The scorching September sunshine in Wiltshire at the Agroforestry Show was a good reminder of just how important trees are to us humans and to livestock, providing shade, a different microclimate and more water cycling. Hosts Helen Browning and Ben Raskin showed the extensive field scale alley cropping that intercrops trees, crops and livestock. As Helen said “ever since planting these trees the whole field has felt more alive”.
The trees are not only providing benefits in hot weather, but also reducing wind speed, increasing biodiversity and habitat, sequestering carbon and slowing down water in the landscape. But furthermore they are providing extra income opportunities for farmers and growers – such as fruit, timber, woodchip, nuts, and sticks for the future, along with potential ELMS payments.
The event was very much about spreading and sharing knowledge and insight, with a wide range of presentations and discussions. So much discussion was clearly being had amongst people with an interest in agroforestry in a way that only these sorts of events in person can really do. Businesses displaying at the event were as diverse as fruit tree nurseries, wood processing, banks, advisory, nature charities and many more; an indication of just how wide a range of people have an interest in the growth and continued success of agroforestry.
At FCT we had many discussions with attendees about carbon footprinting, and especially carbon sequestration in soils and perennial crops. We believe the Calculator and Advisory work we do really compliments the aims of agroforestry and look forward to more discussions on this subject with farmers and growers in the future.
One of the actions we will certainly take away is to deepen our understanding of the carbon sequestration benefits of Agroforestry systems, and to reflect that in terms of options in the Farm Carbon Calculator.
Regular users will have noticed that we have been gradually adding a host of new and upgraded functionality to our Calculator, offering better user experience, and more carbon footprinting opportunities for farmers and the food supply chain. This is an industry-leading carbon calculator that further establishes itself as a major tool to help the food and farming sector calculate, understand and reduce its carbon footprint.
Existing users can now:
Compare up to 5 reports in detail
Compare reports along a timeline and track progress toward a net zero target
View enhanced visuals for live results to get a better overview of their report
Export all input data as well as carbon emissions (as a .json)
Comparisons
You can now compare up to five reports at once, side by side. This could be from your own farm, or as part of a Group that you belong to. Compare across a range of farms you have access to or look into how your own footprint is changing year on year. Comparisons include overall carbon balance, a range of Key Performance Indicators (e.g. carbon balance per hectare, or per tonne), and right down into the detail of each part of the business.
Progress to Net Zero
We’ve also expanded comparisons to add progress against a target into the Calculator. This means you can track your carbon balance progress toward Net Zero over a given time period.
Visual Insights
We know that deriving insight from your data is hugely important, so we’ve taken the opportunity to upgrade the visuals inside the Calculator, giving you better overview of the detail of your report. You’ll now see interactive ‘sunburst’ charts on our results pages, where you can drill down into detail at each level, but also give a much clearer overview of which parts of your business are creating the biggest emissions.
Data
Exporting data from the Calculator has become easier. JSON exports of your Carbon Report mean that you can now access the data you have inputted into the calculator as an export. Further options to integrate your carbon report with other platforms are coming early 2024.
Next steps
We are constantly improving both the data and processes underpinning carbon reports, as well as making the tool easy to use. Expect a further upgrade in 2024, when we showcase the next round of development. We are responsive to the needs of users, and the trajectory of the sector so that carbon footprinting your farm and food business can become ever smoother and more meaningful, helping us all to decarbonise as rapidly as possible.
There are also useful FAQs and a ‘how to’ video on the Calculator homepage. You can also login to access your reports here, or set up a new account if you’re new to the Calculator https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/
Need more from the Calculator? We can support product footprinting of supply chains involving farms through the use of new functionality currently undergoing beta testing. Contact [email protected] if you would like to explore the options with us.
Our very own Becky Willson features on the Cornish Mutual podcast Farming Focus.
‘Farming Focus’ – the new farming podcast for Cornish Mutual Members and the wider farming community was recently launched.
