We are really excited to announce that our annual Farm Carbon Toolkit Field Day will, this year, take place on Thursday the 21st September 2023.
We are grateful to Julian Gold and the Hendred Estate for kindly hosting this Annual Field Day at the Hendred Estate, Oxfordshire on the edge of the Berkshire Downs.
Please save the following details:
Date: 21/09/2023
Location: Hendred Estate, Oxfordshire.
The theme to this year’s event is:
Gearing up to achieve Net Zero for UK Agriculture
During the day we will share our insights from the work we are doing supporting farmers to reduce GHG emissions and remove carbon into soils and biomass. This involves key elements of the transition to a nature friendly decarbonisation of agriculture. We will also be learning from the on farm trials which Julian is working on this year, with an opportunity to walk the farm. Our farmer panels during the day will feature such topics as the role of grazing and diverse swards in supporting the transition to net zero on farm.
At this years FCT Field Day, we will be announcing the winners of our Carbon Farmer of the Year competition, launched this year. To find out more about the competition and information on how you can apply head here.
More details:
For more details as the event approaches keep an eye on our website and social media. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Welcome to our February Farm Net Zero (FNZ) update, sharing updates for our farmers and the wider community this project supports. We’re very happy to see the associated newsletter is reaching increasing numbers and do hope that with more engagement we can really celebrate and disseminate what our fantastic Farm Net Zero community is showcasing.
New resources
We are pleased to share with you some recent resources that have been produced over the winter as part of the project.
Read about our trial on grazed winter cover crops in this handy pdf factsheet. Key criteria to assess on farm are livestock growth rate, forage yield, and seed costs. This fact sheet focuses on seed selection and cost.
Winter vetch (left) and common vetch (right)
We have also released a factsheet in response to the maize establishment trial at Tregooden Farm. Here, they ran three different trial plots, the first conventionally ploughed, sumoed and drilled, a second one was Sumo trio cultivated only and drilled, and the third was direct drilled -all 3 plots drilled with a Mzuri strip till machine. You can read the factsheet here. You can access all the other FNZ resources on the FNZ resources webpage here.
Recent events
Throughout the winter months the Farm Net Zero partners have run some insightful events:
In October 2022, The Nattle family kindly hosted a group of farmers at their dairy farm in the Tamar Valley to look at the establishment and management of herbal leys. The event discussed the many benefits associated with herbal leys including, but not limited to:
Nitrogen fixation by legumes resulting in reduced (on cutting ground) or no (on grazing ground) need for purchased fertiliser
Drought resilience from the deeper rooting species
Improved soil health through enhanced soil biology, carbon sequestration and structure
Milking cows moving off the herbal ley
To find out more details about the event head here.
In November 2022 Tim Dart of the Devon Wildlife Trust (who is also a Farm Net ZeroMonitor Farmer), Hannah Jones of Farm Carbon Toolkit, James Ruddick from Cornwall Council and Jenny Rogers from Forest for Cornwall discussed issues focussing on how to plan for the future with environmental stewardship. The evening was aimed at supporting farmers to understand the funding opportunities that are available that not only increase economic resilience, but have several other on farm benefits such as increasing shelter for livestock, and preventing soil erosion. Read about it here.
Attendees at the November event
In December 2022,Blable Farm in Wadebridge (one of our demo farms) hosted an event to discuss outwintering livestock on forage/cover crops. To read about the many associated merits head here.
Outwintering livestock grazing at Blable Farm
And on the 3rd of February, members of the FNZ team held a stall at the ‘Imagining a Net Zero Future for Falmouth’ event. Featuring over 15 local environmental organisations, the pavilion transformed into an inspiring space for the Falmouth community to learn more about the small everyday changes they could implement to work towards a Net Zero Future.
Guests approached our team eager to learn more about climate friendly gardening. Hannah Jones’ infectious enthusiasm for the project was demonstrated during her talk on ‘Greenhouse gas emissions counting in our fields, gardens and allotments – what can I do?’, resulting in 3 pledges being made on our new postcards that day!’ You can find out more about the pledge cards below.
Hannah Jones and a stall guest at the event in Falmouth
As ever the demo farms are constantly trialling and developing innovations and planning and running events.
Ennis Barton – Andrew Brewer has received planning for solar and is interested in the sustainability of grazing sheep under the panels, whilst also increasing biodiversity. Discussions are on-going on the continuing trial on soil recovery after potatoes, and data and literature is being reviewed on milk yield, quality variability and herbal leys. Watch this space to find out more!
