Category: News

Press release: Carbon Calculator Update

Posted on May 5, 2022 by - Calculator, News

Release date: 5th May 2022

Farm Carbon Calculator upgrade gives users an even better experience, underpinned by the latest science.

The Farm Carbon Calculator has released another major upgrade to its free online tool, which is designed to help farmers and growers understand and manage greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and horticulture.

This latest upgrade – the second in six months, focuses on usability, livestock, nitrous oxide, crops and fertilisers. Calculator users will notice significant improvements in design and usability, in particular:

  • Clearer design and layout across the user interface
  • Results reorganised to give users a clearer understanding of their emissions and sequestration results
  • Benchmarking allows users to understand where their carbon footprint is in comparison to other users
  • Results split into all greenhouse gases, and Scopes 1,2 and 3 for clarity
  • A new way of recording yields of crops and outputs of livestock

The well regarded Nitrogen Module, introduced in November (and kindly funded by WWF-UK), has also received a significant design improvement in this latest upgrade.

Designed by farmers for farmers, the Farm Carbon Calculator offers an intuitive user interface and a comprehensive and accurate list of categories for all farmers and growers across the UK.

Regarded by many as the most comprehensive, accurate and user-friendly carbon calculator available to farmers and growers, the Farm Carbon Calculator is one of just three tools recommended by the NFU to its members.

Currently thousands of users already benefit from the free tool to calculate the carbon footprint of their business, identify ways to reduce their emissions – and increase farm profitability.

Jonathan Smith, Carbon Calculator Director, says

“The drive for continual improvement in the Farm Carbon Calculator is always at the forefront of our minds. Understanding what our users need, whilst keeping on top of rapidly emerging science is a constant challenge, but one that excites and motivates us.

“Never before has carbon management been so important for farmers and growers in the UK. Yet the scale and pace is only likely to accelerate over coming months and years. We understand the importance of our users being empowered to measure, manage and mitigate carbon in their businesses in a user-friendly and cost-effective way.”

Oliver Kynaston, Carbon Calculator Manager, says

“This upgrade, hot on the heels of last November’s release, features important upgrades to methodologies and emissions factors in key areas for many farmers: livestock, fertilisers and crop residues. Our drive for accuracy is always high on the development list.

“We are particularly pleased with the re-design of the interface, which presents data entry and results in a very clear way to users. It’s vital that these tools are as easy to use as possible for today’s busy farmers and growers.”

This upgrade was completed in association with our valued web development team at Creative Coop, with whom Farm Carbon Calculator has worked with for over 10 years. Their expertise in design and software development is a very valuable part of the Calculator.

The Farm Carbon Calculator is free for farmers and growers to use. Visit https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk.

A Commercial Licence is available for consultants and advisors wishing to use it for profitable purposes, with integrated training and support.

White label versions of the Farm Carbon Calculator can also be designed and developed for individual businesses, organisations, and groups. For more information on either product contact calculator@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk

Notes for editors

  1. Farm Carbon Calculator is owned and managed by Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT). FCT was set up in 2010 to provide advice, support and encouragement to farmers and growers wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. It is actively engaged in research, training, and consultancy work. It is run by farmers for farmers and is a Community Interest Company.
  2. Farm Carbon Calculator has been running for over 12 years. It is free for users and always will be.
  3. For press interviews please contact Jonathan Smith [email protected] or 07528 136678.

Soil Farmer of The Year 2022

Posted on December 3, 2021 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

The 5th of December is World Soil Day and also the launch of the 2022 Soil Farmer of The Year Competition.

Now in it’s seventh year, the Soil Farmer of The Year competition aims to find farmers and growers who are engaged with, and passionate about managing their soils in a way which supports productive agriculture, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and builds soil health, organic matter and carbon.

Previous winners of both the Arable and Livestock Soil Farmer of the Year title have demonstrated how soil health can be integrated into all aspects of a farming business, to aid economic resilience and environmental custodianship. The competition aims to promote businesses or individuals who are fantastic ambassadors for soil health and the benefit agriculture can have on the wider landscape.

If you would be interested in entering the competition please see the further details below. Equally, if you would like to nominate someone who you feel would be an excellent candidate please do not hesitate to get in touch!

FAQ:

When does the entry period close?

The closing date for the competition is the 5th of March 2022.

How do I enter?

You can enter the competition HERE

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 2022 to decide the finalists for the 2022 competition.

When are the winners announced?

The winners will be announced at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Show and Conference at the end of June 2022.

Farming and the climate crisis

Posted on March 3, 2022 by - Insights, News

Roots of green manures fixing nitrogn

What can farming do for the climate crisis?

COP26 in Glasgow brought a sharp focus on human activities that create greenhouse gases. There were many welcome announcements on reducing methane from oil and gas, cutting coal, limiting deforestation, “keeping 1.5 alive”, and a whole other host of measures. While many campaigners and leaders agree that the pledges do not go far enough, progress  has been made, momentum must continue and these pledges must now be translated  into action on all scales from grassroots to governments, across the world.