Farming Focus aims to bring its listeners the latest on what really matters to farmers. Featuring industry experts and farming professionals, it expects to kickstart conversations across the South West and give farmers the knowledge and solutions to face today’s demands in agriculture.
The first 10-episode series of the fortnightly podcast will focus on resilience with host and Cornish Farmer Peter Green chatting to guests about how South West farming businesses can be resilient for the future. They’ll explore everything from soil to rural crime, policy to future markets and farm safety to animal disease.
Becky Willson features in episode 6 – How can South West farmers reduce emissions and be more climate resilient?
Continuing their series on resilience, this episode looks at climate resilience. Becky explains why farmers are in the unique position of being able to reduce emissions while increasing carbon capture with Wadebridge farmer Mike Roberts explaining the gains he’s seeing from the changes he’s made. Mike Roberts is one of the Farm Net Zerodemo farmers, find out more here.
Mike went from using over three artic loads of fertiliser a year to none in his pursuit of climate resilience. Hear how he’s done it in Episode 6 where he discusses the practical ways farmers can ‘stack up the gains’ to achieve resilience and balance.
We are excited to announce our plans for this year’s Farm Carbon Toolkit Annual Field Day, this year to be held at the Hendred Estate, Wantage, on the 21st September.
This event is a day for farmers, sharing their experiences for improving performance and resilience in a challenging environment. During the day we will showcase all the ways in which farmers are already changing farming practice to respond to the need to reduce emissions and build on farm carbon within their businesses. We will share our insights from supporting farmers to reduce GHG emissions and remove carbon into soils and biomass, involving key elements of the transition to a nature friendly decarbonisation of agriculture.
Here you’ll get an idea of the shape of the day and the major topics and themes to be covered. It’s set to be a useful day, with lots of take home ideas, and space for discussions and questions.
Our fantastic selection of speakers will share key insights into areas where emission reductions can be made and farm resilience built.
During the day we will have the following sessions:
Grazing clinic
Crop cultivation and diversity
Feed: Self-sufficiency
Benefiting from private markets for carbon and biodiversity
Fuel and energy
The day will also include a breakout ‘calculator clinic’, the Carbon Farmer of the Year awards (a new competition which we launched this year), and an opportunity to see the Six Inches of Soil trailer.
Speaker bios
Grazing clinic
Andrew Rees
Andrew Rees owns and operates a grass based spring calving dairy farm with his family in Pembrokeshire. In recent years he has taken a more soil centric approach to running the farm with the introduction of more diversity into grazing leys, significantly reducing chemical fertiliser inputs and changing grazing practices.
Soil Farmer of the year runner-up in 2022, Andrew is aiming to produce nutrient dense food regeneratively within the capabilities of the farm ecosystem. Andrew aims to reduce the farm’s risk to matters outside of its control such as escalating input costs and extreme weather events. He’s not not afraid to try new things, examples this year include rearing replacement heifers on nurse cows, bokashi composting and 18 species grazing cover crop mixes.
@AndrewMoorfarm
James Daniel
James has experience across a wide range of soil types, enterprises and business structures bringing a thorough understanding of pasture-based livestock systems to all work from business planning to regenerative farming system design.
Founding Precision Grazing in 2016 he works across the UK helping farmers to implement and manage effective livestock grazing systems leading to a reduction in costs, lower carbon footprint, improved productivity and profit.
Tim Williams farms 400 acres over three properties, the central operation being a contract farming operation on Erth Barton farm (part of the Antony Estate in SE Cornwall), where over the last three years he has transitioned 300 acres of ex-conventional arable into a no-input, regenerative, livestock based system, running a 65 cow suckler herd supplemented with bought in stores.
The zero-input system relies on complex herbal leys, rotational grazing and biological inputs such as compost teas and extracts. His time between farm management, advisory work and educational workshops. Tim and his wife have recently set up ‘Mamm’, a field to table cafe on Crocadon Farm and he also grows heritage grains marketed directly as flour to local bakeries.
