Introduction to Lackham Farm & Estate by manager,
Philip Steans.
Lackham Farm & Estate, part
of Wiltshire College, is in the
rural heart of Wiltshire. Within
its 725 hectares you’ll find three
working educational farms, run
on thoroughly commercial lines;
historic buildings; a museum
and animal park—all set in the
magnificent surroundings of the
Wiltshire countryside.
The Lackham estate includes 15 hectares of woodland
and 25 hectares of buildings and other land, leaving the
College’s Home Farm 184 hectares of productive land.
267 hectares are rented from a local landowner on a farm
business tenancy, whilst a further 52 hectares are rented
annually on a grazing licence. 182 hectares owned by
Whitehall Farms are contract farmed converting to organic,
taking the total area to 725 hectares (1791 acres). This
increases the land-based educational resources for the
students to learn practically and to provide physical records
from a typically commercial arable and livestock base.
The dairy unit of 170 cows with calf-rearing is based at
Home Farm. All beef enterprises, including 25 Pedigree
Limousins, the newly-formed Hereford herd, 40 Lim X
and all finishing beef along with youngstock are housed
at Great Lodge Farm. 400 calves are reared at Ashill on
contract for Blade Farming.
Home Farm is also the site of the Farm Information Centre
for students and visitors. The other farm owned by the
College is Notton Farm, which houses the Sheep Unit and
additional storage facilities for fertilizer and straw.
Pigs occupy a small building west of the A350 trunk road.
The pigs are run by Downland Pigs, which is owned by
David Wilkinson. The unit provides an educational resource
for students and visitors.
The College farm plays two roles: firstly it demonstrates ‘good commercial practices’ and is farmed to produce
profits. This enables the education departments to teach
commercial production on a successful farm.
Many organisations are linked with Lackham Farm: for
example Grainseed Ltd carry out maize trials and hold
demonstration days for local farmers and those involved in
the industry.
A small area on the farm is available for an Animal Park, incorporating Lackham Country Park. This area is run by the
Animal Care Department and animals on this unit provide
a resource for not only residential courses, but also for
visiting parties from all over the county. It is also an added
attraction to members of the general public visiting the
gardens and museum.
