Meet the team...
Jeremy
Farm partner & chief thistler
Jeremy set the farm off in a nature-friendly direction when he began the conversion to organic in the 1980’s. He continues to be motivated by all things ecological and is never happier than when out in the fields removing docks & thistles from our pastures.
James
Farm partner & manager
James grew up on the farm and is currently the head honcho - although it doesn’t always feel like it when he’s shovelling dung! He is deeply committed to making the farm and estate work for local people and for nature while striving to balance the books.
Vicky
Farm partner & dairy manager
As the most recent farm partner, Vicky is working hard to connect the farm to more customers in order to help it weather whatever storms may happen in the future. She is one of the two main points of contact for customers emailing the dairy.
Robert
Head stockman
Robert has worked at North Aston Farms for almost 30 years. A very experienced stockman with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the farm, he looks after the beef herd with James, does the lion’s share of the tractor work and is a great problem-solver of all things broken or troublesome around the farm – of which there are usually no shortage.
Nick
Sales & marketing manager
As well as spearheading our transition to regenerative farming, Nick looks after the marketing and sales of our beef and frozen dairy produce. Having been on the farm for four years, he has experience milking cows and managing grazing, driving tractors, and helping with haymaking - but can usually be found in the farm office or at a farmers market these days. Willing to tackle almost any challenge, his super-powers are planning and organisation!
Graham
Having worked at North Aston Dairy for over ten years, Graham is the primary office contact for our dairy customers. He also keeps track of the complicated business of making sure we have enough milk for the customers and enough customers for the milk! He enjoys the variety of his work - from milking and monitoring the wellbeing of the cows to helping write the monthly dairy newsletter and developing ice cream recipes.
Hamish
Hamish is our newest member of staff, and is learning the ropes in our brand new processing room - pasteurising and bottling milk, making yoghurt and ice cream, and developing new products. He also helps Nick with meat packing & deliveries, and is on the markets team, helping sell our 100% pasture-fed beef direct to the local community.
Will
Dairy assistant
Will has worked part time at North Aston Dairy for six years, milking, processing and delivering. Since beginning work at the dairy, he has become interested in all aspects of farming and has his own small flock of Cotswold sheep at home in Lower Heyford.
Jo
Dairy assistant
Queen of cakes and cleaning, Jo works part-time helping with dairy processing and keeping the team supplied with goodies. She also works at North Aston Organics in the veg box packhouse. However, her biggest passion is pickling and she's in the process of launching her own business!
Lead dairy processor
Dairy foreman
Adam
Delivery driver
Adam helps us out in the early mornings, delivering our milk and other produce to our customers in Somerton, The Heyfords, Caulcott and Steeple Aston on Tuesdays and Fridays.
He is also a much in demand gardener, and helps keep the farmhouse garden bountiful and looking beautiful!
Simon
Delivery driver
Simon is a local lad from a farming background who is our early bird delivery driver in the Astons, Duns Tew and Deddington.
He can sometimes be found making a fool of himself on stage with the Duns Tew Drama Group in their latest panto! But he makes up for it in the annual North Aston farm skittles competition and is the reigning champion!
Chris
Share farmer & contractor
Chris is first and foremost our friend and neighbour, running Fenemore Farms, just across the Deddington brook. However, for several years he has also been looking after the sheep flock in a share farming arrangement, as well as doing the majority of our arable farming as a contractor.
Bryan
Bryan was our longest-serving farm worker, having spent the past 50+ years here. Never happier than in the seat of a tractor, he remained unconvinced by organic farming and if he had had his way would have ripped out all the hedgerows, ploughed up all the grassland and sprayed the whole farm with glyphosate. We kept him occupied with mowing, bale carting, and other odd jobs - up until his final days. Rest in peace - you will be much missed.
Bill
Hedge layer
Our retired stockman and shepherd, Bill still contributes to the farm every year, by laying another few hundreds yards of hedge. And what a beautiful job he does!
We are currently on the lookout for a young apprentice to work with him learning this valuable but endangered
traditional rural craft.
Pip, Monty and Luigi
Farm security
Our helpful hounds do their best to keep on top of the pheasant and rabbit population (with varying results) and alert us about uninvited visitors, while our cat Luigi provides crucial pest control in the farmyard.
They also make fabulous companions to cuddle with on the sofa after a long hard day.