David grew up in Essex and left school in 1975 at the age of 16. He worked on the same farm with his father and completed a City and Guilds day release course at Writtle College. David then moved up to a foreman’s job on a neighbouring farm., and in 1998 he moved to Hampshire to take a Manager’s post which then evolved into the joint venture of Wheatsheaf Farming in 2002. In 2004 David was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship and travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Hungary studying labour recruitment, training and retention.
In 2010, after 35 years of chemical dominated crop production, soil and biology has become the centre of his attention with solutions being sought from places other than just bags and cans.
In 2021 Wheatsheaf Farming became the Strategic Farm South for the AHDB with the objective of looking at practices and principles to continue the journey into regenerative agriculture beyond cover crops and no till.
@fowell103
Feed- Self-sufficiency
Michael Carpenter
Originally from Somerset, where he worked in dairy and beef farming, Michael went on to study agriculture at Harper Adams before embarking on a career across a broad base of the livestock industry, beginning with Genus Breeding, and later switching to the feed industry and National Beef Association. Throughout, hes increasingly questioned whether the feed industry was working in the farmer’s best interests, paving the way for him to join Kelvin Cave Ltd, 18 years ago. Today, he is technical director for this feed and forage preservation company, which is a driving force behind the innovative preservation of home-grown feeds.
Against the might of the feed industry, he has helped encourage farmers to ditch bought-in compounds whenever possible and maximise the nutrient value of what they grow on farm, cutting costs of production and promoting farm-to-farm trading of home-preserved feeds. With a particular interest in UK-grown proteins, he is taking the lead role for Kelvin Cave Ltd in the NCS project (Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems).
Tim Parton
Tim Parton is a Farm Manager in South Staffordshire in the UK farming 300 ha. Tim farms in a biological way maximizing the value of nutrition to get the best out of the crops. He does not use insecticides, seed treatments, growth regulators or fungicides, as when the plant is balanced the need for synthetic inputs drops away. Tim has won many awards including Soil Farmer of the Year 2017, Arable Innovator of the Year 2019, Sustainable Farmer of the Year 2019 and Innovation Farmer of the Year 2020.
Benefiting from private markets for carbon and biodiversity
Nick Down
Nick Down is the Farms Manager for Yattendon Estates & Head of Sustainability for Velcourt Ltd. After graduating from the University of Plymouth and following a year working overseas, Nick has been managing farms in the North Wessex Downs for the last sixteen years, having grown up on a dairy farm in Mid Devon. Currently managing the farming business of the Yattendon Estate, Nick is overseeing the transition to a more sustainable farming system, incorporating more space for nature and enhancing carbon sequestration under an ambitious environmental delivery program. The farm business now forms part of the LEAF demonstration farm network, one of 42 farms across the UK showcasing best practice through an integrated farm management approach.
Nick is a member of the Upper Pang Farmer Cluster working collaboratively with 8 local farmers and land owners, aiming to bring environmental delivery at a landscape scale, and is also a member of the Berkshire Local Nature Partnership. Nick also acts as the Head of Environmental Sustainability for Velcourt who manage 57,000 hectares of farmland, for 120 clients across the UK. This role is encompassing the areas of environmental land management and countryside stewardship, net zero strategy, natural capital and ecosystem service markets.
The Bradford family have been farming a Duchy of Cornwall estate since 1969. Their prime activity is beef farming with a South Devon suckler herd and emphasis on managing the wildlife rich landscape as they aim to diversify into sustainable tourism in an ethical and environmentally conscious fashion. They have an open access policy, welcoming visitors to enjoy the rich biodiversity around the farm.
Diversification began in 1975 with a Farmhouse Tearooms, and further diversification in the 1980’s which included conversion of traditional farm buildings into accommodation and conference facilities.