Blable Farm – The herbal leys trials are ongoing. Mike and Sam Roberts who run the farm are looking into the comparison of weight in cattle on and off diverse cover crops, crucially looking at livestock health as well as soil health. They have several plans for farmer meetings with external groups, these groups include: BGS, NFU Mutual, and a local beef vet group. Additionally, Mike is looking into hosting university lecturer(s), which could bring about some really educational sessions.
Erth Barton – Erth Barton are hosting more ongoing herbal ley trials, alongside their continuing pasture cropping trials. Also, Hannah Jones, from Farm Carbon Toolkit, has given Erth Barton’s project manager, Tim Williams, support for an upcoming soil data talk at Harper Adams (read on to find out more details).
Duchy College Monitor Farms update
We are working with our Monitor Farms to complete their next round of carbon footprints, and comparing them to previous carbon footprints to look at areas that have changed and areas to work on. We are excited to get back out into the fields to collect the 2023 batch of soil samples.
One of our Monitor Farmers, Anthony Ellis, is trialling sheep grazing winter cereals and we have collected baseline soil samples to assess any impact on soil quality. We will continue to work with Anthony through to harvest to compare the grazed and ungrazed cereals and apply carbon footprint figures to the process.
The West Country Rivers Trust have designed some fantastic postcards that will be given to attendees of future climate-friendly gardening workshops. The postcards are aimed at encouraging people to pledge to help reduce the impacts of climate change through refining their gardening and growing skills to a more climate friendly manner. You can join in and download your own pledge postcard here, please do share it afterwards on twitter/instagram!
One of WRT’s pledge postcards
There are six WRT FNZ events planned for the next twelve months, with topics to focus on soil health, water quality and phosphate. There will also be more citizen science to get involved in, and plenty of climate friendly gardening workshops which will focus on the following topics:
know your soil
pond and rain gardens
forest gardens
no dig and green manure
compost tea
These workshops are all planned for April/May (exact dates tbc) and will be kicking off with a Soil Health workshop for Mithian allotment holders, kindly supported by St Agnes Council. This will be closely followed by a public workshop on the 26th April, hosted by the beautiful and productive Real Food Garden near Wadebridge. This workshop will focus on ponds and wetlands, exploring how ponds act as major carbon sinks, mitigate climate change and provide some of the most species rich habitat in the UK.
The compost field lab is well underway, and the group have been busy making compost over the winter. As well as contacting each other on their WhatsApp group, they will be meeting in early March at Prideaux Gardens (one of the trial sites) to discuss the field lab and plan their tasks and protocols for the next few months.
Join us for a second field lab on maize establishment methodsFollowing a successful farmer event in Stoke Climsland a group of farmers have joined with Innovative Farmers to set up a new field lab. This on-farm trial will focus on maize establishment methods, building on the trial carried out by Malcolm and Catherine Barrett at Tregooden farm.
The group will agree on what questions they want to ask in the field lab, and agree how the trial should be designed. It will also be a chance to learn about the Barretts’ own experiences of trialing different maize establishment methods.
What next?
Other FNZ Events:
March 22nd – Bennaman Slurry system methane event at Trenance.
Others with dates TBC:
April – Silage event at Mearfield.
May – Dairy and herbal leys possible to be held at Ennis Barton.
In addition Innovation for Agriculture will have a presence at Catchment Sensitive Farming events and Beef Expo.
Getting in touch
If you have any questions or ideas that would further support the community of farmers that we are working with, please get in touch at [email protected]
All information about the project including upcoming events and resources are available on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website. If there is anything you would like to see featured please let us know.
Farm Carbon Toolkit launches the first competition of its kind at the Low Carbon Agriculture Show this February.
The annual 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.
Launched today at the Low Carbon Agriculture Show at NAEC Stoneleigh, this is the only competition of its kind to identify and reward farmers, sector organisations, and businesses that are working hard to manage emissions and carbon storage. The competition will allow stakeholders to frame discussions on carbon emissions and carbon sinks on farms in a very practical way, thereby encouraging maximum engagement with the issues.
The winners of this year’s Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will be announced at the Farm Carbon Toolkit’s annual autumn conference, which is being held at the Hendred Estate, Oxfordshire.
Farm Carbon Toolkit was established to facilitate discussion and information sharing between farmers and other actors, ultimately leading to changes in on-farm practice. With many years of experience of working with farmers, landowners and the wider agricultural community, Farm Carbon Toolkit understands that network creation is of paramount importance.