Building carbon in soils is a win-win for farmers and society

But one major issue was not given adequate attention – food and farming. Representing around 21-37% of global carbon emissions and something so fundamental to our daily lives, the lack of discussion is baffling. Is it because farming is a knotty problem and governments think there aren’t easy solutions? There could be many reasons for this lack of discussion, but the net effect is a lack of  policy and action driving the collective carbon footprint of food and farming in the right direction.

At Farm Carbon Toolkit we’ve been working on the ground, encouraging, informing and enabling farmers and growers to cut their carbon and increase sequestration on their farms for more than 10 years. We enable them to measure their carbon footprint, using the Farm Carbon Calculator, and point them to tried and tested solutions, advice, inspirational events and other learnings through the Toolkit.

The level of interest in our work has increased hugely over the past 18 months and we see that as very encouraging. Many farmers and growers want to reduce their carbon footprint, and can see the benefits. Legislation might well demand it soon, and some supply chains are already requiring their farmers to start going on a path towards net zero carbon, many of which point towards 2030 as an end date. Eight years from now…that’s not long.

How can farms be net zero?

All farms have greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions, such as from fuels, fertilisers, livestock, bought in materials, and soils. These all have to be accounted for, and steps must be made to minimise these emissions. Reducing emissions is the first step and every effort must be made to go as low as possible.

However farms are one of just two main industries in the UK that can also sequester (absorb) carbon – the other being forestry. The soils, hedges and woodlands of our farms can, when managed in the right way, lock-up carbon over a long time and keep it there. In the case of soils, when farms build organic matter it not only sequesters carbon, but also improves soil fertility, crop growth, water management, and biodiversity.

When the carbon emissions and sequestration are added together – the carbon balance, it’s quite possible for farms to be net zero, or better still ‘sub zero’ where they absorb more carbon than they emit. Or should that be ‘carbon positive’?!

Farms that have already made it

Plenty of farms that are using the Farm Carbon Calculator are already net or sub zero, including livestock, arable and horticultural businesses. Through a combination of reducing emissions and maximising sequestration, these farms are showing that farms can produce quality food, run successful businesses, and be part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Farmers and growers have a wide range of actions open to them, such as generating excess renewable energy and exporting it, reducing cultivations (which both saves fuel and increases soil organic matter), planting and better maintaining hedgerows, building soil organic matter, reducing fertiliser use (which also saves money), and changing the way livestock are fed.

There are huge business advantages to being net or sub zero – reducing costs, access emerging market trends, being in line with future subsidy systems, and morally doing the ‘right thing’.

Farming to be part of the solution

When farms transition to sub zero they are actually becoming a part of the climate solution in a very active way. When farms absorb more carbon than they emit, carbon dioxide is sucked out of the atmosphere providing a mechanism of helping to reduce the climate crisis.

This is clearly a positive in environmental terms, but also socially because it provides an empowering connection with customers to say that your business is doing such a good thing for society and the planet. And for customers to have the opportunity to buy carbon negative (or positive – the terms can be confusing!) food.

The bigger picture

We believe that many more farms could and should transition to sub zero carbon as soon as possible. It is certainly possible, the benefits are clear, and the planet requires it. So what’s stopping it?

Part of it lies with farmers and growers themselves, in having the knowledge and drive to do so. Learning new techniques, knowledge-exchange with peers, and rethinking business models and practices. We have seen many forward thinking and dedicated farmers achieve fantastic transformations in the carbon performance of their businesses. 

Farmers learning about good soil management

But critically, there is also a policy context in how the environment in which businesses work can be tweaked to favour low carbon practices. Some change is happening but much more is needed, and faster. The legal framework for business is important, ensuring that environmentally damaging practices are outlawed , whilst assessing the equivalence of imported produce. The subsidy regime must support sub zero farming in the future. Supply chains need to require and support businesses to meet net (or sub) zero targets.

The whole food system needs reform, from the farmers and growers who produce food, through the packhouses, retailers and processors that sell us food, through to us all who eat the food we buy. A systemic shift towards a better food system that values low carbon, low impact, quality food over merely price and convenience. The same level of thinking that got us into this mess will not give us the solutions we need to fix the problems.

Perhaps what’s missing though is the big picture. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and maybe what’s needed is a movement. Going back to COP26, what was important was the political context. One success of Glasgow is that the need to act is not in dispute now, it’s the how. The same doesn’t feel true in the farming industry…yet.

Taking a lead

Leadership is crucial for the advancement of critical issues, and in the area of farming and the climate crisis leadership does not appear to be in abundance. Equally, leadership by businesses collectively can lead to huge change, and this is being shown to be true with the climate crisis in other industries. Farmers and growers could become that lead in this sector.

Improving the carbon performance of a farm can go hand in hand with a whole host of other benefits, including more biodiversity (above and below ground), water management, reduced inputs, better soil management, and better food quality. These qualities, and many more, are also key to improvements in the environmental and social impacts of our farming and at FCT we see these wider benefits as critically important too, and know that many farmers and growers care deeply about this also.