In 2005 during a study trip to Switzerland Andy realised the potential of biomass as a source of renewable energy and on this trip thoughts turned to how well this model would suit the Dartmoor region. Dartmoor Wood-Fuel Co-operative was established in 2009 by a group of like-minded Dartmoor residents. Initially they supplied six boilers from a variety of businesses including a hotel, a tourist attraction and local farms. Now co-operative membership has grown to over 45 sites around the region, processing over 4000 tons of biomass annually.
Anthony is a farmer and independent agronomist from Cornwall. He farms with his father and runs a mixed sheep and arable system on 200 acres, where they seek to integrate the sheep and arable enterprises as much as possible with cover crops, herbal leys and cereal grazing, in order to minimise inputs and improve soil health as much a s possible.
They direct market their lamb to the local community and beyond, and are involved in a project to add value to their wool by working directly with the fashion and textile industry. As an independent agronomist and consultant, Anthony works with farmers looking to adapt to more regenerative farming systems.
@anthonyellis79, Facebook: Pensipple Farm – Solar Powered Lamb
David Gardner
David Gardner is now mostly retired. He spent most of his career in farm management with the Co-operative farms. At the end of his career he spent 6 years at the RASE where he developed the Innovation for Agriculture initiative with 15 other Agricultural Societies.
At home he has had a wind turbine and a heat pump for over ten years and has super insulated the house. He drives an electric car and is about to install solar PV on the roof, heat storage for both hot water and heating along with diverters to maximise his use of his own energy.
He has a keen interest in all aspects of sustainability and has a particular interest in analysing the big picture – ‘How are we going to run a more sustainable Society for 9 billion people within the constraints associated with our limited resources?’
NOTE: This is an external press release, not written by FCT, to read the full post with all notes to editors please head to the University of Cumbria website here.
For the first time, farmers, land managers and advisors can study part-time, higher education short courses to help them respond to changes in upland farming and environmental land management.
In a unique partnership between the University of Cumbria and the farming and land management sector, six accredited modules will begin running from September 2023.
The first three cover Mapping Environmental Assets, Farm Business Opportunities and Upland Farming for Net Zero. They will be followed by Collaborative Practice in the Uplands, Trees on Farms and Fells, and Improving Efficiency and Productivity
“We’ve developed the modules, in conjunction with the farming and conservation sectors, at a critical time for upland land managers and farmers. It’s about skilling up to best respond to rapid changes in farming policy, funding and upland environmental land management and comes when food and energy security, and climate change, are in clear focus for society and communities around the world.
“The modules cover a breadth of key topics. Two are a result of development with Land App and the Farm Carbon Toolkit, and based on their user-friendly technology to make mapping and carbon auditing easier.”
As part of its Towards 2030 strategy, the University of Cumbria works with employers and partners in existing and emerging areas to develop provision that helps to address regional and sector higher-level skills needs.
The new suite of modules will be delivered by the university’s Institute of Science and Environment, led by tutors with current experience in the sector. They can be studied individually, or as a set, and are aimed at people working in, or seeking to work in, upland farming, land management or advisory services.
Different to a standard university course, each module involves 24 hours of tuition across eight weeks, using a combination of workshops, online evening lectures and farm visits. There is additional independent study, to help people to put their learning into practice, leading to accreditation.”
It means the courses are offered at a reduced cost of £500, with some free, sponsored, places available too.
The Foundation for Common Land’s Our Upland Commons project is proud to be sponsoring 12 free places on the first unique course.
Over eight weeks, and through part-time study, group and site visits, participants on the Farm Business Opportunities module can develop skills in financial planning, environmentally sustainable farming and farm diversification.
The sponsored places have been made possible thanks to £3million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project to secure the future of upland commons. Led by the Foundation for Common Land, ‘Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons’, is supported by 25 organisations and involves 12 English commons. Grants have also come from Esmée Fairbairn, Garfield Weston Foundations.