Together with the wider work of the Farm Carbon Toolkit, the new competition will help to increase levels of carbon literacy among farmers and land managers by bringing them together at a number of dedicated events and workshops to share what they are doing, discuss new innovations in machinery and techniques, as well as learn more about new research and link with related projects.
Adam Twine, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Direct at Farm Carbon Toolkit, says
“The new Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will help to create a network of respected alumni who are not only changing their practices to better manage emissions and carbon storage on farmland, but will help to inspire others through activity, practical demonstrations, and advocacy for changing management practices.”
By showcasing the good practices that are taking place on farms across the UK, the Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will encourage more farmers to appreciate what is possible for their own businesses, specifically around changing practices to reduce emissions, improve soil organic matter levels, water holding capacity, soil life and soil structure, and the many other positive consequences associated with these changes.
Liz Bowles, Chief Executive Officer at Farm Carbon Toolkit says,
“I am delighted to announce the new Carbon Farmer of the Year competition, which will reward those individuals and organisations in the farming sector who are pioneering practices and adopting new technologies to reduce the GHG emissions from agriculture. Our ambition with this competition is to showcase best practices and effective mitigation mechanisms that are realistic and practicable on every farm, and help everyone to increase their carbon literacy.”
For more information about the Carbon Farmer of the Year Competition, and for details on how to apply, visit www.carbonfarmeroftheyear.com
Notes for editors
About the Farm Carbon Toolkit
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. Their Farm Carbon Calculator is a leading on-farm carbon audit tool, used by over seven thousand farmers in the UK and beyond. To find out more visit www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
We shall have a stand there (stand 413) and we will be offering individual 15 minute sessions to farmers to help you to understand farm carbon footprinting. We can answer any questions you may have, and show you how to get started on your own farm carbon footprint.
When:
The times for the 15 minute consultations at the drop in ‘surgery’ are:
Publication of information resource on remote sensing and probe based technologies for farmers seeking to enter the voluntary carbon market.
Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT) has published information to assist landowners and farmers when choosing how to monitor their soil carbon stocks. FCT is announcing the release of a document that breaks down the methodology and verification of some of the major remote sensing and probes based technologies that offer soil carbon quantification services.
Many farm businesses are starting to look at baselining carbon storage on their farms. Where they are looking to enter voluntary carbon markets it is necessary to do this baselining accurately. For these businesses the costs associated with baselining soil carbon levels can be prohibitive. Responding to this cost barrier, a number of remote sensing and novel technologies are coming onto the market. However it can be very difficult for businesses to know which technology to go with and indeed what level of accuracy is required.
Farm Carbon Toolkit’s document reviews some of the major remote sensing and probe based technologies that are delivering soil carbon quantification services by describing the methodology and detailing any verification process the organisation has undertaken. The aim is to help farmers to make more informed decisions should they wish to measure soil carbon storage and engage in the voluntary carbon market.
This 18 page document is set within the context of the release of the new minimum standards for the UK Soil Carbon Code, which is aligned with the Peatland Code and UK Woodland Carbon Codes. These codes set out the minimum standards for monitoring and measuring carbon stocks within peatlands, woodlands and soils which should be adhered to when entering the voluntary carbon market.
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. Their Farm Carbon Calculator is a leading on-farm carbon audit tool, used by over seven thousand farmers in the UK and beyond. To find out more visit www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
In this 40 min long podcast titled ‘From the Ground Up: How Important is Soil Health to our Future Food System‘, This is Altruistiq‘s host Jamie Dujardin asked questions delving deep into issues surrounding:
The challenges and opportunities of soil carbon measurement
The commercial opportunities for actors across the value chain (farmers to retailers)
What a future farming system looks like
They talk about key levers that businesses and farmers can take to scale soil health initiatives and offer some positivity and enthusiasm for the road ahead.
Hear how the work we do at FCT supports farmers by giving tangible, practical and applicable ways to build soil carbon and reduce emissions, whilst also building on farm resilience without affecting productivity. Also, hear how this relates to the ongoing work at Yeo Valley, where Tim Mead and his wider team are not only producing healthy nutritious food, but building soil health, reducing their emissions and addressing issues regarding resilience in the farming sector.
Listen here:
The podcast is available here and on most major podcast platforms.
With the ever-increasing interest in the environmental and business benefits of soil health and regenerative practices, the Soil Farmer of the Year competition looks set to be even bigger for 2023. Click on the link below to apply — or nominate someone you know! Or click here to find out more.
