New Waitrose bread rises from regenerative farming practices
The Farmhouse Load has been created utilising nature-friendly agriculture, and has now hit UK supermarkets.
The bread is made using environmentally-sound wheat, grown at the Leckford Estate, Hampshire. Currently Britain’s only supermarket-owned farm, the facility is one of a small number of LEAF [Linking Environment and Farming] demonstration locations in the UK.
Accreditation means practicing principles of Integrated Farm Management, which takes into account all available resources and vulnerabilities of land in a bid to have the least impact with the best possible natural yield. Processes rely on crop rotation and other traditional methods, while making use of cutting edge technologies.
In addition to flower, Leckford Estate also cultivates a number of other products, and is known for its apples, pears, grapes, and rapeseed. Meanwhile, a cattle herd is also on site, with 30% more space allocated than Red Tractor Standard requirements.
‘We are really proud of the launch of the Leckford Farmhouse Loaf. Not only does the bread taste absolutely delicious, but it also represents the ambitious nature-friendly farming methods that Leckford has been practising for the last four years. We are mindful of the way in which we grow our crops on the estate, and we have been farming to regenerative principles – protecting the soil, saving water and enhancing biodiversity,’ said Andrew Hoad, Head of the Leckford Estate. ‘Waitrose is the only supermarket to own a farm, and we want to showcase that food that is good for the environment can also be incredibly good for our customers too.’
More on regenerative farming:
Inside the exhibition using poetry and photography to restore nature
90% of food and agriculture businesses fail on sustainability and health