As part of the Agri-Carbon Kernow project in Cornwall, our team played a role in helping develop and test this tool, which is designed to help farmers and land managers record, report, and review both lab and in-field soil measurements. 

A Collaborative Effort

Working closely with the Land App team, we brought together our expertise in soil health and carbon to create a digital soil sampling solution that meets real-world needs. 

By integrating the robust soil survey methodologies we advocate in our projects into Land App’s platform, we’ve enabled farmers to gain deeper insights into soil health and carbon sequestration potential. The new feature not only helps users assess soil conditions with greater accuracy but also supports more informed decision-making for sustainable land management, as well as the evidence required for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).

The new Soil Survey feature enhances Land App Mobile’s suite of data collection tools—joining the General Data Collection survey and PTES’ Healthy Hedgerows—to provide reliable insights into soil health, which are essential for informed land management and funding applications.

Why It Matters

• Digital Efficiency: Easily record and review soil sample data on the go, including the ability to support evidence required for SFI.
• Sustainable Impact: Empowering better land management decisions through accurate, real-time data.
• Collaborative Innovation: A tangible outcome of our work in the Agri-Carbon Kernow project, highlighting the benefits of cross-sector collaboration.

We’re proud to have supported Land App in bringing this feature to life and look forward to further innovations and collaborations. This includes using the Land App API to help users seamlessly manage their soil data within each platform.

Thank you to the team at Land App for their partnership—and for the opportunity to help shape tools that support sustainable land management!

Find out more

For further details and to see the Soil Survey feature in action, please refer to the Land App’s guidance.

The post Supporting Innovation in Soil Health: Our Collaboration with LandApp appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Every five years, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)¹ publishes a statutory report detailing the UK’s ‘carbon budget’ for a future five-year period. The 7th Carbon Budget covers the period 2038-2042. It is a stock-take of UK GHG emissions (current and future) and provides advice to the Government on how and where these emissions will need to be reduced (‘the pathway’) if the UK is to meet its legal obligations to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. 

This report came out with other reports and consultations such as the Defra Land Use Framework Consultation and the IGD’s Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System. Certainly how we produce food and look after agricultural land in the UK is coming more and more under the spotlight.

Within the 7th Carbon Budget report, it is good to see that the role of land use change in removing carbon is now being linked to agricultural land which gives a truer picture than was previously the case, when land use change was in a separate silo.

It is clear that the carbon budget is very high level, focussing on climate impacts only, with little reference to the impacts of the proposed changes on biodiversity across the UK’s agricultural land. In reviewing this budget, FCT has taken a very practical viewpoint and has reflected on areas where the budget could have helpfully provided more detail and looked at how to fully engage with farmers and growers across the land who are on the delivery frontline.

As other sectors decarbonise, the proportion of total emissions arising from agriculture will increase, putting more pressure on the sector to make progress on emissions reduction and carbon removals. In 2022 the contribution of agriculture to overall UK emissions was 12%. By 2040 this is predicted to rise to 27%, after the activity to reduce emissions set out in the carbon budget and it will be the second highest emitter after aviation even with the target action outlined in this carbon budget.

The report proposes a pathway for agriculture to reach net zero by 2050. Not surprisingly woodland creation, peatland restoration and other land use changes are highlighted as mechanisms to sequester more carbon. There is significant reliance on carbon sequestration into land sinks through the 2040’s but little reliance on any level of carbon sequestration into soil itself. 

There is a reliance on increased tree planting from the late 2020’s onwards as trees will only start to sequester larger volumes of carbon from 15 years of age onwards. According to the UK Woodland Carbon Code, sequestration rates for woodland increase dramatically during the “teenage years” of woodland establishment. In total, woodland creation has been modelled to contribute 15% to emissions reduction by 2050 . This will require an additional 1.1 million ha of woodland to be planted by 2050. In addition some 300,000 ha of lowland peat and 970,000 ha of upland peat will be returned to natural/ rewetted condition by the same time.

