Roughway Farm is committed to the rural environment. As a family farm we have always felt part of the local community and have dedicated resources to keeping the farm attractive and environmentally diverse.
We have for generations kept our fields and woodland well maintained, public footpaths clear, and preserved the Kentish landscape. We have also engaged with our local community though local government and promoted rural affairs in the local and national press.
On the farm we have always practiced mixed and responsible farming. In the modern age we like other industries strive to strike a positive balance between good business practice and the environment.
We currently have four major environmental projects on the farm. The first project is to achieve water self-sufficiency. This goal we are well on the way to achieving by sourcing the majority of our water from natural run off. Going forward this will help keep the farm sustainable and help towards making our fruit all the more delicious.
The second project is our commitment to biodiversity. At Roughway Farm we know that intensive farming has its costs. This is why we have kept many of our hedge rows intact and have created nature zones. These zones have ponds and wild flowers to encourage birds, insects and other wildlife. We also have a good relationship with a local bee keeper who is helping us manage the farm’s bee population.
The third project is to tackle the energy use of our cold storage. The cold stores have solar panels which work well in the Summer to mitigate energy use for keeping our fresh fruit cool.
We have also installed new smart technology in 2023 to make the cold storage more efficient. This should save 20% of cold storage power use.
The project was supported by Growing Green and Low Carbon Kent. You can find out more in the video case study with Giles Cannon that details how the project will help the environment and the farm.
The fourth project is built on our long history of Kentish Cobnut production. We are creating a brand new British built machine to dehusk our cobnuts. The machine will help utilise waste streams more efficiently from husk waste to shell waste. Critically the machine will also stop food waste through dehusking damage and also by ensuring we can get our cobnuts to ambient more efficiently.
The added benefit of the machine is that it can help the heritage cobnut industry by offering other growers the opportunity to do more with their crop. This will help maintain cobnut fields which have particular value for the environment from soil health to carbon sequestration. We are proud to also be working with a British engineering firm in the design and manufacture of this totally unique machine.
You can find out more about this machine and how it will help the environment and the cobnut industry in our video case study with Tom Cannon.
We love farming and we love our environment. Through our commitment and balanced approach we hope to expand the farm and preserve our unique Kentish landscape.