Farmers working with scientists to achieve the best from pulse crops and reduce their carbon emissions. Led by farmers, backed by science
FCT is part of a consortium of project contributors and would like to share more information on the project aims and how it will run. Please note this blog takes its content from the NCS brochure linked to at the bottom of this page.
NCS at a Glance
What is it about?
The NCS project is a new £5.9M farmer-led research programme, set to revolutionise on-farm carbon footprints by delivering more than half of the GHG emissions reduction target for UK agriculture.
What are the project aims?
The main aim is to enable UK agriculture to bring about a reduction of 1.5Mt CO2e per annum or 54% of the maximum potential for the industry.
The ambitions of the project are to increase pulse and legume cropping in arable rotations to 20% across the UK and to develop and test new feed rations. This will help livestock farmers to substitute up to 50% of imported soya meal used in feed with more climate-friendly home-grown pulses and legumes.
These twin aims will be steered by science and proven by real farm enterprises, with significant benefits for both crop and livestock productivity, including cost savings of over £1bn/ year.
Who is running the project?
The project partners comprise a consortium of UK companies, research institutes and farmer networks, led by PGRO and including Farm Carbon Toolkit.
Who is it for?
Anyone and everyone concerned with reducing carbon emissions on farm and those interested in the potential for peas and beans to help them achieve that. From boots in the field, to scientists in the lab, this project will bring together the entire supply chain to seek sustainable long-term solutions to climate change.
Can I be involved?
Absolutely. As part of the project, a new ‘PulsePEP’ (Performance Enhancing Platform) community will be established – a platform and knowledge exchange hub, led by ADAS, for farmers who are striving to achieve the best from pulse crops and reduce their carbon emissions.
From this community, a group of ‘Pulse Pioneers’ will be selected to host paid-for trials on their own farms. These trials will test novel concepts, ideas, products, rations and sensors designed to help farmers reduce GHG emissions.
Project overview
STEP 1: Gathering the data
Led by the James Hutton Institute, the first stage of the research will involve data athering to draw insight across the scope of the project, which will lead to the UK’s first comprehensive life-cycle assessment of arable cropping systems.
Also included will be data from the core group of 200 farmers within the PulsePEP community who will receive tailored assistance from Farm Carbon Toolkit to establish their farm carbon footprint baseline and whose GHG emissions will be tracked throughout the project.
STEP 2: Capturing data
Led by ADAS, the next stage will involve capturing data from historic information and new on-farm trials to test the hypothesis that increased pulse cropping can substantially reduce carbon emissions from agriculture. Some of the technology used to do this will include PBL Technology’s new in-soil nutrient sensors.
STEP 3: Analysing soil resilience
This part of the project aims to identify and quantify the resilience of soil GHG emissions under climate change. It will also provide baseline and historical contexts for management and legume inclusion on GHG emissions, carbon footprint, environmental impact, and economic returns. This will be used to evaluate the relative GHG emissions, soil health and nitrogen benefits of legumes in rotations.
STEP 4: Feeding trials
Led by McArthur Agriculture, feeding trials will be carried out to better understand the end use of pulses and legumes in animal feeds.
Farm-based heat treatment, de-hulling of beans, whole crop forage optimisation and a score of other innovative techniques will be deployed in both scientific and commercial trials.
STEP 5: Practical application
At the end of the project, the data will be pooled together to establish the best scenarios for delivering the optimum environment and financial result on investment for farmers.
It also aims to establish the carbon cost-benefit analysis of transitioning to increased production of legumes and pulses in the UK, alongside changes in livestock diets in favour of home-grown legumes and pulses and away from soyabean meal.
This will ensure the project has impact, delivers resilience to the whole of UK agriculture and that it stays on track for its ambitious net zero goals.
About NCS
Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) is a four-year £5.9M research programme involving 200 UK farms and 17 partners. The NCS Project is funded by the Farming Futures R&D Fund: Climate smart farming, part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme. Defra are working in partnership with Innovate UK who are delivering the programme.
