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Home Farm Nacton
Home Farm Nacton is a diverse farming business situated on the light soils of Suffolk, farming over 1600 hectares and producing a range of crops for retail, wholesale and local markets.
Farmer: Andrew Francis
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Website: https://www.homefarmnacton.co.uk/
LEAF Demonstration Farm since 2026. LEAF Marque certified
About the farm
Home Farm Nacton is a diverse farming business situated on the light soils of Suffolk, farming over 1600 hectares and producing a range of crops for retail, wholesale and local markets. The business combines both organic and LEAF Marque-certified production, demonstrating how Integrated Farm Management (IFM) principles can be applied across a complex and commercially focused farming system.
The farm has a strong reputation for innovation, continually exploring new approaches to improve productivity, environmental performance and long-term resilience. Through a combination of careful rotations, soil-building practices, efficient water management and close collaboration with industry partners, Home Farm Nacton demonstrates how sustainable farming can be delivered at scale.
Examples of IFM in action at Home Farm Nacton include:
- Soil management: using diverse rotations, tailored cultivations and cover crops to improve soil structure, biological activity and long-term productivity.
- Water stewardship: investing in advanced irrigation and water management systems to maximise efficiency and support crop resilience during increasingly variable weather conditions.
- Integrated crop management: combining agronomic expertise, monitoring and evidence-based decision-making across a highly diverse range of crops.
- Biodiversity and landscape management: managing a mosaic of arable land, woodland and grassland to support wildlife and enhance ecosystem services.
- Market-led sustainability: producing high-quality food for a range of markets while integrating environmental and commercial objectives across the whole farm business.
Sustainability challenges and opportunities
Farming a wide range of crops on light land presents both opportunities and challenges. Water availability, soil health, climate resilience and market volatility are all increasingly important considerations for the business. Home Farm Nacton sees these challenges as drivers for innovation, continually testing and refining approaches that can improve both environmental and economic performance.
As a LEAF Demonstration Farm, Home Farm Nacton provides an opportunity to showcase practical solutions to these challenges, sharing real-world experiences of balancing productive farming with responsible environmental stewardship.
Research Interests
- Soil health and biological function
- Irrigation efficiency and water resilience
- Cover cropping and rotational design
- Nutrient management and resource-use efficiency
- Biodiversity within commercial cropping systems
- Climate resilience and adaptation
- Sustainable food production at scale
- New and novel cropping
Activities and engagement
Home Farm Nacton is committed to sharing knowledge and encouraging discussion around the future of sustainable farming. As a LEAF Demonstration Farm, it will host farm visits, knowledge exchange events and collaborative projects, bringing together farmers, researchers, advisers, supply chain partners and policymakers.
The farm's combination of organic and conventional production, extensive crop diversity and focus on practical innovation makes it an ideal platform for exploring how Integrated Farm Management can deliver resilient, productive and environmentally responsible farming systems.