For agriculture the reduction in overall GHG emissions is targeted at 45% by 2050 compared to 2022, coming primarily from a reduction in livestock numbers (38% by 2050) with a relatively small contribution from the adoption of low carbon farming practices. These reductions are significant, reducing the breeding flock of sheep from 15 to 11 million ewes and the breeding cattle herd from 3 to 2 million head.

The reduction in grazing livestock numbers will release land for tree planting. The combined effect of the changes to farming practice and tree planting is to suggest that the sector will become a net sequesterer of carbon by 2048.

There are a number of important assumptions included within this budget which bear further scrutiny:

• Crop yields will increase by 16% by 2050. Presumably this increase is deemed necessary to ensure adequate plant based foods to replace the current levels of meat in our diets. However it is questionable whether this will be achievable in practice, even if gene editing technologies are successful and fully deployed as more adverse weather events are already affecting yield levels in the UK and across the world. It is not clear how critical to successful achievement of the overall plan this is.
  
• Stocking rates for grazing livestock on lowland will increase by around 10% with stocking rates in the upland reduced. Presumably the former is to allow for more land to be released to grow crops for human consumption and the latter to reflect the current over-grazing in parts of the upland and to reflect rewetting of upland peatlands and the proposals for tree planting. Targeting increased stocking rates for lowland livestock could require additional artificial fertiliser inputs which would seem counter intuitive, though the increased stocking rate could potentially be achieved through improvements in grassland utilisation efficiency.
  
• Consumption of meat products (primarily beef and lamb) will fall by 35% by 2050 compared to 2019 levels. On first sight it would appear that changes in consumption are mirroring proposed reductions in livestock numbers, however, no mention is made of any changes in dairy cow numbers, but since the majority of beef produced in the UK comes from the dairy herd this will also impact milk production. Consideration is also given to replacing meat in ready meals with plant based alternatives which will negatively affect carcass balance, with lower value “cuts” often used for this purpose at the moment. This would put further pressure on sector profitability. The targeted reduction in ruminant livestock numbers would lead to a lower requirement of permanent grassland for grazing of a similar order to the reduction in livestock numbers. This would amount to around 3 million ha which could be diverted for other use, where this is possible. Tree planting would be a key use for poorer quality ground (topography and stoniness) with better quality grassland moving to arable cropping where this is possible. This would probably lead to loss of carbon from soils, especially when permanent grassland is first transitioned to arable cropping². It is not clear whether this has been accounted for within the overall budget. 
  
• The carbon budget includes a very low value (0.5Mt CO₂e per year for carbon removed by grassland soils). This appears to be low and seems to take little account of the ability for well-managed livestock systems to bring multiple benefits beyond reducing emissions including carbon removals into soils and enhanced biodiversity.
  
  More research and data analysis is required urgently to inform us of the ability of the soil to permanently and reliably store more carbon and how best this can be done. We have some information as do others, but as yet this is not a body of evidence which the CCC can use as part of its carbon budget.
  
• Returning around 300,000 ha lowland peat to a rewetted state will impinge upon its current use for growing vegetables, fruit and arable crops. The report does mention that some 10% of horticultural production will move indoors, which is likely to focus on leafy salad type crops. However for field scale vegetable production left to be grown outdoors the question remains as to where they will be grown. Moving vegetable growing to other parts of the UK will require careful site selection if current levels of margin (currently pretty low) are to be maintained and consideration of the infrastructure required, such as pack houses and cold stores.

There were also a number of notable omissions from the budget:

• Whilst the pathway to reduce nitrous oxide emissions are recognised as coming primarily from agriculture, there is no mention of the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuel based N fertilisers. For arable cropping, up to 75% of total emissions arise from the production and use of artificial N fertiliser. Great work is being done to produce low carbon alternatives, but further information on the likely “winning technologies” in this space would have been helpful.
  
• The level of efficiency of the UK to produce food at a lower GHG intensity than some other nations, utilising fewer arable resources (land and feed) and with lower supply chain discards through a circular feed system provides the nation with a competitive advantage in terms of overall emissions per unit of home grown food. This could be better recognised within the budget report.
  
