Mentmore Park Farms grew from the successful family-run farm M&J Gaymer, which was established over 30 years ago when founders Michael and Julie moved here to manage 1007 acres of the former Rosebery Estate.
The farm has now doubled in size to approximately 2,000 acres and diversified considerably.
When Michael and Julie took on the farm it was in a semi-derelict state, with buildings and fields alike in poor condition. With the help of government grants, we undertook the largest agricultural land drainage scheme of its time and turned the farm around, marking the first of many successful operations in farm management.
Early on, cropping consisted of grass for seed, borage, sugar beet seed and cereal crops. The farming system was plough based with secondary cultivations mainly in the form of a power harrow followed by combination drilling.
Today, cropping consists of wheat, barley, oats, beans, grass and cover crops while the farm now also comprises small areas of parkland and woodland. With our reinvestment into modern machinery, we run a flexible approach to crop establishment making us more versatile in the stride for productivity and sustainability. Some examples of this are our use of variable rate applications, yield mapping and Real Time Kinematics used in conjunction with a managed Controlled Traffic system catering for the soil and environment.
Contract farming has been an ever growing part of the business, we now farm a further 3000 acres through both contract farming and rental agreements. Investment in grain storage at our yard as well as a new drying and cleaning plant built in 2019 allows us to offer to full package to local farmers including all field operations, grain handling and storage and record keeping and advice.
The contracting side of the business expanded in 2006 when the farm took over from a local straw contractor, this has continued to expand and we now run three large square balers during harvest, baling straw for local farmers and renewable energy power stations.
Elsewhere on the farm, an number of older farm buildings have been converted to office, workshop and storage space, allowing us to provide workspace for a number of local businesses.
We pride ourselves with working alongside farmers and land owners to help grow and improve their farming business, combining a proactive approach in embracing new technologies and using innovative strategies, with our experience to get the best out of the soil to improve yield and profitability.