The winner and runners-up of the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition were announced at the Farm Carbon Toolkit’s Annual Field Day in Herefordshire.
Now in its second year, the annual Carbon Farmer of the Year competition is organised by the Farm Carbon Toolkit and generously sponsored by HSBC Agriculture UK. The competition aims to find farmers and growers who are engaged with–and passionate about–reducing their business’s climate impact through changing management practices to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year Overall winner:
Andrew Brewer of Ennis Barton, Fraddon, Cornwall (Dairy farmer supplying Arla UK)
2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year Runners-up:
Jason Mitchell, Gary Logue, and Adam Moore of Greenville Dairies Ltd, Newton Stewart, Northern Ireland (Dairy farmer supplying Lakeland Dairies)
Tom Burge of Oaremead Farm, Lynton, Devon (Upland beef and sheep farmer)
Competition judges, Steve Dunkley (HSBC UK), David Cope (Head of Sustainability at Duchy of Cornwall), and Liz Bowles (CEO Farm Carbon Toolkit) were very impressed with the commitment and innovation shown by all the finalists in identifying sources of GHG emissions on their farms and developing strategies to both reduce emissions and increase the rate of carbon removal into soils and non-crop biomass.
L to R: Steve Dunkley / HSBC UK Ltd, Liz Bowles / Farm Carbon Toolkit, Tom Burge / Tom Burge / Oaremead Farm, Andrew Brewer / Ennis Barton, Adel Tajouri/ Greenville Dairies Ltd, Terry Mitchell / Greenville Dairies, David Cope / Duchy of Cornwall
Liz Bowles, Chief Executive Officer at Farm Carbon Toolkit, says:
Once again, the Carbon Farmer of the Year competition has identified some truly inspirational farmers. All our finalists have made great strides in reducing business reliance on fossil fuels through changes to their farming practices and careful soil management to reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon.
It was particularly positive to see a dairy farm winning this year’s competition, given that dairy farming is often in the media spotlight for its adverse environmental impact. We are looking forward to showcasing the many effective ways that our finalists are reducing on-farm emissions and increasing carbon storage for others to see at free farm walks over the coming months. Watch this space!
Steve Dunkley, HSBC UK Agriculture, says:
HSBC UK Agriculture is pleased to support the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition. The quality of entries has been superb and hugely inspiring. As a business, we’re very keen to support the agriculture industry in transitioning towards net zero. While that will take many forms, we have the ambition to help farmers fund investment in the new practices and technologies needed to evolve.
“The Carbon Farmer of the Year competition is a great way of showcasing how farmers are already achieving these changes and encouraging others to follow their lead.
About the Farm Carbon Toolkit and the Carbon Farmer of the Year competition
Farm Carbon Toolkit is an independent, farmer-led Community Interest Company, supporting farmers to measure, understand and act on their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their business resilience for the future.
For over a decade, Farm Carbon Toolkit has delivered a range of practical projects, tools and services that have inspired real action on the ground. Organisations they work with include the Duchy of Cornwall, First Milk, Tesco, Yeo Valley and WWF. The Farm Carbon Calculator is a leading on-farm carbon audit tool, used by over 7,000 farmers in the UK and beyond. To find out more visit www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
The Carbon Farmer of the Year competition aims to recognise and champion farmers, sector organisations, and businesses who are leading the way in adopting farming practices and developing new technologies that are helping to reduce farm emissions while optimising output.
This competition allows for discussions on greenhouse gas emissions and sinks on farms to be framed in a very practical way to allow for maximum engagement with the issue. Farm Carbon Toolkit facilitates discussion and information sharing between farmers and other actors, which ultimately leads to changes in on-farm practice.
The long-term objective of this competition is to create a network of alumni who are changing their management practices to better manage emission and carbon storage on farmland, and who will inspire others through activity, practical demonstrations, and advocacy for changing management practices.
