by Jonathan Smith and Sophie Groenhof
Download the full Blable Farm Case Study here (PDF)
Mike and Sam Roberts run Blable Farm in North Cornwall. On their 530 acres, they were running 180 suckler cows plus followers, but found themselves trapped in something of a cycle of pushing production of the land to feed more cows to generate more income. But the bills kept rising, margins were tight, the land was struggling, and they had a sense that something was fundamentally not working right.
In 2020, they started moving to a different type of system, moving to rotational grazing, introducing herbal leys, and moving away from arable cropping. Mike comments on how quickly they noticed some of the changes: “We had 25 acres of arable land, which we turned into herbal leys. Within six weeks, after the cattle had done a full rotation or two, we noticed that the grass had grown back without any fertiliser addition.”
Their journey has led them to a place where they are eliminating artificial fertilisers and pesticides, resulting in reduced costs, a smaller carbon footprint, and improved health of the system. “We found with all of the changes that we don’t have the big bills, and we do not miss them!”
Fact File: Blable Farm
Change brings many benefits
The interesting thing about the change to this farming system was how it was done in a systems-based way, and the changes led to multiple different benefits. The herd size dropped from 180 to 140 suckler cows (plus followers), but the changes also included:
- Rotational grazing
- Herbal leys
- More legumes
- Change of mindset
This has led to significant benefits to the farm and the business:
- Improved soil health and organic matter levels
- Much reduced bought-in feed
- No artificial fertiliser or pesticides used
- Better meat quality
- Reduced costs and improved profitability
- Easier system to manage
- Lower carbon footprint per hectare
- Improved biodiversity
Managing change and advice to others
Mike acknowledges that significant changes in farming systems can take a while to bed in, and everyone learns on the journey. At Blable Farm, they are still learning about which species do better in the herbal leys and the longevity of each species in the pasture. He recommends that any farm wanting to try herbal leys make a start with 5% of their land and see what happens.
“It did take a bit of time to get the new system established, for example, with the fencing for paddocks and extra water troughs, but now it is up and running, it is a much easier system overall. There are fewer potential problems, fewer big bills associated with fertilisers and a smaller herd, so fewer staff are required. There is just less expenditure overall, plus an injection of cash from the reduction of the suckler herd, which helped with the transition.”
Mike Roberts
Mike also stresses the importance of conversations with other farmers: “We have a lot of conversations which really help. You can talk to others who are further along in their regenerative farming journey, and that gives you the confidence you need.”
In 2025, the farm also hosted (former) Secretary of State for Environment Steve Reed, showing how they are having an impact far beyond Cornwall.
Farm Net Zero Demo Farm
Blable Farm is one of the three Demo Farms in Farm Net Zero, a major project that has supported farmers and growers in Cornwall to transition towards net zero carbon. As part of this project, we produced this video about Blable Farm:
For more resources to help inform, enable and inspire other farmers and growers, please visit our Toolkit.
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