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Harvest Here: a revolutionary aquaponics food-growing system created in Leicestershire
We recently met John Holland – a farmer, passionate locavore and former Jaguar engineer who once led the carmaker’s self-driving project in collaboration with Google. Today, from his base at Holland’s Nurseries in Twyford, John is applying his engineering skills to a brilliant new food-growing system called Harvest Here.
This innovative system uses aquaponics to produce delicious rainbow trout alongside vibrant, chemical-free herbs and vegetables, all within a compact, closed-loop setup. It’s clean, efficient and sustainable – perfect for restaurants, pubs or farm shops keen to grow their own ingredients on-site.
Here’s how it works. Trout arrive as tiny fingerlings and are placed in large pools, where they’re carefully fed and allowed to grow. The wastewater they produce, rich in nutrients, is diverted into a separate vat. There, a natural biological process transforms it into nitrate-rich water, which irrigates the herbs and vegetables at the touch of a button. The result? Stunningly fresh produce and beautiful fish – some of which John is hot-smoking in partnership with Melton Mowbray’s Feast and Furious.
John’s vision is ambitious. He wants to help boost UK food security by making it easier for us all to grow our own. Initially, his Harvest Here systems are aimed at restaurants, pubs, cafés and farm shops, but the plan is to later roll them out for domestic use. His concern is clear: the UK is increasingly reliant on imported vegetables that could be grown here, and Harvest Here is designed to be a practical solution.
John Holland
What impressed us most during our visit was not just the ingenuity of the system, but John’s passion and energy. It’s easy to see how pubs and restaurants could benefit hugely – with a constant supply of fresh herbs, vegetables and fish for their kitchens, plus an inspiring project for their teams to get involved in.
John says: “Harvest Here is a really simple concept: let’s produce amazing, sustainable, nutritious, tasty food at the location where it’s consumed. By growing food where it’s eaten, we eliminate food miles, refrigeration and single-use packaging.
“With Harvest Here, you never need to use artificial fertiliser. The only input is fish food – and 1.1kg of fish food produces 1kg of fish protein, the most efficient conversion in the natural world.
“When you see the Harvest Here label, it says: we grew it over there — cutting out the costly middle section of the supply chain. A resilient local food supply doesn’t just feed families — it leads to a more stable and peaceful world.”
We share John’s excitement for Harvest Here. It’s about more than food – it’s about reconnecting with how it’s grown and taking back control of what ends up on our plates.
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Northfield Farm: rare breeds, charcuterie and food inspiration
Located near Cold Overton, on the Leicestershire-Rutland border, Northfield Farm was one of the inspirations behind the creation of Great Food Club back in 2010. The thought process went something like this: “Wow, what an exceptional place. The team produce outstanding rare-breed meat, pies and more. But it’s hidden away – what if we created a magazine and website that shone a light on brilliant independent producers like Northfield Farm? Let’s do it.”
So that’s what we did.
Northfield Farm is still going strong and is a finalist in our 2024/5 awards. It focuses on traditional farming and high-quality food production. From rare-breed livestock to award-winning charcuterie, it’s one of the few places where farming, butchery and food retailing all happen on the same site. Add a popular stall at London’s Borough Market into the mix, and you have something special – a farm-to-fork operation with a national reach.
Founded over 25 years ago by Jan McCourt (pictured at the top of this article with his son Leo), Northfield Farm is a working farm that rears cattle and pigs – including several rare breeds such as White Park cattle – and butchers the meat on-site. The result is a range of top-class products including dry-aged beef, salt beef, sausages, pork pies and more. Everything is made on-site with care and skill, using meat from the farm itself and, where needed, from other small independent producers around the UK.
One standout product is Northfield Farm’s charcuterie. Remarkably – as far as we know – it’s currently the only charcuterie made on a farm in the East Midlands. The man behind it is Piero (pictured above), an Italian butcher who first worked for Northfield at Borough Market. His passion for the craft led him to relocate to the East Midlands to work full-time on-site. Today, Piero’s handmade salami, coppa and sausages are a key part of the offering, created alongside pork pies, sausage rolls and more in the farm’s production kitchen.
The day-to-day activity at Northfield is relentless. Leo McCourt – Jan’s son – or another team member often sets off for Borough Market at 3am, van loaded with beef, pies and charcuterie. Their salt beef sandwiches are bestsellers on the London market stall, alongside the dry-aged steaks. Leo’s brother, Dom (standing on the far right of the Borough Market image above), manages the Borough Market operation, while the farm itself in Cold Overton remains a hive of activity – hay baling, silage making, livestock care and endless food prep.
At the heart of Northfield is a clear philosophy: start with the end product – what you want it to taste, look and feel like – and then build the farming and production processes around that vision. It’s a back-to-front approach that leads to outstanding quality. As Jan says, the goal is always to make the best-tasting food possible, and design everything else to serve that aim.
Jan is also a passionate advocate for rare breeds and is an active member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. He regularly speaks on the importance of preserving heritage livestock for future generations. The late Clarissa Dickson Wright was a big fan of Northfield Farm and often visited the farm.
Like many independent producers, Northfield Farm was hit hard by the pandemic. To survive, they were forced to sell livestock and machinery – but have emerged stronger and more focused. Jan describes it as a rebuild: a chance to regroup, streamline and set a new course. Part of that involves ramping up digital marketing to reach new customers.
Despite the challenges, the quality has never slipped. Northfield Farm’s food speaks for itself. It is rooted in traditional farming but never stands still – adapting, innovating and thriving. For those who care about where their food comes from, this is a business worth supporting.
Whether you’re buying a salt beef sandwich at Borough Market or charcuterie from Piero in the farm shop, you’re getting more than just great food – you’re tasting the product of a thoughtful, hardworking and values-led team doing things the right way.
Visit the farm shop at Cold Overton, Wednesday to Saturday (8 am–4 pm, Friday until 5 pm).
