About Us
Founded in 2020, the original objective of The Marden Farmer Cluster (MFC) was to embrace the third pillar of ELMS - the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) initiative designed to deliver environmental regeneration on a landscape scale.
The onset of Covid and ensuing lockdowns insured that ties within The Cluster strengthened to deliver vital peer to peer contact and support to its members.
Via Marden Wildlife, a citizen science group formed at much the same time, this self-help attitude diffused through the local community; MFC has evolved from there.
MFC now has 26 members managing over 10,000 acres of almost contiguous land which, centring on the village of Marden, encompasses large areas of the catchment and flood plain of the rivers Beult and Teise.
As the current generation’s trustees of one of the best preserved medieval landscapes in northern Europe, MFC members work closely with Defra-sponsored Natural England to deliver the increased biodiversity, water resilience and carbon sequestration objectives of Government whilst never losing focus on the primary purpose of the farming sector - food production.
The members absolutely believe that this must be done in a manner that not only stops the degradation of our natural resources, but actually improves the soil, water and biodiversity of our own small patch.
MFC members encompass a wide range of knowledge, experience, interests and skills which are shared formally and informally both within The Cluster and further afield for the benefit of all within our rural community and beyond.