Jake Freestone

Jake Freestone, Farm Manager, Overbury Farms

2022 BBC Future of Farming Winner, Nuffield Scholar, Arable and Sheep farmer

Jake joined Overbury Farms as Farm Manager in 2003 with previous farm management experience with The Buccleugh Estates (BQ Farms)  and Velcourt. In 2013 Jake undertook a Nuffield Farming Scholarship ‘Breaking the Wheat Yield in the UK’.

The results of his study changed the Farming System at Overbury switching to a Regenerative Agriculture system putting the soil at the centre of how we now farm. This involves, direct drilling all of our own crops, covering the fields with living plants and roots at all times, growing a more diverse range of crops and rotating the sheep around the farm.

In 2021 Jake was awarded the Farmers Weekly Environmental Champion and the British Farming Awards Arable Innovator of the Year. This follows the award of the Soil Farmer of the Year in 2020. 

He has been a long time supporter of Love British Food and hosted our first farm visit for NHS caterers.