I recently met up with Denys and Mary Fell of Densholme Farm in the secluded village of Great Hatfield , 11 miles from Hull and 3 miles from Hornsea in East Yorkshire . Denys moved to Densholme some 40 years ago and built the farm from scratch from what was just a field , part of the original farm his father had started in 1970 with some 200 acres . Denys and Mary met when both were studying at Bishop Burton College .

The family farm was cattle and sheep , a partnership between Denys , his father and brother Geoffrey . It covered a wide area , and they lived a further 3 miles away which made day to day running of the farm an extra challenge . In time , Denys felt that it would be much better to be nearer the animals ; hence the move in 1980 to what is now Densholme Farm . Quite an achievement to construct the farmhouse and all the barns etc completely from scratch .

The business continued to prosper from its new location . The year 2000 , as well as being the Millennium , also proved a pivotal year for both the farm and Denys and Mary .

Denys had been aware for some time of the stresses of farming and how badly they can affect farmers , particularly when they spend a lot of time alone . He became involved with The East Yorkshire Rural Stress Initiative , which was managed by Hull and East Riding Community Health Trust . Their aim was to alleviate stress in East Yorkshire ’ s farming community , really tackle the suicide problem and promote sources of help . They asked Denys to host an event , which he was happy to do , particularly

as two of his neighbours had taken their lives .

Denys became more and more interested in farming mental health issues and wanted to do more , so in order for the farm to progress it was decided to split the partnership to allow his brother Geoffrey and son Adam to develop the farm further .

Since the split , Denys and Mary ( who comes from a dairy farming family in Ugthorpe ) have developed their part of the farm , planting a mile and half of

hedgerows , cultivating , and managing 2.5 acres of woodland and 1.5 acres of orchard . They now sell fruit to an organic box scheme , make apple juice and have apples , cherries and plums .

Denys has bought adjacent fields as they became available , they now have some 270 acres . He has an arrangement with a local farmer who grazes his sheep to work the land . They primarily grow organic milling wheat . Ever beholden to the weather , it is a juggling act managing the quality . In 2021 the wheat achieved a high grade and , something not a lot of people know , quite a lot of their wheat goes to the same place as Jeremy Clarkson sells his ! They do grow a small number of potatoes as well . The land is managed on a 2-year rotation with wildflowers which produces , amongst many things , a lot of clover which is great for nitrogen when ploughing . A quarter of their land is high tier and part of the countryside stewardship programme , which they joined in 2008 , making finalists for the Tye trophy in 2019 , coming a close second - a significant achievement .

So , stepping back to the early 2000 ’ s , Denys worked for Bridlington Samaritans . A tough job , but one that Denys embraced . It was whilst doing this and hearing from farmers on the edge that the idea came to him . Knowing how much he enjoyed being amongst nature , the natural environment and animals , could it be used to help rehabilitate people experiencing mental health difficulties ? So , in 2007 , after some research , Denys teamed up with the Green Project who promoted the growing of vegetables to provide facilities for the rehabilitation of people with those mental health problems .

It was an instant success and straight away Denys and Mary were amazed at the almost instant progress some of these troubled people made .

In 2010 they stepped up the programme to include a schooling element to the service they offered . Initially this was done from a bitterly cold old barn . Then in 2013 , Natural England gave them a grant to build their resplendent school room . There are now ample facilities including

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