Farm Carbon Toolkit announces shortlisted farms for the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition
Four farmers from across the UK – including three dairy farms – have been shortlisted for this year’s Carbon Farmer of the Year competition in recognition of their efforts to reduce their business’s climate impact.
The 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year Shortlist:
Andrew Brewer from Ennis Barton, Fraddon, Cornwall (Arla supplier)
Jason Mitchell, Gary Logue and Adam Moore from Greenville Dairies Ltd, Newton Stewart, Northern Ireland (Lakeland supplier)
Tom Burge from Oaremead Farm, Lynton, Devon
Wesley Semple from Derryduff Farm, Dungiven, Northern Ireland (Lakeland supplier)
Now in its second year, the annual Carbon Farmer of the Year competition is organised by the Farm Carbon Toolkit and generously sponsored by HSBC Agriculture UK.
The competition aims to find farmers and growers who are engaged with, and passionate about reducing their business’s climate impact through changing management practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their businesses.
As part of the competition, the top three farmers will host free farm walks that bring farmers together to share good practice and innovations that result in reduced emissions, as well as improving carbon removal into soils, trees, hedges and non-crop biomass. The competition is becoming widely recognised by organisations working to reduce the emissions from UK agriculture, with many promoting it to their networks to increase participation.
Rob Purdew, Farm Carbon and Soil Advisor with Farm Carbon Toolkit, says
“We’ve been blown away by the quality of the entries for this year’s Carbon Farmer of the Year competition The sheer variety of entries for this year’s competition highlights the fact that, despite differences in farming systems and locations, many farmers are finding truly innovative ways to reduce their business greenhouse gas emissions.
It is particularly positive to see three dairy farmers in this year’s shortlist, given that dairy farming is often in the media spotlight in terms of its environmental impact. We are working with numerous dairy farmers and dairy industry projects that are already showcasing that this doesn’t need to be the case, and that farmers can make simple management changes to significantly improve their carbon and environmental footprints. We’re grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to enter.
Steve Dunkley, HSBC Agriculture, says
HSBC UK Agriculture is pleased to support the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition and the quality of entries has been superb and hugely inspiring. As a business, we’re very keen to support the industry in transitioning towards net zero. While that will take many forms, we have the ambition to help farmers fund investment in the new practices and technologies needed to evolve. The Carbon Farmer of the Year competition is a great way of showcasing how farmers are already achieving these changes and encouraging others to follow their lead.
The judging process now involves visiting each of the four finalists to learn more about their farming practices before selecting the winners.
The winners of the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will be announced at the Farm Carbon Toolkit Annual Field Day on the 26th September 2024, this year kindly hosted by 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year winner Billy Lewis at Boycefield Farm, Dilwyn, Herefordshire. A day for farmers, by farmers, the FCT Annual Field Day is about sharing practical experiences for improving performance and resilience in a challenging environment with this year’s event focusing on the value of mixed farming.
Open farm walks at the top three farms will be scheduled to take place in November and December 2024.
For further details about the 2024 Carbon Farmer of the Year competition, contact Rob Purdew, Carbon and Soil Advisor with the Farm Carbon Toolkit, at [email protected]
Farm Carbon Toolkit is an independent, farmer-led Community Interest Company, supporting farmers to measure, understand and act on their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their business resilience for the future.
The Farm Carbon Calculator uses the IPCC 2019 and UK GHG Inventory methodologies and is aligned with the GHG protocol agricultural guidance. Recent development has allowed us to provide greater interoperability with other data platforms through our Report Export API and Carbon Calculation Engine API. This represents a step-change in the industry’s ability to provide trustworthy carbon footprints with transparent methodologies on platforms where farmers already collect data, thus reducing the data inputting onus on farmers. This new functionality has been warmly welcomed by supply chain businesses who are now using our Calculation Engine to support their customers without need for further data entry.
The Farm Carbon Calculator is used across the UK and on four continents with global usage growing at around 20% per year.