• There is no mention of any target to reduce numbers of pigs and poultry within this 7th Carbon Budget. Whilst the animals themselves do not emit methane, their manures do and their reliance on imported soya has a significant impact on overall UK agriculture emissions as well as the soil degradation associated with cereal production to grow the cereals they wholly rely on. We have estimated that reducing reliance on imported soya by 50% and moving to feeding UK grown beans and pulses will reduce the emissions from agriculture by 7% (primarily due to reduced reliance on artificial N fertiliser and to removing deforestation emissions on 50% soya supply).

Reliance on land use change to enable agriculture to reach net zero by 2050

In the period from 2043-2050 agriculture and land use are budgeted to contribute the largest share of net emissions reduction (35%) – see figure 2 below from the Carbon Budget report, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050 as a result of increases in carbon sequestration into land sinks (primarily increased areas of woodland and reduced emissions from peatland due to changed management) with emissions of around 25Mt CO₂e and sequestration of around 26Mt CO₂e per year. Current emissions from UK agriculture are around 48Mt CO₂e per year.

At FCT, we are in agreement with the Agriculture Advisory Group of the UK Climate Change Committee and its report in calling for more nuanced targets which better reflect the benefits of UK livestock production, especially when it is primarily based on the consumption of forages. We also agree with their view that it is important to reflect on the impact of the different gases on warming aligned to the Paris Agreement temperature goal. Both GWP100 and GWP* metrics are important and could already be reported in concert to inform on both GHG accounting (CO2e) for national inventories and impact of different GHGs on climate warming (CO2e) important for the Paris Agreement. 

We believe that the report could be much more positive about the contribution that resilient farming businesses, agricultural land and farmers can make to meeting the climate change challenge. Positive engagement and empowerment of farmers, growers and land managers are critical elements in building confidence and encouraging investment but is currently patchy, with beacons of good practice such as the Farm Net Zero project in Cornwall, which is delivering change on the ground and practically supporting farm businesses to transition towards net zero.

Footnotes

1. A body set up to hold the government to account on their progress towards net zero and reducing emissions
2. The UK GHG inventory suggests that the average change in non- organic soil carbon density (to 1M deep) from converting grassland to cropland in England is -24 tonnes C/ ha, in Scotland is -101 tC/ha, Wales -39 tC/ha and NI -68 tC/ha

The post Reflections on the 7th Carbon Budget from the  Climate Change Committee appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Effective, efficient use of artificial N fertilisers

Greenhouse gas emissions from synthetic fertilisers is a significant emissions source on grassland farms. 50% of emissions come from the production of the synthetic fertilisers and about 50% from the processes that take place in the soil after application. Estimates suggest that 10-30% of all applied nitrogen fertiliser is lost to the crop or grassland to which it is applied; use efficiency is influenced by application method and environmental conditions at the time of spreading. Make sure soil pH is above 6.5 if possible, soils are not compacted, that soil temperature is warm and rising and that soils are not not waterlogged. Do the basics well and you will get better yield response from your fertilisers and lower GHG emissions.

Reliance on Inorganic N fertiliser usage can be reduced through incorporating more legumes into swards. Establishing clover within temporary leys has additional benefits of higher protein forage and also a more diverse rooting system which can aid production in adverse climatic conditions. Typically grass clover swards containing around 30% clover by DM can fix around 120Kg – 180 Kg N /ha/ year. When they are in the sward, this is free nitrogen fertiliser!

As we are coming to appreciate that the nitrous oxide emissions associated with inorganic N fertilisers are a huge part of agriculture’s total emissions, improving N fertiliser use efficiency is critical.  Saving 170kg N/ ha across 50ha will reduce emissions  by around 58 tonnes CO2e which is more carbon than is sequestered annually in 10ha of broadleaf woodland.

Grazing Management

Grazing rotation is an excellent way to increase grass utilisation and reduce GHG emissions. Ensure there are adequate rest periods between grazing cycles to allow the sward to recover to optimise soil and plant health. Consider sub-dividing fields further to  allow for more regular livestock  movement. The long term effect of increasing rest periods and grazing taller grass is improved soil organic matter and soil structure. This will aid in reducing weed burden, lengthen the grazing season and improve resilience to flood and drought.