So why not build momentum for Zero Carbon Farming 2030 in the UK? Is it possible to achieve? Maybe. Should it be achieved? The moral argument is hard to refute. Sometimes a vision and target is what’s needed, then work out how you get there. No one is pretending it will be easy, painless or cheap. But the planet is facing a crisis and we in farming should be part of the solution, not the problem.

Our latest upgrade to the Farm Carbon Calculator

Posted on November 29, 2021 by - News

Today the Farm Carbon Calculator has gone live with a major upgrade. As part of our development cycle, every few months we deliver updates to ensure our calculator keeps up with the latest science, while also improving its features and usability. As the number of users continues to rise, we  regularly  update the tool to ensure it’s the best it can be and matches our users’ expectations.

The recent COP26 exemplified how carbon has shot up the agenda for everyone in societies across the world, and this fact is reflected in the number of farmers and growers we are engaging with at the Farm Carbon Toolkit. We have been advocating for over ten years that farmers and growers have a key role in cutting emissions and indeed in sequestering carbon in their biomass and soils, and we provide solutions for users to measure and manage carbon in their businesses. 

Farms are one of just two industrial sectors that can not just reduce emissions but also sequester carbon (the other being forestry). This means farming can play a positive role in the climate crisis by potentially drawing down atmospheric CO2 into its soils and biomass. Facing the climate crisis, we are here to support farmers and growers to make a positive contribution, as we all must do.

What’s changed

In this upgrade we have updated a wide range of emissions factors based on the latest research; including in Fuels, Livestock, Fertilisers, Crops, and Materials. This means up-to-date figures, more categories and therefore increased accuracy.

Major changes include a larger range of fertilisers, a huge range of branded sprays to choose from, a new way of recording livestock numbers – giving much more useful outputs, more animal feeds, new animal bedding section, a much greater range of bought in manures, and upgraded factors in fuels, electricity and travel.

There are new user features including an improved way of recording yields of crops, more FAQs to help you through the process, and videos to support you in filling in the Calculator.

On the Report Summary page, the emissions are now broken down into Scopes 1, 2 and 3, which makes Company Reporting easier and clearer. We’ve also separated results for carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, so users can understand which greenhouse gases make up their total carbon footprint. 

A brand new feature, and a great compliment to Carbon, is a way to measure Nitrogen. Thanks to funding from the WWF, and in conjunction with the Soil Association, our new ‘Nitrogen Module’ allows users to visualise the nitrogen flows in and out of their farm system. Nitrogen (N) inputs are built up from biological fixation, synthetic fertilisers and organic manures as well as purchased livestock and animal feeds. The N output is calculated from in-field N2O emissions as well as crops, milk and livestock sold and the N balance calculation provides an overview of the net change of Nitrogen over the year. 

The new Nitrogen Module shows overviews and details of the flows of N in and out of the farm

The process

It takes several months of work to prepare for an upgrade. We plan, prioritise, research, extract figures, build new functionality, review, then test, test and test again! 

The Calculator team is already planning the next update, which is scheduled for late February 2022. We will be working to update a raft of more emissions factors, reviewing the latest science (which is changing quite rapidly), and working on even more user features. Which all means that in another three months the Calculator will take an even bigger leap forward!

The Calculator can be used on all types of farms, including livestock, arable and horticulture

Working with consultants, larger companies and organisations

The Calculator will always be free for farmers and growers to use. But increasingly we have a new group of users who want to use the Calculator within their supply chains and as part of a consultancy service. 

For consultants advising farmers, we offer a licensing service, where they can receive training and access to the Calculator to calculate the carbon footprint of their clients, and deliver advice upon the results. For businesses and organisations managing groups of farmers and growers – such as buying groups, co-ops and larger food businesses, we offer a white label version of the Calculator. This is branded and tailored to the user, along with support from us, and a group admin function to manage and compare group users’ data.

Finding out more

We hope you find the Farm Carbon Calculator useful for your business, and take steps to reduce your carbon footprint. You can use the Toolkit for further help, advice and case studies https://farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/toolkit. 

For help and advice on how to use the Calculator, visit our webpage https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/ 

For information on commercial licenses and white label versions, please contact us [email protected] 

Launch of Guide on Monitoring Soil Carbon

Posted on November 11, 2021 by - News

We’re pleased to announce the launch of a new guide for monitoring soil carbon. This practical field, farm and lab guide aims to answer key questions for robust on-farm field monitoring of soil carbon and associated indicators of soil health.

This guide has been produced as part of the Soil Carbon project and written in collaboration with Duchy College, Plymouth University, Rothamsted Research and the Farm Carbon Toolkit. It is designed and printed with kind support from the Farm Net Zero project, funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund.

Who is it for?

This practical guide is relevant to farmers seeking to measure and understand their soil carbon stocks – as well as landowners, advisors and researchers.

