🌾 Help Save Our Family Farm

Aim: Support British Farming, Conservation & a Vision for the Future

🌾 Help Save Our Family Farm — A Legacy of Working the Land, Now at a Crossroads 🌾

Support British Farming, Conservation & a Vision for the Future

Hello friends,

My name is Beth, and I’m reaching out not just as a farmer — but as the fourth generation of my family to work this land.

Our family farm, nestled in the heart of Kent, has been part of the landscape for centuries, brought into our lives by my great-great-grandfather. The farm is even mentioned in some of the oldest known written descriptions of Kent.

But today, like so many small farms, we are facing an overwhelming challenge — one that threatens not just our livelihood, but the future of this historic and ecologically precious place.

📉 A Story Too Many Farmers Know All Too Well

Over the years, in an effort to break even, we’ve been forced to make painful choices:

We sold our windmill — once proudly grinding grain grown right here on the farm.

Most of our farming equipment was sold to keep us afloat. Now, we share equipment with three neighbouring farms, just to make ends meet.

And with an extremely heavy heart, we’ve sold off several parcels of land — once home to generations of crops and animals.

These decisions were made with survival in mind. But we know that this pattern cannot continue. We don’t want to just survive anymore — we want to build a future.

That’s why we’re asking for your help.

🐑 Our Vision: Restore, Rebuild, Regrow

We are determined to turn things around by diversifying, modernising, and continuing our role as custodians of both agricultural and natural heritage. With your support, we will:

✅ Invest in fencing, livestock care, and sustainable infrastructure

• Basic infrastructure is urgently needed to manage our animals responsibly and securely — especially as we pursue higher welfare standards and conservation grazing.

✅ Build a small farm shop & roadside stand

• Selling our produce and handmade goods directly to the public will help us earn fair prices, cut out the middlemen, and reforge the link between farmer and consumer.

✅ Add a shepherd’s hut for eco-friendly stays

• Our dream is to welcome guests who want to unplug and reconnect with the countryside, generating income to sustain the farm, and sharing the story of rural life with the next generation.

🌳 A Farm Rich in Nature & History

Beyond our farming work, our land plays a vital role in local conservation:

We’ve rewilded sections of the farm, created wildflower meadows, and carefully restored ancient woodland — one of the few of its kind remaining in the region.

Thanks to these efforts, red kites have returned to soar above the fields.

We now host turtle doves, a species in serious decline across the UK.

And most astonishing of all — beavers have returned to our waterways, bringing life and natural balance back to a long-silent stream.

We believe in farming that works with nature, not against it. But this kind of care takes time, effort, and resources we can no longer provide alone.

🐂 Supporting British Native Breeds on the Brink

We’re deeply passionate about preserving native British livestock breeds, many of which are quietly slipping toward extinction.

With your support, we hope to reintroduce rare, traditional breeds — hardy, slow-grown animals that are uniquely suited to British landscapes. Breeds like the Orpington chicken, the Gloucester cattle, and the Tamworth pigs,  need places like this to survive. We want to give them that chance — and, in doing so, keep British farming rooted in its own soil.

💷 Where Your Support Goes

£10 buys medicines to keep our sheep and cattle healthy

£25 helps purchase fence posts or wildflower seed

£50 supports the construction of our roadside farm stand

£100 contributes to the foundations for the shepherd’s hut

£500+ gives us the boost we need to create a self-sustaining, diverse farm for the future

Every pound you donate goes directly into protecting this land, our animals, and our future. No consultants. No glossy brochures. Just hands-on work and real change.

💚 Why This Matters

This is not just our story — it’s the story of hundreds of small British farms fighting to hold on. It’s about food security, rural heritage, and protecting the last remnants of our natural landscape from being lost forever.

Your donation doesn’t just help us — it helps protect a way of life that still matters.

🐾 Be Part of the Legacy

With your support, we can:

Build a working model for small-farm resilience

Offer local, ethically produced food

Protect rare species and wild habitats

Keep this historic farm in the hands of those who love and know it best

We’ll share every step of this journey with you — from fencing updates and lambing season to farm shop news and guest stays in the shepherd’s hut. We want you to feel like part of this place — because you are.

Please donate, share, or simply help spread the word. Let’s save not just a farm, but a legacy — and create something beautiful and sustainable for the future.

With deep gratitude,

The Holt Family

Hayton Manor Farm, Kent

🌾🐑🌿

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 22nd September 2025 at 10:13am