into beer.

There's something incredibly visual about hop harvest — the bines coming in from the field, the machinery stripping the hops and the smell as they head into the drying floors.

Watch a sneak preview from the hop harvest over on my Instagram here.

I'll be returning over the coming months as the film develops, including following what happens to the hops once they leave the farm.

Back at Hockham Farm

Meanwhile, things haven't stopped at home either.

Our next Farm Gate Sale is this Saturday, 19th September, from 10am–1pm at Hockham Farm.

We'll have a good selection of our pasture-raised beef available as individual cuts, including steaks, roasting joints, slow-cooking cuts, mince and handmade burgers.

Hazel and Martin from Pevensey Cheese will also be there with their award-winning Pevensey Blue and Tilley Lane cheeses, alongside local organic yoghurt from Court Lodge Farm.

If you're local, do come and say hello.

📍 Hockham Farm, BN27 4UT
Saturday 19th September, 10am–1pm

As ever, thanks for following Indie Farmer and supporting independent farming journalism.

There's plenty more coming this autumn.

Nigel

Founder, Indie Farmer