Non-Food Crops are grown for use
in industry, pharmaceuticals, neutraceuticals, personal care products and bio-fuels, as opposed to conventional food production.

The Government has been encouraging farmers to grow Non-Food Crops although to date the response of British farmers has been slow. It is expected that Non-Food Crops will revolutionise farming, with expectations of seeing a third of farming in Non-Food Crops within the next decade.

Crops at Lees Court Estate;  Hemp, Sweet Quinoa, Calendula and Echium, surrounded by wheat fields.

The Estate is at the forefront of the development of agronomy techniques for the production of certain innovative Non-Food Crops.

Since Spring 2003, the farm has been growing Non-Food Crops under contract to ‘Seeds’, Kings, Cargills and Technology Crops as well as trialing additional non-food crops. Lees Court will be extracting the oils from some of these Non-Food Crops using a specialist extraction process to provide a toxin free oil. It will be the first time that this method of extraction has been used in Britain on some of these crops.

The Countess Sondes has been working with the United Nations on creating a Globla Farming Allaince. The key aim for the United Nations is to provide opportunities for developing countries, as well as, encouraging increased use of crops as opposed to fossil fuels.

The Countess Sondes believes that the introduction of Non-Food Crops could provide additional opportunities for farmers and create important new revenue streams. She hopes the farm will be an example of how embracing change in farming can lead to success and inspire others to follow.