FAQ:
When does the entry period close?
The closing date for the competition is the 5th of March 2023.
We encourage applications from all sizes and types of farm – if you are passionate about soil management we would love to hear what you are up to. Equally, if you know someone who you would like to nominate or have any further questions please get in touch and we will be happy to have a chat: [email protected]
How is the competition judged?
All entries will be anonymised and short-listed for judging by our panel including the winners of the 2021 competition. The highest placed entrants will then be contacted and farm walks with our judging panel will commence in May 2023 to decide the finalists for the 2023 competition.
Since 2015, our SFOTY competition has helped to find, promote, and champion UK farmers who are passionate about safeguarding their soils and building resilient businesses. The 2022 competition involved a cohort of applicants with new ideas and perspectives on what sustainable soil management means for the future. As part of the competition, the top three farmers host farm walks that bring farmers together to share their good practice and innovation to improve soil health.
Celebrating the 2022 winners
Winners of the Soil Farmer of the Year 2022 Competition. From left to right: Andrew Rees (Runner-up), David Miller (Arable Soil Farmer of the Year) and Billy Lewis (Mixed Soil Farmer of the Year).
As we launch the 2023 competition, we want to celebrate this year’s winners and thank them for all their efforts to promote the benefits of good soil management.
Farm walk with Andrew Rees, 2022 Soil Farmer of the Year (Runner-up) In the first week of August, farmers and industry professionals met at Moor Farm in southwest Wales to hear Andrew Rees explain how he has developed a dairy system with soil health at the centre. READ THE REPORT
Farm walk with David Miller, 2022 Soil Farmer of the Year (Arable) Managing 700ha in Hampshire of majority Grade 3 land in a purely arable rotation, David Miller demonstrated how a regenerative system can be both simple and profitable even on challenging soils. READ THE REPORT
Farm walk with Billy Lewis, 2022 Soil Farmer of the Year (Livestock) Billy Lewis explained to visitors to his farm in Herefordshire how he’s been focusing on regenerating tired soils (previously in a high-intensity arable system) through integrating livestock and increasing species diversity. COMING SOON!
Key statistics
4,411 Hectares collectively managed by applicants across a range of soils throughout the UK. Farming systems demonstrated soil managements across a variety of geographies and landscapes.
60% Mixed Farms. The majority of applications were from mixed farming businesses, with arable and dairy systems also represented.
215 Businesses attended farm walks, participating in information sharing and knowledge exchange to discuss new ideas of how to implement sustainable practices.
Key messages
Protect the soil surface
Maintain a flexible rotation
Understand the biological, chemical and physical requirements of healthy soil
Minimise the disturbance of soil created through cultivation, trafficking and grazing pressures
Countryside COP is a hybrid conference held to align with COP to create space for the agricultural sector and rural economies to push ahead on climate change and sustainability. It was established to allow rural communities to come together and illustrate the opportunities that are available, along with contributions that are already underway to reach net zero. The event is also an opportunity to explore adaptation options, something of increasing importance as our weather patterns become more extreme, as seen so starkly seen this year.
The first Countryside COP was set up in 2021 by the Agriculture & Land Use Alliance (formerly Greenhouse Gas Action Plan GHGAP). Organisations in the Alliance include:
ADAS
Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA)
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)
Country Land & Business Association (CLA)
Linking Environment & Farming (LEAF)
NIAB
National Farmers Union (NFU)
In an NFU article leading up to Countryside COP1 the Alliance said
“This journey is complex, but there is no shortage of professionalism and knowledge within the rural community, and all who support food and farming. This is the time to utilise and invest in this expertise so we can help contribute to the government’s net-zero target, all while continuing to produce fantastic, affordable food for people at home and abroad”.
This year Farm Carbon Toolkit was one of a range of organisations including universities and farming bodies contributing to CCOP2. Through a plethora of 15 events running from the 10th-14th October all across the UK CCOP2 speakers were hosted from as far afield as Australia, Ghana and Zambia.
At Farm Carbon Toolkit we teamed up with our project partners at Yeo Valley who kindly hosted us, to talk about making the transition towards regenerative agriculture and about the findings so far in the project. The event was attended by a range of participants including farmers, education providers, NGOs and the general public.
FCT’s event on ‘Soil Health and Water Security’ discussed the benefits that agroforestry can bring to grassland systems. It was demonstrated that the presence of trees can buffer extreme weather conditions such as the drought experienced this summer by supporting grass growth and therefore livestock performance, as it has done at Yeo Valley. Agroforestry can enable soils to retain more moisture, limiting the impacts of both droughts and flooding, so has a direct climate change mitigation potential.
