Preston Hall is a diverse rural business that is proud of its achievements. Part of this is ensuring that the next generation understands how the land is managed and where our food comes from. Trainee Farm Manager - In 2020, Preston Hall created a new role for a trainee farm manager. The person we recruited had little previous experience of farming. After two years with Preston Hall, he was appointed farm manager at a neighbouring farm. Open Farm Sunday - hosted an Open Farm Sunday with machinery demonstrations and stalls hosted by RHET and AHDB. This event attracted over 1000 people and was a great success. Preston Hall was keen to host this event to ensure that young people are made aware of the opportunities in agriculture and rural land management. Monitor Farm Hosts - the sharing of knowledge between farmers to hopefully improve understanding between all involved. School visits - Preston Hall hosts school visits. As well as sharing knowledge, this is a great day out for school children and gives them the opportunity to learn about how their food is produced.
Preston Hall will always use the most appropriate tradesmen for any job, they are responsible for a number of heritage assets and take their responsibilities seriously. The local community is an integral part of their business and where appropriate, community engagement is focused on ensuring they are involved in the decision making process. A good example of this is the footpath consultation we carried out when planning a new footpath scheme.
Preston Hall Farm has developed significantly in recent years. The farm infrastructure has been modernised, machinery has been updated and improvements have been made to make the farm more resilient. Work on the estate includes reducing the number of residential properties while creating new workspace for the business. Other work includes the creation of employment opportunities and an events business to ensure the viability of the walled gardens and parkland at Preston Hall. In addition, the creation of a new forestry business to deal with ash dieback and hazardous trees, and improving the safety of arboricultural operations through the use of machinery are additional work efforts at Preston Hall.
Preston Hall seizes opportunities as they arise, creating robust business plans to secure bank funding and support from our bank. Preston Hall create the right roles for the right people, recruiting good people is a challenge, so they need to ensure that they are well placed in order to attract the right people at Preston Hall.