For over a decade, Farm Carbon Toolkit has delivered a range of practical projects, tools and services that have inspired real action on the ground. Organisations they work with include the Duchy of Cornwall, First Milk, Tesco, Yeo Valley and WWF. The Farm Carbon Calculator is a leading on-farm carbon audit tool, used by over 8,000 farmers in the UK and beyond. To find out more visit www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
Farm Carbon Toolkit is excited to be part of an ambitious new research project to explore the huge potential of UK-grown pulses and legumes to address the climate crisis and replace imported soya meal.
The Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project will involve 17 industry partners and 200 UK farms in farm trials and other research to grow more pulses in the UK, reduce artificial fertiliser use, and find ways to use UK-grown pulses to reduce reliance on imported soya meal used in livestock diets.
Led by PGRO, the consortium of UK companies, research institutes and farmer networks, the research project will seek to support farmers in reducing agricultural emissions by up to 1.5Mt CO₂e per annum (or 54% of the maximum potential for UK agriculture) through increasing pulse cropping in arable rotations and substituting up to 50% of imported soya currently used in feed with more climate-friendly, home-grown pulses and legumes.
“We are delighted to be involved in the Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems project, which could be a game changer for UK agriculture,”
says Liz Bowles, CEO at Farm Carbon Toolkit.
“Working with farmers to trial the latest pulse varieties and on-farm research and innovation in real-life situations, the four-year project seeks to significantly increase pulse and legume cropping areas across the UK, reducing emissions from artificial fertilisers and deforestation associated with soya production, and improving productivity and soil health on British farms.”
As project partners, Farm Carbon Toolkit will provide baseline farm carbon audits for the farms taking part in the research trials, as well as monitoring changes over the life of the programme. We will also be using the findings to inform how our Farm Carbon Calculator estimates both emissions and carbon removals associated with growing pulses and legumes within UK crop rotations.
Are you a Pulse Pioneer?
The first stage of the project will give 200 UK farmers direct support to establish their business’ carbon baseline, using our Farm Carbon Toolkit. The GHG emissions from these farms will then be tracked throughout the project and will form a fundamental part of the dataset.
Next, the leading innovators among them will be paid to work with scientists to co-design crop and feeding trials to carry out on their farms. These ‘Pulse Pioneers’ will explore ways and means for soils to thrive, crop yields to build and livestock productivity to flourish, through better use and marketing of home-grown pulses and legumes.
Get involved
We’re urging interested farmers to get involved as soon as possible.
The NCS project will officially launch on the PGRO stand at this year’s Cereals Event (13-14 June), with a follow up no-obligation webinar to explain more about it and what’s on offer at 2pm on Thursday 15th June 2023.
Sign up now for the no-obligation webinar on Thursday 15th June at 2:00pm
Farm Carbon Toolkit is offering current DTP students the opportunity to work on their Farm Carbon Calculator.Come and use your skills to support thousands of farmers across the UK and beyond to footprint their farms’ GHG emissions!
We are offering current Doctoral Training Partnership students an exciting opportunity to work on our Farm Carbon Calculator and gain work experience in a role that really is helping to change the way we farm.
We’re looking for enthusiastic placement students who know how to use Excel and ideally have experience or detailed knowledge of one or more of the following:
GHG emissions sources in agriculture (and the processes involved)
Software development/ development of web-based tools
UK agricultural management practices (particularly in regard to manure management/ livestock management)
GHG footprinting and associated standards/ reporting guidance
Don’t worry if you only know about one of the above, as there will be plenty of opportunities to develop knowledge in all of these areas. We can design the placement to suit your skills and interests and you will be supported by our Calculator Manager, Lizzy Parker.
We are a remote organisation and the placement can be undertaken from anywhere in the UK but you will need access to your own laptop. Any travel for the placement (e.g. to quarterly in-person team meetings and other relevant events) will be covered by our expenses policy. Written and spoken Italian would be a big asset for placements commencing June or July 2023.
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