Supply chains and organisations seeking to reward farmers for improving soil carbon stocks will also find this guide helpful. However it should be noted that it’s not written as a formal standard or detailed protocol. The guide will be accompanied with detailed supplementary materials stemming from the ERDF Agri-Tech Cornwall funded “Soil Carbon Project”(2018 to 2021).

Why is this important?

Robust estimates of soil carbon stocks can be complicated. Not least because soil carbon levels are constantly in-flux with in-field variation. Estimates are also heavily influenced by the way in which we collect, process and analyse soil samples. In the Soil Carbon project, we’ve been working with research partners to investigate how soil carbon estimates are influenced by variables such as when the samples are taken, how many samples are taken and at what pattern across the field.

What does the guide cover?

The guide consists of answers to the following core questions:

  1. When to conduct your soil carbon sampling?
  2. What fields to select on your farm?
  3. How to sample within those fields?
  4. At what depths should samples be taken?
  5. How often should you repeat your sampling?
  6. How to collect and prepare your samples?
  7. What are the options for the lab analyses?
  8. What are the main soil health indicators that should be monitored?
  9. What are the outputs and benefits?

Download the guide:

Monitoring Soil Carbon – a practical field, farm and lab guide (PDF, 453kb)

Project partners:

Farm Carbon Toolkit teams up with UK’s largest crisping potato supplier

Posted on November 1, 2021 by - News

Photo by Kai Oberhäuser on Unsplash

Press release: for immediate release

Farm Carbon Toolkit is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Mercian Ltd, the UK’s largest supplier of crisping potatoes.

Farm Carbon Toolkit is using its years of experience in carbon footprinting to create a bespoke Carbon Calculator module customised for Mercian’s potato farmers.

The tool provides both a broad overview and the fine detail of the individual farm’s footprint; taking into account the greenhouse emissions and carbon sequestration from all aspects of the operations. Mercian’s potato growers will find categories for their seed, sprout suppressant and specific contractor operations, such as de-stoning the soil, in this user-friendly tool.

Future releases of the tool will focus on integrating the Calculator with existing farm software, to improve the accuracy of the results and reduce the time spent inputting data.

Farm Carbon Toolkit’s Calculator Development Manager Oliver Kynaston explains the motivation behind the collaboration:

We’re working with farmers and growers right across the UK, providing them with the tools they need to lower the carbon intensity of the food we all eat. Farmers are all at different stages on their carbon journey, but we believe an important first step is to get a good baseline of their whole- farm carbon footprint. From there, farmers can see the hotspots of their activities – whether that’s diesel use, fertiliser application or new equipment– and then focus their efforts and reduce their emissions and increase carbon sequestration.

We’re delighted to work directly with Mercian to improve our calculator and increase our reach in one of the most important agricultural sectors in the UK.”

Oliver Kynaston, Calculator Development Manager

Jon Kemp, Business Manager of Mercian, says:

As the largest supplier of crisping potatoes in the UK, we felt the time was right to take the initiative. The input we received from Farm Carbon Toolkit has been both professional and very much inspirational for us, which has led to a joint approach that builds our understanding of the carbon intensity within the supply chain. “

We are truly hoping that technology will help the UK potato industry play its part in the positive changes that are taking place across agriculture.

Jon Kemp, Business Manager

As well as offering ‘white label’ carbon calculators to businesses and organisations, individual farmers and growers can start their first carbon footprint by using the Farm Carbon Calculator, the UK’s leading tool to help farmers and growers measure AND reduce their carbon footprint. Visit calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk

ABOUT FARM CARBON TOOLKIT

Farm Carbon Toolkit is an independent, farmer-led enterprise, supporting other farmers to measure, understand and act on their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their business resilience for the future.

Livestock Soil Farmer of the Year Farm Walk with Sam Vincent

Posted on August 20, 2021 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

The final walk for this year’s Soil Farmer of the Year series was with Sam Vincent at Rookery Farm in Dorset who was recognised this year as our Livestock Soil Farmer winner. We are very grateful to Sam for fitting the walk in during calving, which is much appreciated! The farm is 130 ha which is all down to permanent pasture with no reseeding for the last 15 years, following some experimental direct drilling which yielded mixed results. The grazing platform for the milkers occupies around 45-50ha and the rest of designated for youngstock grazing and making winter forage.

Sam’s transitioned his 100 cow dairy farm to organic in 2018, following a breakdown of TB which had meant a reduction in cow numbers from his formerly fairly intensive system.

“Prior to the TB breakdown, I had considered going organic, because we weren’t using a huge amount of inputs” Sam explained, “but once our cow numbers were lower and following a couple of years where we had cut our Nitrogen back dramatically (from 120kg to 35kg) and seen an increase in grass yields we felt ready to make the jump.”   

The farm came out of conversion last year and now Sam supplies Arla on an organic milk contract as well as being a member of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association for his youngstock operations and any dairy beef that are sold. Traditionally the herd was on an all year round calving pattern, however this has now changed to a split block with half the herd calving in Feb – April, and then other half August / October.  Now the herd calves in late summer in one block with the aim to gradually bring the calving earlier in the summer, ideally in May and June. The youngstock graze the fields that are further away from the dairy and that provides an opportunity to cycle the nutrients around the farm. The dairy is based on the site here and then there is another farm up the road where the youngstock are kept in the winter.