Including deeper rooting and more traditional species will increase above and below-ground biodiversity which may increase productivity alongside potential carbon capture and sequestration deeper into the soil profile. Ensure that grassland species composition supports production goals, soil type, soil pH and climatic conditions and consider overseeding where required. 

Overseeding permanent pasture with improved diversity can provide a wide array of benefits.  If 5 ha permanent pasture was over-seeded or re-seeded to create a herbal ley (consistent with SAM3 SFI) it could provide an additional -15.68 t CO2e of carbon removed per year. This will also build soil health and resilience by optimising the above ground canopy increasing the surface area of leaves for photosynthesis and supporting a greater below ground biodiversity responsible for cycling nutrients.

Accurate consideration of manures and slurries

Sampling and analysis of your farmyard manures and slurries will enable optimal accounting for the nutrients in them. Knowing what you are applying will enhance the accuracy of nutrient management planning and could reduce the requirement for synthetic N fertiliser. Consider the application method when applying organic manures to avoid nutrient losses and if possible cover muck heaps like silage heaps where possible to avoid dilution and runoff of nutrients. 

The post Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from grassland appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

On this Duchy of Conrwall farm, the livestock graze on the pastures, but are also fed on maize. The maize is being farmed in a very different way to how they used to work in an intensive dairy system. Across the farm, the huge drop in artifical fertiliser use (by 60% over 4 years) has had significant cost and carbon benefits. Malcolm said:

 “We went quicker than we might have done, but it seems to have worked. No yield deficits are showing yet! I want to move to a point where we’re not applying artificial fertiliser, relying on biological foliar feeds.” 

By adding green waste compost and manure at rates of just a few tonnes per acre, they concentrate on feeding the soil biology to stimulate improved soil health and carbon sequestration. As Malcolm says “We’re farming livestock both above ground and below”.

Fuel use has fallen to just nine litres per hectare, due to the cultivations changing to a system based on discing and a direct drill. “We used to beat the living daylight out the soil – there’s no need to do that now” says Malcolm. In addition, he realises the changes are spreading through the community: “Our son is 20 and works for a local contractor. Last spring he asked  – ‘why do they work the fields so much?’ It was a lightbulb moment!”

Grazing has changed substantially by grazing more instensively over shorter periods. There are 80 acres of green manures including Westerwolds, rape, stubble turnips, black oats, crimson clover, winter vetch, beans, designed by FCT’s Hannah Jones.

Biodiveristy is improving below ground, with good dung beetle and earthworm activity obvious, and soil sampling showing that Soil Organic Matter is rising across the farm – which means carbon is being sequestered. Above ground tree planting, hedge management, wetlands and improved pastures have led to noticeable improvements in bird and insect populations.

The Barretts are enjoying showing people around the farm, and are invlovled with Farm Net Zero, Innovative Farmers and the Duchy of Cornwall. They want to inspire change in others – farmers, agronomists, community, researchers and more.

Looking forward, Malcolm said “I’m excited about the future, we’re working with soil and nature again.”

It’s clear this farm is a really embracing the change towards net zero, and coming up with an innovative approach to farming. The farm and farmers are demonstrating tangible environmental and social improvements, an inspiration to others.

See more

Watch a video by Catherine of the farm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR-2mdhnqZE

Read the full case study here on FCT’s website https://farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/toolkit/case-studies/

The post Cornish farm cuts artificial fertiliser use by 60% appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Andrew Brewer is our FCT Carbon Farmer of the Year 2024 and we are delighted to congratulate him and Clare on scooping the National Arable and Grassland award for Grassland Manager of the year. Andrew is also one of our Demonstration Farms in the Farm Net Zero Project in Cornwall which is supported by the National Lottery.

Andrew and Clare are pictured in the centre of the photo with sponsors and judges

They were worthy winners in this category. The Awards are supported by a wide range of industry businesses including BASIS and the National Association of Agricultural Contractors.  