Other findings demonstrated at the event included discussing how research carried out with Yeo Valley farmers has suggested that soil management practices, such as growing herbal leys, can increase soil carbon deposition below 10cm. The amount of carbon this is sequestering due to the range of practice uptake on trial sites is significant – it demonstrates a carbon stock improvement of between 20-40t/c/ha.
The event also showcased how significant discussions and events like this one can be in improving carbon literacy amongst attendees, crucial in moving forward together.
To read more about the other events in the series and the insightful recommendations that came from them please see here.
Farm Carbon Toolkit is pleased to be able to reveal that we are to work in partnership with Wilder Carbon (part of Kent Wildlife Trust) to establish a farm focused approach to developing natural climate solutions (NCS) projects.
For farmers who wish to include natural climate solutions as part of their overall future farm plans, we will be working with Wilder Carbon to provide farmers and land managers with an end-to-end solution to assess, plan, deliver and fund that change, leading to reductions in farm carbon footprints whilst benefiting nature and society. Increasingly, we know that it is vital to respond to both the nature and climate crisis in tandem and this partnership will allow us to support this requirement.
As experts in measuring, understanding and taking action on farm and soil carbon, combined with on-farm experience, we are logical partners for Wilder Carbon. Together we will support farmers and land managers to leverage private capital to enable them to deliver natural climate solutions in an uncertain economic environment.
If you would like to learn more about our partnership, please sign up to our newsletter where we will be sharing new developments.
A Farm Net Zero event held at Ben Thomas’s monitor farm in Warleggan.
With fertiliser and feed rising in cost, many farmers are looking at how to grow grass and livestock with fewer inputs. A group of farmers gathered at one of the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) Monitor Farms to learn about rotational/mob-grazing from farmer Ben Thomas, and grazing consultant James Daniel of Precision Grazing Ltd. Ben Thomas farms 100 acres of species-rich permanent pasture in Warleggan, with 20 Belted Galloway finishing cattle moved daily in ⅓-acre plots. Winter stocking rate limits livestock numbers but Ben aims to reach 60-80 cattle. The landowner’s main aims are biodiversity, carbon sequestration and sustainable food production, and the rotational grazing system Ben employs allows for this, as well as fitting around Ben’s off-farm work as a farm manager.
James Daniel provided an introduction to rotational grazing, including how to get started. James proposed that the main limiting factor to grassland productivity is infrastructure (fencing and water) and suggested that if farmers are planning to cut their fertiliser use, they would see the benefit of using some of their fertiliser budget on investing in infrastructure. James explained that the main principle of rotational grazing is not to graze recent re-growth; the roots on overgrazed plants will die off, reducing the speed of recovery and making pasture more susceptible to drought. Grazing should be at a speed that maintains vegetative growth, leaving leaf on the plants to maximise photosynthesis and subsequent re-growth.
Key takeaways:
Invest in infrastructure and start by splitting larger fields.
“Wasted” grass can protect soil, regrow faster and potentially extend the grazing season
Focusing on production from grass can reduce emissions from fuel, fertiliser and bought-in feed and improve soil carbon sequestration
Adopting rotational grazing can grow high-quality feed with fewer bought-in inputs. Fertiliser (and fuel to spread it) is a major contributor to a farm’s carbon footprint. If enough grass can be produced with less of these inputs then the farm will be closer to achieving Net Zero, as well as saving money. James referenced an Agri-Tech Cornwall funded study at Rothamsted Research North Wyke that found that rotational grazing increased the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation. If this is translated into soil carbon, then rotational grazing can help to capture carbon to offset the farm’s emissions. The same study also suggested that rotationally grazed plots had a lower weed burden, higher rates of available phosphorus and potassium and produced a higher liveweight gain per hectare than set-stocking. This suggests that rotational grazing can improve profitability by increasing production per unit of land and by keeping the soil and pasture in good condition.
Preliminary results from the Agri-Tech Cornwall funded Cell Grazing research at Rothamsted Research North Wyke are available in a webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvu5Oj6ieYU
What next?
Ben’s fields will be soil sampled and his farming operation carbon footprinted until the Farm Net Zero project ends in 2025. This monitoring will provide valuable information on the impact of rotational grazing both on soil carbon and the overall carbon footprint of the farm.
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