The Gardener Who Couldn't Stand By

At 60, Rachel Hall made a decision that would transform both her life and 52 hectares of struggling Dorset farmland. A passionate gardener with deep knowledge of soil health, but zero farming experience, she watched as conventional farming methods destroyed her own farm.

Rachel and her husband bought Gutchpool Farm at auction in 2002. The buildings were abandoned and they spent several years restoring them. While Rachel worked part-time in Oxford and Scotland, the farm was being contract farmed. From the 17th century to the 1980s, the farm had always been grassland, but conventional farming changed everything. The land was ploughed up for arable crops, with deep ploughing that lost hundreds of years of topsoil and brought clay to the surface. Chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides led to lifeless soil, erosion, flooding, and wildlife loss.

By 2016, when Rachel was living full-time in Dorset again, she could no longer stand by. "I told my husband that I was going to take over the farm again and regenerate it myself; which is what I did," she recalls.

The transition from her previous design work to managing 100 sheep and 52 hectares wasn't easy. "I had no farming experience, but I knew the value of healthy, functioning soil. It was a steep learning curve, but the rewards have been, and are, great," Rachel reflects.

Regenerating Through Rotational Grazing

The Gutchpool Farm of today is starting to look more like the version of itself from 100 years ago, which was full of native grasslands where life thrived and ruminants naturally regenerated the soil as they grazed.

Rachel relies solely on the sheep to manage the land. No machinery is used except for sowing new leys. She moves her flock of 100 Dorset and Shetland sheep and lambs to new pastures daily almost all year round.

In summer, Rachel 'mob grazes' her 100% pasture-fed sheep on diverse deep-rooting leys of herbs, grasses and legumes. "Time is what is important; It is not the number of animals you have on a parcel of land, but the time the animals are on it and the time the pasture has to recover before any animals are returned to it. This management really regenerates the soils and biodiversity."

The result has been an extraordinary change in the amount of grass growing on the land and in the health of the soil. There is visible aggregation, increased rooting depth, evidence of exudates on plant roots, and earthworms have returned. Water filtration has improved and the ground feels springy underfoot.

Visible Transformation

Rachel has also planted nearly 2,000 native trees, hedges, and a wildflower meadow. These provide shade for sheep and increase fungal activity in the soil. Using an 1800s map, she's reinstating historical features with another 3 hectares of trees and 500 meters of hedging planned.

Rachel also partnered with the UK Environment Agency to develop a wetland corridor. Water now flows overland from the upper farm, through three fields to the river, with scrapes, leaky dams, brash and logs in the channel controlling the flow. The new wetland has brought tremendous biodiversity and helped with managing flooding incidents.

Rachel is also part of a local farming cluster working collaboratively on water quality, flood mitigation, and wildlife outcomes, recognizing that regenerative agriculture works best as a community effort.

Using the Whole Animal

The business philosophy at Gutchpool Farm centers on honoring every part of each sheep through complete utilization. "The animals provide so much for us, not only in clothing and food but the impact they have on the land is invaluable," Rachel explains.

As a Pasture for Life certified producer, Rachel sells meat through her farm shop. Her Pasture for Life certified lamb, hogget, and mutton recently won a Great Taste Award and serves the local community with 100% grass-fed meat raised without any concentrates.

The annual wool clip becomes beautiful knitting yarns processed in natural shades and dyed colors, returning Rachel to the knitwear business she ran 45 years earlier. Even the skins are collected from the abattoir, salted on-farm, and sent for organic tanning.

"We have 62 native breeds of sheep in the UK and my wish is to champion wool, and encourage people to move away from fossil fuel derived clothing materials. Wool is truly a wonder fibre; nearly 50% carbon, it is biodegradable, renewable, insulating, breathable, strong, and sustainable." Rachel shares.

Opening the Land to the Next Generation

Gutchpool Farm's diversified operation also includes apple juice from heritage varieties planted in 2007, now producing about a ton of apples annually and an award-winning bed and breakfast that allows visitors to experience regenerative farming first-hand. There is a classroom where events are held including visiting school children, other farmers and foresters, vet talks, and wildlife associations.

As Rachel looks toward the future, her vision extends far beyond her: "My goal is to offer others, particularly young people wanting to get into farming, the opportunity to have an enterprise of their own on this land."

Opening up Gutchpool to more farmers who have a desire to serve their local community and honor the slow food movement is already underway. Since receiving the Top 50 Farmer recognition, Rachel has been joined by a young couple starting a market garden business, proving that her vision of shared land stewardship is already taking root.

Just like Rachel uses the whole animal, she sees the farm becoming a place where the whole land is honored. There is room for a beekeeper, micro dairy, beef herd, dye garden - the list goes on. Gutchpool is a place where you can be on the land, practice a skill, and create a meaningful life.