Newbury Community Farm Boosts Regenerative Farming After DEFRA Grant, Sparks Volunteer Surge

When Newbury Community Farm appeared on BBC South Today on November 15, 2022, viewers didn’t just see a farm—they saw a quiet revolution in action. Nestled on Greenham Road in Newbury, West Berkshire, this community-run operation has turned a former industrial arable site into a thriving hub of soil restoration, wildlife recovery, and local food resilience—all thanks to a £48,500 grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The six-minute segment, reported by BBC correspondent Sarah Johnson, didn’t just highlight results; it revealed a blueprint for how small-scale farming can punch far above its weight in the climate crisis.

From Conventional Fields to Carbon Sink

Just five years ago, the 38-hectare plot was known as Winterbrook Farm, owned by agrochemical giant Syngenta and managed with conventional tillage and synthetic inputs. Then came a community-led bid. In 2017, after raising £187,450 from 213 local investors through a share offer, Newbury Community Farm Community Interest Company (CIC) secured the lease from West Berkshire Council. Founded in January 2018 by Jane Elizabeth Smith, a former Farming Systems Manager at the Soil Association, the farm was never meant to be profitable in the traditional sense. Its mission: heal the land, feed the neighborhood, and prove regenerative agriculture isn’t just theory—it’s measurable.

By 2022, the numbers spoke louder than any slogan. Soil organic matter had climbed 12.3% since 2019. Synthetic fertilizer use dropped 92%. Eight and a half kilometers of hedgerows and wildflower strips now crisscross the property, creating corridors for 27 endangered species, from hedgehogs to farmland birds tracked by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. All of it funded, in part, by DEFRA’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pilot, awarded April 12, 2022.

The People Behind the Soil

“This isn’t magic,” said Jane Smith during the BBC feature. “It’s patience, science, and neighbors showing up.” She’s right. The farm’s backbone is John Michael Brown, 55, Head of Agriculture Operations, who’s farmed in West Berkshire since he was 18. Brown’s team uses seven-species cover crops—vetch, clover, rye, and others—to lock in nitrogen naturally. Their partnership with the University of Reading’s School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, led by Professor Alistair James Ferguson, means soil samples are taken quarterly using the Farm Carbon Toolkit. The result? A 4.7 tCO2e/ha annual reduction in emissions.

They’re not just feeding crops. They’re feeding people. Two hundred households get weekly CSA boxes. Fifteen percent of the harvest goes to the West Berkshire Food Bank. And in 2021–2022, 512 children from 14 local primary schools learned how to plant seeds, test soil pH, and track earthworm counts during hands-on field days. That number is set to jump to 750 in 2022–2023, thanks to SFI funding.

What Happened After the Cameras Left

Here’s the twist: the broadcast didn’t just inform—it ignited. Within 72 hours of the November 15 airing, volunteer sign-ups surged 38%. By November 18, 117 new people had walked through the farm’s gates, eager to dig, weed, or help with harvests. “We had to send out a newsletter just to manage the influx,” Smith told us. “People aren’t just watching climate change—they want to fix it.”

The farm’s 2021 turnover was £184,350, mostly from CSA subscriptions (£55/week/household), educational workshops (£45/session), and surplus sales. The DEFRA grant made up 26.3% of their 2022 budget. But the real windfall is coming. DEFRA Secretary George Eustice MP announced in October 2021 that SFI payments would rise from £18–27/ha to £24–36/ha in 2023. For Newbury’s 12-hectare SFI contract, that means an extra £3,200 a year—money they’re already planning to reinvest.

What’s Next? Trees, Trust, and Timing

They’re not stopping. Newbury Community Farm CIC is applying for Phase 2 SFI funding by December 15, 2022, with a bold plan: plant 1,240 native trees across 3.2 hectares to create a new agroforestry zone. The goal? Carbon-neutral certification by Q3 2024 under the Carbon Literate Organisation standard. But there’s a catch: planning permission from West Berkshire Council must be secured by February 28, 2023, or the tree planting deadline of March 31, 2023 slips away.

They’re also deepening ties with the Soil Association Certification Ltd—which certified them organic in June 2020—and the Sustainable Food Trust in Gloucestershire. These aren’t just logos on a website. They’re lifelines to national networks that share tools, data, and advocacy power.

Why This Matters Beyond Newbury

This isn’t just about one farm. It’s about proving that public money, when directed toward community-led stewardship, can rebuild ecosystems faster than top-down programs ever could. DEFRA’s SFI program, launched in September 2021 to replace the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, received 4,300 applications and funded only 1,842. Newbury was one of them. Their success shows that local knowledge, paired with targeted grants, creates ripple effects: healthier soil, more pollinators, stronger food security, and a public that feels invested—not just informed.

As Smith put it at the end of the BBC segment: “We’re not asking for handouts. We’re asking for a chance to grow something better.” And for the first time in decades, the land—and the people around it—are finally getting that chance.