South Notts Monitor Farm

Grant and Sarah Page farm 1,100 acres with Grant’s parents. The family has farmed the land for over 100 years, with Grant as the fourth generation.

Cropping and rotation

The rotation includes winter wheat, winter barley, cover crops followed by spring oats or spring barley, maize and winter beans. This is planned on a field-by-field basis.

The farm is also exploring future break crops, including whether oilseed rape could return to the rotation.

Most wheat is grown for feed, with some grown for seed. The farm also produces spring oats for seed and some spring barley for malting.

Livestock integration

The flock includes 330 ewes, lambing in February and March. Sheep graze cover crops across the farm over winter, including some owned by other farmers.

Around 75% of replacements are bred on farm. The aim is to grow the flock to 500 ewes, which will require further integration into the arable rotation.

Trials and innovation

The South Notts Monitor Farm trial will begin in Autumn 2026 to look at how cover crop mixes support soil health and livestock performance.

Establishment and infrastructure

Crops are generally established using a Dale drill following a one-pass cultivation. A low-disturbance subsoiler is used where needed.

Grain is stored in drying floors and flat stores, supported by a mobile batch dryer. Solar panels provide renewable energy at the main yard.

Environmental work

The farm took part in an SFI pilot and now has two SFI agreements in place.

In the past three years, approximately 8 km of hedgerows have been planted on the farm with the Crown Estate.

A wetland creation project is also being explored on two fields next to a river.

Education and engagement

Recently, an old barn has been converted into an on-farm classroom for school visits, run with The Country Trust.

Benchmarking and performance

The business uses AHDB FarmBench and YAGRO to benchmark performance and has taken part in the Yield Enhancement Network.

Diversification

Alongside farming, the family run a pallet enterprise, processing pallets into planks for sale.

They also run four biomass boilers, fuelled by pallet off-cuts and straw. These heat homes, grain stores, the pallet workshop and log-drying kilns.

They also operate a kiln-dried log business, buying in wet logs, then drying, bagging and delivering to local customers.

Aims and ambitions

• Future-proof the business and improve self-sufficiency by using inputs more efficiently and increasing maximising output
• Make the best use of SFI and other environmental schemes
• Explore different break crops and end markets
• Strengthen integration between livestock and arable systems and better understand whole farm performance
• Explore additional diversification opportunities