The post Grassland Manager of the Year 2025 appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

The emissions calculations will be provided on the Envirocrops platform, whose development has been funded by DESNZ, to aid farmers in decision-making when considering switching part of their land into biomass crop cultivation.

What we did 

We provided two arable and six livestock farming scenarios to compare with the cultivation of six different biomass crops and modelled the associated emissions using the farm carbon calculator (see Table 1). As some of the biomass crops have a long lifespan (10 – 25 years) with the potential for multiple harvests from one planting, the emissions for each farming scenario were modelled over a 20 year period. 

The biomass crops included in the project were short rotation coppice (SRC) willow, SRC poplar, miscanthus, switchgrass, reed canary grass and hemp. As hemp is an annual crop, it was swapped in for a crop in the arable 3 or 5-year baseline rotations. For the other biomass crops, two scenarios were modelled, either conversion from arable land or conversion from grassland, which differed in their field preparation operations and herbicide application, to provide the comparison to the arable or livestock grazing scenarios respectively.

Only associated emissions from the different farming practices were modelled but no potential carbon sequestration due to the high level of uncertainty and lack of current available research (particularly with biomass crops grown in the UK). Additionally, any emissions or sequestration from carbon stock changes in soils were not modelled, as this would vary largely depending on a variety of factors (e.g. location, soil type, season). Emissions were modelled to farm gate and do not include the downstream processing of crops. To see a more detailed outline of the data that went into the GHG calculations, visit our assumptions document here.

Table 1. The farming scenarios and their modelled emissions.

What we found 

As biomass crops can be planted once, harvested repeatedly and require little to no fertiliser inputs over the 20-year period, the emissions associated with cultivating biomass crops are considerably lower than the arable and livestock farming scenarios. 

Arable comparisons

The biggest contributor to the arable scenario emissions is from fertilisers (see Figure 1). Swapping hemp into the rotations decreases emissions by an average of 9.2% when compared to the average of the 3 and 5-year baseline rotations. 

For the perennial biomass crops, there is an average 95.5% decrease in tonnes of CO2e per hectare per 20-year period compared to the average of the arable baselines. This is largely because the perennial biomass crops do not require fertilisers, the application of sprays and fertilisers is often not possible once the crops are established due to their size. However, It is worth noting that soil testing and site choice are essential to help establish any nutrient requirements prior to biomass planting, which has not been included here due to its varying nature.

Additionally, because the rootstock of the perennial biomass crops remains viable for many years (excluding hemp), emissions associated with biomass crop residues are lower.

Livestock comparisons

Livestock comprise the largest proportion of emissions in the grassland grazing scenarios (see Figure 2), which is associated with enteric methane production and manure emissions. There is a potential average 97.6% reduction in emissions when switching to biomass crop production (per hectare, per 20-year period). 

Summary

From these example farming scenarios we can see that the emissions associated with cultivating biomass crops are substantially lower than arable and livestock farming. An increase in biomass cropping in the UK and Ireland has the potential to aid in the transition towards net zero goals, along with diversifying farming portfolios and income streams. Biomass crops can often grow on marginal land that may otherwise be unproductive. They can also be incorporated into food production systems, for example, SRC and short rotation forestry (SRF) tree crops can be planted as agroforestry silvopasture or silvoarable systems, to offer increased biodiversity in farming systems. As part of this project we were able to research and include additional biomass crop emissions factors in the Farm Carbon Calculator, contributing to our project aims on the CHCx3 project.

The post How do emissions of biomass crops compare to arable & livestock farming? appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

For the last 10 years, Farm Carbon Toolkit has hosted the Soil Farmer of the Year (SFOTY) competition, seeking out the farmers and growers across the UK who are doing the best job at improving their soils and underpinning their businesses with healthy soil management. The 2025 competition is open now and you can enter here, as well as see details of our past winners. The competition runs in partnership with Innovation for Agriculture and is supported by Hutchinsons and Cotswold Seeds.

Over the years we’ve had many inspiring finalists, so we thought we’d share information on some of the winners, what they’re doing on soil management, and some top tips.