On grazing

“We’ve certainly changed the way that we are grazing now,”

Sam explained. “In the past we were going back and back to the same fields, eating everything and leaving nothing.  Now we try and lengthen our rotations as opposed to keeping the grass continually short; some people call this mob grazing.”

The cattle are predominantly British Friesian, which seems to suit the farm, although Sam has experimented with other breeds in the past, including New Zealand Black and Whites. “We needed a cow that has longevity, and will work on our system,” explains Sam. The milking herd are fed a small amount of concentrates (between 6-800kg) and yield on average 5,500 litres. Due to the losses from the herd Sam is looking to build the milkers back up in numbers again to be more like 100, currently he is milking around 85.

“The plan next year is to front load the summer block with some older heifers that we’ve had this year and the fresh heifers we’ve got coming on that will be ready to serve mid September this year.  However there is a group in with the bull now which will calve April – May next year. Last year we had a few issues with the heifers, they weren’t on a great rising plane of nutrition and then we kept them out too late and it didn’t pay off, but that is how you learn.  We’ve currently got 17 in with a Friesian bull and the idea is to push them all up next year and sell the surplus and then get the dairy herd back up to around 100 and see where we are then the following year.”

The first field we visited was a field of pasture that had been last cut for silage at the end of June. Discussions ensued about the need for pre mowing or topping to manage forage quantity, Sam is not keen on doing either of these operations, “the field and grass stays as it is unless it would benefit from being mown, then its baled up and put in the clamp.” The field that we walked through had some interesting features in it, including one half of the field which had significantly more clover than the remaining area. The fields were reseeded a long time ago, using mixtures that were predominantly ryegrass. “It almost set some of the fields back in hindsight,” Sam explains,

“We should have done things a little bit differently, but that’s how you learn.“

The field in front has never been reseeded, but the one over there has, and you can tell the difference when the cows are grazing.”

The plan of where to put the cows next is now dependent on the stage of growth and pasture quality, rather than following a set plan. Sam explains, “Originally the cows were supposed to be grazing in the fields across the hill at the moment, however I had to weigh up whether I put them over there for a week and then get them eating on regrowth, or put them over there for 10-14 days and then have a lot more grass in front of them just in case it was going to carry on staying dry. I’d rather stay on a 40 day plus rotation at the moment, rather than a 30.”
The increased length of rotation is something that Sam sees is a measure of success. 

“By increasing the rotation length to 50-60 days, and leaving higher covers we are seeing diversity within the pastures which is as a result of management.”

We then walked up to see the cows from the milking herd. The cattle are moved twice daily on 12 hour moves and have a back fence. There were lots of discussions and questions from the farmers about the design of the water system and how portable it was. The trough design that Sam has works quite well and was made for him and is on a skid which can be moved daily using the buggy. Sam’s aspiration is to gradually move all the farm over onto mobile troughs so that he has ultimate flexibility and can be responsive in terms of grassland management.

“The grass allocation is based on the grass covers and the cows,” Sam explains, “we sample the grass and plate meter so we have a good understanding not just of the covers but also the quality.”  Last year Sam experimented with satellite measurement of the grass, which is something that needs a little more development but is a useful future tool. 

Sam has noticed the diversity in the pasture species start to return since the transition over to this management system as well as the reduction in the fertiliser rates.  All the fields vary a little, but we get different species come up depending on the seasons and the conditions.  In March / April there is a lot of foxtail, but as the season progresses, its amazing what you get, including tufted vetches and trefoils. The field that we were standing in hadn’t had any silage / hay taken off it since Sam has been managing it, its just had grazing. Sam stressed the importance of managing the ground using the cattle and ensuring that the numbers and paddock sizes are matched.  This varies throughout the year and Sam’s risk period is often early spring when the ground can be a bit ‘tender’ and as such, higher residuals and lower stocking rates are left to protect the soil and minimise structural damage and poaching.

“Some people think, in order to get diverse leys you need to rip it all up and start again, but that isn’t the case. We have fields that haven’t been reseeded but have still got diversity including trefoils and  native red clover.  If you reseed with ryegrass, the species that come back once the ryegrass dies back is weeds, usually annual meadowgrass and other non productive species.”

There were questions around the number of cows and how well the cow numbers matched the grass covers. Sam explained that the dairy numbers are dependent on how long they want to keep the youngstock and beef cattle. All of the youngstock are weighed regularly so that growth rates can be monitored and they have no concentrates.  The calves are fed whole milk and once they are in a small group they are turned out and fed milk through a 50 teat feeder as well as starting to graze.

The youngstock are moved once per day but have a back latch system and half way through the day the latch opens and they are into fresh grass. The stock have taken to the system well and Sam doesn’t get many problems. By allowing the stock to graze across the farm, Sam is seeing the benefits in terms of improved grass production.

