Morley Farms Ltd is a commercial farming enterprise which farms the land owned by The Morley Agricultural Foundation (TMAF). In addition, some land we farm is rented from The John Innes Foundation, Norwich.
Of the total 750 hectares, 700 hectares are cropped. The remainder is permanent pasture and woodland. The current crop rotation is typical for this region: wheat, malting barley, sugar beet, forage maize, forage rye and oats
Morley Farms employs manager David Jones and two full-time staff. We are well-equipped with machinery to carry out all farming operations, except of sugar beet harvesting which is done by a contractor.
Farming with trials
Morley Farms Ltd hosts field trials for several organisations, principally Niab, British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO) and JIC.
On the ground, this means we have numerous 2×12m field plots within a commercial crop. There are also larger, tramline and field-scale plots. The total area for demonstration and trials plots is about 35 hectares. From time to time the farm host other trials with organisations such as Agrovista, Bayer, BASF etc.
In 2024, Morley Farms became an AHDB Strategic Cereal Farm. This is a 6 year programme through which AHDB supports farmer-led research.
Manor Farm, where we have our offices and meeting rooms, has been hosting field trials since 1965. The result is fascinating timeline of agricultural research and reports, which can be seen in our archive of research reports and other documents in the Morley Library.
The farm is a platform to demonstrate and share farming practices with the many visitors to the farm. This ranges from technical events for farmers and advisers to giving an overview of farming to local community groups.
Farming and the environment
Manor Farm has been in various countryside stewardship and ELS schemes over the years.
In 2022 the farm was accepted into the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot. This involved a number of actions to help the environment e.g., feeding wild birds, providing pollen and nectar sources to beneficial insects, maintaining hedges, protecting water courses, and improving soil quality.
As this is a pilot, we have the opportunity to give feedback to DEFRA on what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully this will shape future government policy.