Growing soil biology

In 2018, SFOTY winner Simon Cowell, an arable farmer from Essex delves deep into soil biology to create the conditions for his crops to thrive. He makes his own compost and applies it at 2-4 tonnes/acre, more as an inoculant than as a fertiliser, as 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

Through a mixture of crop rotation, on-farm trials and compost, the use of applied Nitrogen has decreased dramatically and the use of agrochemicals. Noticing that the plants nearer the hedge look healthier, Simon comments:

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.

Farmers should be beekeepers

Over in Oxfordshire, another arable farmer was the 2019 winner. Julian Gold grows a range of crops on 800 ha, with a small flock of sheep to manage the green manures. He’s over 10 years into his journey of minimising tillage and covering the soil as much as possible. He’s tuned in to his soils and how they’re working now:

If you know your soil and are on the right trajectory, you don’t need to do soil testing. I can see the straw disappearing and see worm middens, I know it’s healthy and doing what it should be, but it can take time.

Trials with Universities and Research Institutes has been common on the farm over many years, and has looked at greenhouse gas emissions, soil health and biodiversity on the farm. Julian advocates that all farmers should be beekeepers:

…….as with all things its about a change of mindset. This is true of fertiliser use, crop protection and carbon farming

Using electric fences instead of fertiliser

In 2022, Herefordshire farmer Billy Lewis demonstrated how his mixed farm had turned around and really improved its soil massively. A combination of direct drilling, applying compost, mob grazing, reduced inputs and introducing legumes has transformed the soil health, productivity and profitability.

On the new grazing system, Billy comments:

Since beginning our rotational grazing system we no longer apply fertiliser to our permanent pasture. You will grow ten times more grass with an electric fence than you will with a bag of fertiliser.

Fertiliser use has reduced by 50% over 3 years, with an aim to eliminate it in the future

Noting that arable crops have become much more profitable now, and the livestock more relaxed and healthy, Billy believes this is down to both a reduction in inputs and an improvement in soil biology.

When we dig up any legume species, be it in a herbal ley, cover crop or in the clover living mulch, we’re seeing plenty of nodules forming and more importantly we are noticing that they are active due to the dark purple colour when they are sliced open.

12 million worms per hectare

Arable farming can face greater challenges in rebuilding soil health and carbon. 2021 winner Tom Sewell is farming over 1500 acres in Kent with his wife Sarah. The farm is both at a serious scale but also working across a range of soil types. Minimum cultivation and direct drilling have been used for some time on this farm and Tom was an early adopter.

Through a combination of providing minimum disturbance, and adding organic matter – through straw, cover crops and compost, the organic matter has gone up worm counts are very healthy. Tom reckons there are 12 million worms per hectare!

A ‘simple system’ that maximises soil health has allowed them to reduce fertiliser use by 10% per year, yet maintain yields and improve soil health continuously. Tom says:

I just want to improve the soil, I use compost and feed the worms, they’ll do the rest.

Using all the tools

Over at Overbury Farms in Gloucestershire, 2020 winner Jake Freestone farms over 1500 hectares with a diverse arable rotation, plus 1,000 sheep across a wide range of soil types. Jake is using fungal-rich seed dressings to improve germination, soil biology and reduce costs. 

Nitrogen fertiliser is being reduced, other inputs reduced, cover crops experimented with extensively and sheep being a key part of the rotation. “

Jake comments:

Ultimately we are trying to use all the tools that we have to improve soil organic matter, water infiltration and wider water management, soil structure and soil biology to achieve the long term goal of improving our resilience both for our crops, our business and our soil.

A 10-year transformation

Back to mixed farms and in 2023 winner Stuart Johnson in Northumberland demonstrated how 10 years of work has transformed his farm, primarily by reducing inputs, improving soil health and livestock productivity. Moving to a strip-tillage system and mob grazing platform has provided financial success alongside a more resilient business. 

Stuart has now eliminated fertiliser on his grassland and fungicides in the arable crops, instead utilising an integrated system with the livestock and compost teas to grow what is needed on the farm. The farm is currently in a seven-year rotation of a five-year legume/herb mix followed by a two-year arable break with full grass grazing for the sheep and cattle meaning that there is no need to buy in additional supplementary feed over the summer months.