“If we let the stock graze it then we don’t have to haul the muck out there. We cut fields and graze fields in a rotation rather than continually  cutting all the time, the flexibility needs to be there to decide based on grass condition and stocking. The fields at the other end of the farm benefit a lot from the flexilblilty, the soils are a lot shallower. We cut here as well. FYM is spread in April on ground that had been grazed and spread on ground which is cut for silage later after cutting. All manure stores are covered which leaves very little dirty water to spread by irrigation. We normally cut very similar height as what the cows graze which makes for an adaptable system. Quite flexible, if you have a field that you were going to cut but the weather turns wet then it isn’t the end of the world, you can simply go back and graze it. The cows are normally out grazing from early March until the end of November. The youngstock stay out a bit longer and we outwinter the dairy beef on a deferred grazing system. The fields that are selected are the driest fields on the farm and then they are closed off early summer and then line the bales out across the field. “It’s a very simple system but it works for us,”

The farm has installed over 4000 railways sleepers to make cow tracks which mean that the farm is much more accessible in terms of grazing infrastructure and the benefits are visible in the pastures.

On weed management

Sam isn’t too bothered about weeds, he sees them more as an indication of a soil issue that he tries to solve using his cattle.  Traditionally this farm had a lot of thistles on it, but they are starting to retreat and the ones that are around are looking less prolific. 

On Soil health

The soils vary on the farm with some being heavier with a  higher clay content and others more silty. The risk period for these soils is early season with risks of structural damage.  For Sam what holds the soil back is tractor movement, so the more that the cows can do the work the better.  “We don’t want to top and roll, at the end of the day its 4 wheels that are going along and causing damange. If you’ve got a rotation, with cattle who are utilising the pasture, then you don’t need to be sat on the tractor.”

Other enterprises

Sam also has pigs which he uses in the cattle housing to turn over the FYM and to help with the composting process. He adds some corn to the material in the sheds and then the pigs are turned into it to mix it all up and compost it. This process takes between 6-8 weeks, which is how long the corn lasts within the system. If the pigs are in for any longer then they will need supplementary feeding. A future aim to try and set up a Bokashi type system to enable further composting of the manure.

The final question was about the business benefits that Sam was experiencing due to his transition to this system. He explained that although the cow yields dropped from 6-5000l, a lot of concentrates were taken out leading to better margins.  “Milk from forage percentage is high and milk solids have gone up. Not having inputs makes an impact on beef / dairy. Organic milk price means that the impact has been minimal.  The business is a lot more stable. 

“Before we went rushing around, we’ve now got time to stop and think – feel better.  We are more resilient and sustainable now.”

The farm walk was absolutely fascinating and it was brilliant to see how Sam is pushing boundaries of what is possible in a pasture based organic dairy system. Thank you to Sam and the team at Rookery Farm  for a brilliant evening.

Soil Farmer of the Year Farm Walk with Angus Gowthorpe

Posted on August 10, 2018 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

Angus Gowthorpe

Our second place farmer this year was Angus Gowthorpe, who farms 400 acres in York with a mix of arable crops and grassland for his pedigree cattle. Angus manages a massive variety of soil types from blow away sand to heavy clay and has completely changed the focus of his management to concentrate on soil health to benefit the business and the next generation as well as the wider environment.

Angus moved away from tillage 5 years ago, achieving the transition by 3 years of strip till, and for the last two years following a no till system. As well as eliminating tillage, Angus has been using cover crops, including grassland in the rotation and made the most of residues, alll with the aim of improving soil management, health and structure. He is starting to see the soil structure improve, especially on his heavy land. 

Angus has started to see the impact in terms of his soils and the wider farm,

“Soil is so important and at the centre of everything we do now. Crops are healthier, meaning we can use less inputs, we have more wildlife around the farm and margins have improved.”

The first crop that the group looked at was some wheat which had followed linseed. Along with discussions on the benefits in terms of input reductions that can come with a transition to a no-till system, there was a good sharing of experiences of the use of cover crops, as this field had had a cover crop prior to the linseed. Angus explained the process that he had gone through over the last three years of using cover crops; starting out using a basic mix of oats, phacelia and buckwheat, gradually adding other species including sunflowers, peas, millet and vetches to create a diverse mix. This cover crop was grazed by sheep and the benefits of grazing cover crops including the addition of beneficial biology through manure deposits to turbo charge the soil was discussed.  While talking about livestock, Angus explained about the cattle and the wish to move towards a mob grazing system in the future to further improve soil health.

Photos from the walk

Following a look at the wheat, the group then moved on to look at a field of barley and talked about weed control, drainage, whether or not to apply gypsum and muck as well as the benefits of reduced tillage systems in the dry weather in terms of holding onto what little moisture was there. After another field of barley and more discussions about the importance of soil structure, drainage and encouraging the worms, the attendees gravitated towards the machinery and specifically Angus’ John Deere 750a. Questions around drill selection, adaptations, liquid fertiliser kits and different discs carried on for a long time along with ideas around how to take some of the ideas away and work on them at home.

