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Here at Upton, farming remains the principal activity on the Estate. Our overall farming aim is to deliver an effective balance and produce food for us and food for wildlife.
Arable
Currently Upton farms 1000 acres of arable crops; growing Wheat, Barley, Oats, Oilseed rape, Linseed and Peas. A further 400 acres are rented from a neighbouring farm. Many of the crops are contracted to Jordans for their breakfast cereals and muesli bars. As a result all crops have to be grown in accordance with the Conservation Grade Protocols.
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Strips of various widths have been established alongside water courses and woods. These strips are made up of wild flowers, clovers, rough tussocky grass and bird food. Put simply this type of farming aims to increase wildlife delivery whilst maintaining profitable agriculture.
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Livestock
Both cattle and sheep graze the extensive grassland at Upton. They enable the grassland to be managed within the Higher Level Stewardship rules and maintain the historic parkland, as well as wetland areas for waders and semi-natural grassland. This provides rich habitiats for many species, some of the grassland is on the site of the Battle of Edgehill.
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Upton Viva Stud
Founded by Robert Waley-Cohen and his eldest son Marcus in 2001. The strategy is to produce top class National Hunt horses that are also capable of winning on the flat.
The plan is to do as much pre training preparation as possible on the stud before sending the horses into training. We send them into training in France, either at 2 or 3 years old, as they have an excellent programme for 3 and 4 year olds particularly fillies. Only those that distinguish themselves in France will return to race in England at the end of their 4 year old careers with the expectations that these will in due course join the stud. Those fillies which are not sufficiently precocious to race so young are leased to race in UK
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The first Upton Viva home bred horse to have run so far is Shatabdi, a 3 year old by Mtoto out of Violet Express.
The 1st two crops have each produced a top class performer. The 1st crop, foaled in 2002, has now produced two top class performers. Shatabdi (a brown filly by Mtoto out of Violet Express) won the Grade 2 Dovecote Novice Hurdle against the geldings at Kempton , ridden by Sam Waley-Cohen. She , like her mother, ended her career having won on the flat, over hurdles and over steeplechase fences: an unusual feat rarely achieved at all let alone in successive generations.
Organiz (a brown gelding by Mansonnien out of Madame Illusion) is a winner over hurdles and steeplechase fences as well as being placed in a Grade 1 race in France as a 4-year-old. The 2nd crop has produced the English bred Roulez Cool (a bay gelding by Classic Cliche out of Makounji) who won a listed steeplechase in France in April of his 4 year old year which is an unusual achievement for non French bred horses. He is now trained at Upton Viva Racing by Robert Waley-Cohen and won a steeplechase in England in 2009.
Every year the stud sells 6 or 7 horses to keep the numbers of horses in the stud from increasing. |
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