Blanchard’s Legacy: Harvesting Tradition and Innovation at New House Farm

The Blanchard family, now in their third generation of farming at New House Farm in Southmoor, operate under the management of James, his brother, and their father, with Susan providing essential support in the farm office. James’s grandfather bought the farm after serving in the Army and working in agricultural management. Historically, the farm was known for being the sole hop farm in Oxfordshire (and previously in Berkshire), but hop production ended in 2013 after more than a century. Today, the area once occupied by hop machinery is utilized by the Barn Store, a diversification effort complementing the primary cereal and pig farming operations.

Conservation is a passion for the Blanchard family, who actively promote wildlife and biodiversity on the farm, ensuring these thrive alongside their commercial crops. Their commitment to countryside stewardship includes setting aside uncropped land for habitats, managing hedgerows, protecting watercourses, and overseeing a floodplain of a major River Thames tributary. In 2016, they planted two woodlands totaling over 6,000 trees, and in 2015/16, they added approximately 1 km of hedgerows.

The Blanchards also focus on renewable energy as part of their business. They have installed a 200kW biomass boiler and 100kW of solar PV panels, providing green heat and electricity to various properties on the farm. The biomass boiler uses timber thinnings and recycled wood sourced locally.

Annually, New House Farm cultivates wheat for milling, barley for malt, and oilseed rape for cooking oil, leading to a busy harvest season. Pigs are another key agricultural product, bred and finished on the farm, then sold through a cooperative that supplies supermarkets and processors.