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About Abbey Farm
Abbey Farm is in the village of Flitcham, in West Norfolk,
UK. It is a 940 acre (375 hectare) tenant farm on the Sandringham
Estate and has been farmed by the Cross family since 1958. It
straddles the chalk scarp that runs north-south through West Norfolk,
so ranges from 80 feet to 250ft above sea level. The farm includes
the most easterly, regularly flowing springhead of the River Babingly.
The farm's main crops are barley, sugar beet and peas, grown
using conventional (i.e. not organic) methods. About one tenth
of the farm is grassland, most of which is near the river springhead.
We started converting some land to organic in 1999 and harvested
our first organic crops in 2002 (wheat, oats and beans). Currently,
about 13% of our arable land is organic, but we hope to convert more
in the future.
We have been involved in wildlife conservation since the early
1980s. The farm is particularly associated with conservation of
wet grasslands, Pink-footed Geese, Tree Sparrows and the recreation
of dry grasslands using seeds gathered from the local area. Read
more about the farm's wildlife and
bird hide and public access areas
At the beginning of 2005 there were six full-timers and seven
regular part-timers working at Abbey Farm. This is more than twice
the number working here before we started growing organic vegetables.
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