As the new farm manager at Goodwood, Paul Dovey is no stranger to sustainability having worked for the Aspinalls and singer Sting

Photos: Jim Holden

He was one of the first to study organic agriculture at college and spent a decade working for The Police’s frontman Sting, so, when it comes to sustainable farming and Paul Dovey, the new farm manager at Goodwood, it’s no surprise that Everything Little Thing He Does is Magic.

From the way he looks after the 800 native breed cows, 500 pigs, and 2,000 sheep, who were all born and raised on the 12,000-acre estate, through to creating green electricity out of wood chip and straw and fuel for the tractors out of cow dung, Paul is determined to make a positive impact on the planet as well as the Sussex farm.

Great British Life: Don't Stand So Close to Me: Goodwood Farm Manager Paul Dovey with the native breed cattleDon't Stand So Close to Me: Goodwood Farm Manager Paul Dovey with the native breed cattle (Image: ©2022 Jim Holden - all rights reserved www.jimholden.co.uk 07590 683036)

‘It’s a beautiful estate in a stunning location and the owners are passionate about farming organically, just as I’ve always been,’ Paul, 52, says. ‘Susan, the Duchess of Richmond was one of the Soil Association’s earliest members and I’ve always farmed organically so we share the same strong principles.’

As a trailblazer for Britain’s organic movement, the Duchess has created a model of progressive farming which Paul is keen to continue and develop.

‘It all starts from the ground up and the estate has been approved by the Soil Association since the 90s,’ he says. ‘Goodwood had the first 100 per cent organically-fed dairy in the county and I plan to put even more organic practices into action here.’

As well as creating their own electricity and fuel, father-of-three Paul aims to make the farm Net Zero in the near future and is busy lowering the CO2 equivalent to reach the targets on the farm. ‘We outwinter the cattle so we don’t use fuel to drive to feed them,’ he explains. ‘We do clever crop rotations instead of using artificial fertiliser and we use cow, pic and sheep droppings to keep crops healthy.

‘We don’t use pesticides, week killer, fungicides and we have a closed loop system so we’re completely self-sustaining.’

While Paul may be new to Sussex – he has lived in Switzerland, Somerset and Wiltshire among other places – these are techniques he’s perfected throughout his career which saw him working with Sting and Trudi Styler and the Aspinalls.

'Sting and Trudi had 250 acres at Lake House, in Wiltshire, and were very hands on. Whenever they were at home, they would come down with their children to see the animals and get involved in what was going on.

‘They were very down-to-earth. Yes, he’s very famous, but they’re just people at the end of the day. I suppose I was used to being around well-known and wealthy people as I worked for the Aspinalls who have their own private gambling and gentleman’s club in London and animal parks.

‘The casino, Crown London Aspinalls, has a restaurant and all of the menu is created from the organic farm I used to run.’

Goodwood too has a field to fork philosophy and Paul works closely with the estate’s butcher and chef to ensure nothing goes to waste. ‘We grow and we process everything ourselves here from the animals and crops to cream, butter, cheese, and beer. It’s exciting to get feedback from the restaurant, the race course and events, saying all the produce is delicious and knowing all the hard work is paying off.’

Paul is still discovering his new home alongside wife Tracey, their children and dog, cocker spaniel Flynn, after moving here to Westhampnett, Chichester, from the West Country.

‘It’s a great county which has the best of everything,’ he says. ‘I can be out in the hills of the South Downs and see the beautiful countryside or I can drive to West Wittering beach to go paddle boarding within half an hour.

Great British Life: Wrapped Around Your Finger - Paul Dovey feeds the cattle at Goodwood with organic dietWrapped Around Your Finger - Paul Dovey feeds the cattle at Goodwood with organic diet (Image: ©2022 Jim Holden - all rights reserved www.jimholden.co.uk 07590 683036)

‘We can reach Brighton, Chichester and London very easily and we have such great events here at Goodwood. I can’t wait for Goodwoof so Flynn can make some new friends. It’s going to be a lot of fun.’