Angus has also done a write up of the event for BASE UK, which you can see here.

A massive thank you to Angus and family for hosting a fantastic evening.

Soil Farmer of the Year 2018 Farm Walk with Will Steel

Posted on August 4, 2018 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

Our final walk took place at Little Pix Hall Farm in Kent, which is managed by this year’s third place winner in the competition, Will Steel. Will has transformed the farm into a business where soil management takes priority and is sustained for the long term. The focus of this farm walk was looking at how farming and the environment work together to create resilience, and looked at how to make the most of the assets on the farm. Will explained how getting the soils to work and be more productive was a crucial part of the long term strategy of the business.

The farms soils were tested when it was derelict in 1987 and had a soil organic matter percentage of 5%. This dropped to 2% in the 1990s using a plough based system, and Will has been working since 2000 to increase the organic matter percentage back up to 5% using a combination of minimum tillage, no till and cover crops.

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Click on the image to see the photos of the walk. 

Walking round the farm it was possible to understand how the different ‘assets’ fit together and how the environmental features on the farm form part of the business. Stopping at a field of spring oats,

Will explained how cover crops are a key part of helping build soil health and fertility. The field had previously been down to a second wheat, with a cover crop planted immediately after the combine with an 8 way mix to maintain green cover. The aim of the cover crop is to grow fertility – it avoids the expense (and paperwork) of importing manure and the risk of compacting the soil when the manure is spread. Will terminates the crop by rolling on a frost when the temperature is minus 5 and is getting good results using this method. As with all of the farm walks, how the crops were performing in the dry weather was a hot topic of conversation, and the importance of organic matter in terms of holding onto the moisture was well recognised. Will also recognises the importance of worms (as all of our finalists do) and through regular worm counts is seeing the numbers rise from 12 million per hectare two years ago to 15.3 million per hectare this year. He puts the increase down to the improved organic matter levels and the management of residues as well as a reduction in tillage.

As with all Soil Farmer of the Year farm walks, there is always a lot of time standing around a soil pit and this was a highlight on this farm walk. Will explained about the challenges of managing soils in this area of the High Weald, the importance of magnesium as the soils have a high calcium content, and how he is managing his 8 inches of topsoil.  He is seeing the beneficial effects of changing his management including retaining the soil in the field explaining

“when we were ploughing, there was a fair bit of soil erosion, the cover crops protect it over winter and you can walk out on the fields after three inches of rain without wellies, it just stays where it should.”

Massive thanks to Will for hosting a very informative walk!

Soil Farmer of the Year 2018 Winning Farm Walk with Simon Cowell

Posted on October 8, 2018 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

Simon Cowell, this year’s Soil Farmer of the Year winner, farms 400 acres of heavy clay with a large acreage below sea level. Simon has been working on improving his soils for the last 20 years, and moved to a no-till system 12 years ago, being flexible with both management and rotations to prioritise soil health.

Originally starting as a small dairy farm, Simon converted his farm to arable cropping. For the first few years they benefitted from the grassland legacy within the soil, however things then started deteriorating.  Simon has moved from running a traditional, wheat, wheat, rape rotation to now including a mix of spring and winter crops including winter wheat, winter oats, winter beans, naked barley, spring beans, spring oats, linseed, spring peas, Lucerne, and ryegrass.  There is no set rotation, cropping is worked out on an individual field basis and decided by looking at what is the best crop for this field at this time in these conditions.

Simon was chosen as the winner this year because of his passion and enthusiasm for soil management and this was evident during his farm walk.

“Farming is such a long term thing, longer than any one person’s life.”

 Simon focusses on building soil health with a combination of no-till, the use of homemade compost and a diverse rotation which grows healthy plants, allowing for a reduction in inputs.  

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These were all things that were discussed during the walk. The first stop was the compost heap.

On Compost……..

In the last 5 years, Simon has refined his compost making technique to produce a highly effective biological inoculant that makes a visible difference when it is applied. The compost includes horse manure, woodchip and garden waste, as well as gypsum (providing calcium and sulphur in a biological form) to counteract his high Magnesium levels, and is made to a strict method.  The materials are layered up in rows and then turned using a compost turner, every day to begin with and then less and monitored by using a temperature probe to keep the material below 70 degrees C, to protect the beneficial microbes. Once the compost has stopped heating up and is left, the fungi can start to grow, colonise the woody material and build associations. It is then left to mature, and then applied at between 2-4 tonnes per acre on the surface of fields that need it. Simon explains,

“Compost is the best thing ever. If the soil is not in the right condition, when you apply biology it will not thrive. However if the biology make their home in the compost, when the compost is applied to the soil, they won’t die off, they have a stable home and can thrive. It is changing my soils.”

It is applied to the fields that need it and is spread pre drilling by a contractor. In terms of the application rate, it is surface applied at around 4 tonnes per acre. Simon explains,

“It’s not being used as a fertiliser source or for organic matter, it’s purely an inoculation for the soil biology and a home to grow biology that will benefit the soil. Within a few weeks you can see the difference where it has been applied. “

This year Simon is aiming to apply a lower rate of compost across a wider acreage to maximise the benefits.