Herbal leys and vegetables

Bringing us right up to date, 2024 winners Tracey Russell and David Neman at Bucksum Farm in Buckinghamshire show in this video how herbal leys and vegetables sold directly is working successfully.

Creating their own compost, using extensive herbal leys (grazed by sheep), they also incorporate living mulches amongst the vegetable row crops. Incorporating top fruit and chickens too, the farm is an exemplar of how to grow fruit and veg in a sustainable rotation whilst improving soil health.

Learn even more!

We also have amazing 2nd and 3rd place Soil Farmers from each year, and you can read more about them here.

Don’t forget, if you think your farming practices are worthy of being entered in the competition, please do consider entering the 2025 Soil Farmer of the Year competition. It’s free – what have you got to lose?

The post Soil Farmers: Leaders in Soil Management appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Beginning 

In my early days at FCT, I felt very welcomed by the team but I knew I had a challenge as I had to get to grips with many aspects of farming which I was not familiar with, coming from a non-agricultural background. I was very lucky to be able to shadow and observe different members of our knowledgeable advisor team during farm visits and soil sampling trips around Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Although I learned many valuable things, the two most important lessons I took away were the importance of different people working together to solve the challenges that we are facing as a country, and that sometimes it’s more important to just listen to what someone wants to say than to have to say something back. 

After my initial training period, I began to conduct my own farm visits, learning more about the variety of farming systems and the people at the heart of those systems, and what their visions and worries were looking into the future. From these visits I would use our great Calculator to look through the carbon lens and see what was happening on these farms and see where the farms could get more efficient but also closer to net zero. In writing the reports and handing them back I got to see what information would be most interesting to the farmers and hopefully useful to their farm’s management decisions. Now, when I look back, I can see how much I’ve learnt, but I also know that what is left to know is endless. I think I have come to accept that, which is very liberating too.

Day to Day

My day to day is very variable, but I can summarise some key activities and projects that I work on for FCT. The main one is the incredible Connecting Constable & Gainsborough Country, one of the largest Landscape Recovery projects in England. It is a collaboration between two farm clusters in Suffolk and Essex and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Most of my time is spent conducting farm visits, understanding the farmer’s system and motivations, processing the data , and then writing the reports and handing them back to the farms involved. 

Another exciting but more hands on project I assist with is the England Ecosystem Survey (EES). The largest survey ever conducted in the UK, me and my colleague Jemma have visited some beautiful sites in the West Country to collect soils following the detailed protocol set by Natural England. Once the data has been gathered and analysed we will have the most comprehensive set of soil dataset covering England.  Lastly, the final project I am involved with is CHCx3. This is an exciting collaboration between agricultural and industrial partners to develop and explore more diverse crop options for greater carbon sequestration and reduced GHG emissions. FCT is supporting the project with its soil sampling aspect, co-ordinating with our project partners to examine soil carbon patterns underneath these crops and footprint the farms involved. 

Outside of these core activities, I get to participate with some of the great events we put on, including Soil Farmer of the Year, Carbon Farmer of the Year, our Field Days and our staff Away Days, all of which are fun and interesting. 

Exciting Future

Although there seems to be constant news stories about setbacks in environmental and human health, in the projects I work on for FCT I do feel like I can see the positive changes beginning to take shape more and more. There is a growing demand for a healthier lifestyle and the systems that support it as well as a more harmonious relationship with our environment and the creatures in it. One of the most satisfying aspects of my role, alongside the skills and experiences, is the fact that, in my small way, I hope I am playing my part in supporting this change. I feel very lucky to have that opportunity. 

The post A day in the life of… Joseph Jones, Farm Carbon and Soils Project Assistant appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

The Farm Carbon Calculator is just one branch of FCT’s work and is a tool within our online toolkit. Working within our Calculator team, my role is to ensure the Farm Carbon Calculator is based on rigorous science, remains up-to-date with standards and guidance, and is free of bugs that can sometimes appear when running a software.

