Meet the family
Beeston Hall is very much a family farm. It’s run by the Hallos family: Rachel, Stephen, Sam and Anna.
Work on hay meadow restoration, conservation grazing and habitat improvement has been part of the day to day running of the farm for many years. This made Beeston Hall an obvious choice for a Beyond Nature tenancy.
Show-stopping livestock
Beef cattle
Beeston Hall rear premium Salers beef Cattle. This French breed produce high-quality (and delicious!) meat. The Hallos family take great pride in the herd, it has become well known for picking up prizes at agricultural shows including Breed Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show.
Sheep
The farm is also home to 300 sheep, a mixture of Scottish Blackface ewes and Blackface x Lonks. The sheep help with conservation grazing and the Hallos family are keen to host educational visits to the farm during lambing time.
Farming for Wildlife
Improving habitats
The farm is part of the South Pennines ‘SSSI’. This is an area that has been designated for protection because of its special habitats: blanket bog, heathland and acid grassland. The Hallos family take care of these habitats which are home to important upland birds such as golden plover, curlew, twite, dunlin and merlin.
The farm is currently working with the RSPB and Natural England on a project to improve habitats for the twite. The twite is a member of the finch family, which is currently on the UK’s ‘red list’ for conservation, meaning its numbers are in severe decline.
Conservation grazing
Beeston Hall Farm’s sheep and cows are also improving the land. When they graze, they break up the soil, which creates an ideal habitat for wildlife and increases biodiversity.
Natural Flood Management
The Hallos family are concentrating on ‘re-wetting’ the moors by planting plugs of sphagnum moss and blocking drainage routes with heather bales to help the land soak up and hold on to rainwater. This slows the flow of water and will reduce flooding. It also provides great habitat for wading birds.