On rotations………

After the compost heap the group continued looking at some of the different crops growing and discussing rotations.

His long term vision is to get the soils into a position where they can generate all the nitrogen the crops need (he hasn’t applied P or K for the last 20 years), and get it so biologically active that the weeds won’t grow and the crops dominate. His aim is to lessen the impact of management on the soil and allow it to ‘bounce back’. He explains, “In a completely natural environment, all is balanced and correct. Everything that we do, changes it. If you gently ploughed it as the only intervention, the soil would recover. However everything that we do knocks it back, ploughing, cultivation, fungicides, etc.

We need to lessen the impact of all these things. “

On-farm trials…….

One of the ways that Simon has managed to lessen his impact is to change to more spring cropping, which has dramatically cut his Nitrogen usage. He is keen to push this further and see how far he can go and what can be achieved. To this end he has a range of trials on the farm, including looking at how wheat performs without artificial Nitrogen, and whether the mycorrhizae will work with the bacteria and fix nitrogen out of the air and fed the crop.  Simon explains – “In a normal situation, the wheat would just go all yellow and be hopeless without Nitrogen, but its looked quite decent all year. It didn’t tiller out and there are less ears there definitely but it’s quite a reasonable crop.”

Variety Trials

As well as the Nitrogen trials, Simon is also testing a range of wheat varieties to see if they behave differently in a no-till system. Simon drills all his wheat with a mixture of 4 feed wheat varieties which he has mixed together and saved the seed for the last few years.  This trial is a good opportunity to compare his mix with all the new modern varieties to assess whether it has comparable yield and performance. Trials were first completed last season and the farm blend came out as the highest yielding, as such the trial is being repeated to see if the same result can be achieved. As well as assessing the varieties, the inputs are also being modified – the first tramline is the traditional agronomist recommendations, 4 fungicide sprays, 2 plant growth regulators and a lot of nutrients including trace elements, it costs a fortune. The next tramline hasn’t had anything on it at all, no fungicides, no PGR, nothing. The third tramline is what Simon normally ends up doing on the rest of the farm, 2 fungicides and no growth regulators, and the final one has any biological products that he has to see what happens.

So what were the results?

As this is the second year of doing the trials, Simon explained what had happened last year. “There really wasn’t any visual difference between no fungicides and all this and the same last year as well. The one with no fungicides did yield less than the one which had all the inputs, but the differences in money wasn’t enough to cover the cost but we’ve had dry years without much disease so it could be different in a different year.

As far as I’m concerned if the soils healthy and everything is working well, your plants are going to be much more resilient to disease.

This will work well here but might not work so well somewhere else.”

The four varieties in Simon’s blend were chosen for disease resistance, (Conqueror, Gator, Diego, and Panorama). After three years of using his own blend, Simon sent a sample off to have it tested for varieties and out of 56 grains there were 8 that were Diego, the rest they didn’t know what they were. It’s all interbred and mixed up now.

 There is a visual difference within Simon’s fields between the crop nearer the hedge and the middle of the field. The line is currently about 20 m out of the hedge with visibly higher plant succession and a greener and thicker crop from the impact of the hedge and the better biology. “Crops are always better near the hedge. I’m thinking about agroforestry.

My aim is to get the biology and fungal network to transfer all those benefits throughout the fields, although it’s going to be a slow process.”

On machinery…….

Simon uses two drills on the farm, a SimTech tine drill and a Moore Disc drill. He explains, “I couldn’t be without either one of them. The tine drill will always go and will go when I shouldn’t go drilling. The disc drill needs more and more wet and will drill into the stripper header. Crucially it’s about knowing the soil conditions – you can’t teach that sort of thing, you have to learn it for yourself on your land.”

On soil testing………

 “I’ve done loads of soil testing. I’m building soil organic matter. I’ve not applied any Lime for 20 years whereas before I was applying every year. My pH now sits at around pH7, and I let the biology do the rest, I am creating the right conditions for the microorganisms to thrive.

“I’m looking under a microscope at home, and looking at mycorrhizal assessments is what I do now, to see what is happening with the biology and root associations.”

On the importance of soil health……..

Simon echoed again the main reason for trialling new ideas, improving soil health. He explains,

“Soil health is so important, and is the overriding factor in all decisions made, much more than financial implications. I am farming for the long term rather than one year at a time. It’s so difficult to get the crops to grow, the less I do to my soil the better.

The driving factor is to do a better job and improve my soil, saving money is just a help.”

What next?

“A mixture of different crops – think of the possibilities if you could grow 2 or 3 together!”

Simon finished the evening with his best piece of advice for anyone considering changing their management.

“You’ve got to make the decision yourself, its got to come from you, wanting to understand the soil and how it works in terms of its biology. I won’t claim that you can maintain artificially high yields, it’s a different way of looking at things, but I’ve massively lowered my cost base. Biological systems are not predictable.”

A massive thank you to Simon for a fantastic and enlightening walk.