To achieve these aims, I am regularly undertaking research, particularly if someone has requested an item on the Calculator, like a specific fertiliser or crop. I will find associated emissions factors, consult with experts in the field, alongside standards and guidance to ensure we are employing the recommended calculations.

Each year we undertake two major updates, one in April where we assess and update all emissions factors and one in October where we also look to improve the functionality of the Calculator. These are busy times for our team, where we work through and update thousands of line items on the Calculator to ensure we remain up-to-date with the latest science and data that’s available. All the while, I work alongside Lizzy Parker (Calculator Manager), James Pitman (Calculator Development Officer) and our software developers to keep the website running smoothly. 

Aside from my core work on the Calculator, one of the exciting things about working for FCT is the breadth of interesting projects we are involved in. I have undertaken farm modelling work for a few different projects looking to model the transition to more regenerative practices and the impacts that may have on greenhouse gas emissions. I regularly go to farming conferences to hear firsthand the issues that farmers are facing and can offer free advice on carbon footprinting their farm. I get to brush up on my science communication skills when posting blogs on our website on hot topics. I also get to enjoy our in person events such as our Annual Field Day, Soil Farmer of the Year and Carbon Farmer of the Year events, where we champion pioneers in sustainable farming.

Since we all work remotely and are spread far and wide across the UK, it is these in-person events and our Away Days that remind me how lucky I am to work with such passionate people who care immensely about our farmers, our environment and our food production systems.

The post A day in the life of… Grace Wardell, Calculator Development Officer appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Day to day, my activities and tasks can vary widely, depending on the needs of the Calculator team as well as Izzy, our Data Scientist with whom I also work closely.

I primarily work with the Calculator team which can involve a variety of tasks. One of my main responsibilities is the rigorous testing of the Calculator after every update, and following the addition of new items to the calculator. Flagging errors and helping to resolve issues (if indeed there are any!) ensures a reliable tool and the efficient running of the calculator that farmers and landowners can use seamlessly. Another major part of my role is information-finding. Regularly, the Calculator team receives requests for additional products/items/data entries to be added to the calculator. Personally, I was surprised by how many crop protection products (insecticides/herbicides etc.) that are available to farmers, upwards of 30,000 different products available in the UK alone. So you can imagine, with changing trends and needs of farmers to protect their crops in various ways, we as a Calculator team need to keep up with adding additional products to the calculator.

Outwith helping the smooth running of the calculator, my responsibilities include assisting Izzy, our Data Scientist, with her work. Recently, I’ve been assisting her in updating and maintaining soil sampling datasets using QGIS (a spatial data software) that have been collected by the advisory team. I also assist Izzy by testing apps that she designed herself! One of which is a soil sampling app for use by the FCT Advisory team to record soil sampling points more efficiently. I’m particularly grateful for this piece of work as it takes me away from my desk and gets me walking around, albeit on the streets of Edinburgh rather than the fields.

My day to day can vary depending on the tasks that are required or whether I’m working out of my flat, a cafe or the Melting Pot, the co-working space I go to. I’m kept on my toes with the diversity of work to do. Through this type of work, it might seem easy to disassociate from the real-world challenges faced by farmers in a changing climate when you’re spending your days hidden behind a screen, focused on numbers and code. However, this is what I feel FCT does very well, in connecting us to the issues we are all helping to solve. Between the numbers and spreadsheets, we do well to have numerous meetings, whether it be online, hearing about the projects FCT are involved in such as Farm Net Zero, or in person days where we celebrate the farmers that are doing the most to demonstrate low-carbon, sustainable agriculture.

My first in-person day was last September at our annual field day, where FCT presented the Carbon Farmer of the Year. An opportunity to hear first-hand what farmers are implementing to produce our food in a sustainable and low-carbon manner with the help of our carbon calculator. I always come back from these days feeling invigorated to tackle the next challenge knowing that farmers are using the calculator to benefit their farms and the environment. 

The post A day in the life of… Calum Adams, Calculator Data Assistant appeared first on Farm Carbon Toolkit.