Tag: farming

Press release: 2023 SFOTY winners announced!

Posted on June 29, 2023 by - Soil Farmer of the Year

Now in its eighth year, the annual Soil Farmer of the Year competition is organised by the Farm Carbon Toolkit in partnership with Innovation for Agriculture and, this year, generously sponsored by Hutchinsons and Cotswold Seeds.

The 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.

The 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year Winners:

  • 1st Place – Stuart Johnson, West Wharmley Farm, Hexham (pictured above right)
  • 2nd Place – Richard Anthony, R&L Anthony Ltd, Bridgend (pictured above, centre)
  • 3rd Place – Bronagh O’Kane, Drumard Farm, Cookstown (pictured above, left)

The 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year Finalists:

  • 🚜 Debbie Wilkins, Norton Court Farm, Gloucestershire
  • 🚜 Ed Horton, Poulton fields Farm, Gloucestershire
  • 🚜 Andrew Jackson, Holme Hall Farm, Lincolnshire

The 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year Highly Commended:

  • 🚜 Robert Neave, Lincolnshire
  • 🚜 Jonathan Hodgson, East Yorkshire
  • 🚜 John Sansone, Worcestershire
  • 🚜 William Oliver, Leicestershire

SFOTY farm walks – save the dates!

As part of the competition, the top three farmers will host open farm walks that bring farmers together to share good practice and innovations that improve soil health. The farm walks at the top three winning farms are scheduled to take place later in the year, with full details to be announced on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website and twitter, with booking through Eventbrite.

  • 🥾 4th October 2023 – Stuart Johnson, Hexham
  • 🥾 11th October 2023 – Bronagh O’Kane, Cookstown
  • 🥾 TBC – Richard Antony, Bridgend

The competition is widely recognised by organisations working in soil management, with many promoting it to their networks to increase participation.

Emma Adams, Farm Carbon and Soil Advisor with Farm Carbon Toolkit, says 

“This year’s Soil Farmer of the Year competition saw the most diverse range of applications so far, we’ve been blown away by the number and quality of the entries this year. The competition is going from strength to strength, with the standard of farms continuing to demonstrate the progress made in UK agriculture. Indeed, the sheer variety of entries highlights the fact that, despite the many differences in farming systems and locations, the soil connects us all. We’re very grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to enter.”

Deborah Crossan, Innovation for Agriculture, says

“As the Soil Farmer of the Year competition gains momentum and the numbers of entries reach their highest level so far, the summer walks at the winning farms represent a not-to-be-missed opportunity for farmers to see first-hand the innovation and change that leads to excellent soil management.“

The judging process now involves visiting each of the six finalists to learn more about their farming practices before selecting the winners.

The winners of the 2023 competition were announced at Groundswell: The Regenerative Agriculture Show and Conference, which runs from 28th – 29th June 2023 at Lannock Manor Farm, Hertfordshire. 

Open farm walks at the top three winning farms are scheduled to take place later in the year, with details to be announced on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website and twitter.

Further details:

For further details about the 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year competition, contact Emma Adams, Senior Advisor with the Farm Carbon Toolkit, at [email protected]

For more information, visit farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/soil-farmer-of-the-year

2023 SOIL FARMER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

Posted on June 8, 2023 by - Soil Farmer of the Year

It was very hard work, but we have shortlisted six farmers as finalists for the 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year competition!

Organised by the Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture — and generously sponsored by Hutchinsons and Cotswold Seeds — the Soil Farmer of the Year Competition helps to identify, promote, and champion UK farmers who are passionate about safeguarding their soils and building resilient businesses.

This year we had so many wonderful entries that we have decided to award ‘Highly Commended’ to those farmers and growers who impressed the judges, but unfortunately didn’t quite make the shortlist. Well done to them all!

We really are grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to enter and who helped make this such a difficult competition to judge, as well as to our kind sponsors.

The 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year Finalists:

  • 🚜 Richard Antony, R&L Anthony Ltd, Bridgend
  • 🚜 Debbie Wilkins, Norton Court Farm, Gloucestershire
  • 🚜 Ed Horton, Poulton fields Farm, Gloucestershire
  • 🚜 Stuart Johnson, West Wharmley Farm, Hexham
  • 🚜 Andrew Jackson, Holme Hall Farm, Lincolnshire
  • 🚜 Bronagh O’Kane, Drumard Farm, Cookstown

Highly Commended:

  • Jonathan Hodgson, Great Newsome Farm, East Yorkshire
  • John Sansome, Woodfield Farm, Worcestershire
  • Will Oliver, Swepstone Fields Farm, Leicestershire
  • Robert Neave, The Manor, Lincolnshire

The judges have already started visiting the finalists this week to learn more about their farming practices and we’ll announce the winners at a special event at the Groundswell Show and Conference at 5.30pm on 28 June 2023.

The winning farms will also host open farm walks later in the year, bringing farmers together to share best practice and innovations that improve soil health.

Stay tuned for more info!

Carbon Farmer of the Year competition -update

Posted on May 25, 2023 by - Carbon Farmer of the Year

Earlier this year we at the Farm Carbon Toolkit launched our Carbon Farmer of the Year (CFOTY) competition. With this competition we will be recognising and championing farmers, sector organisations and businesses who are leading the way in adopting farming practices and developing new technologies which are helping to reduce farm emissions whilst optimising output. 

Back in 2015 we launched our Soil Farmer of the Year (SFOTY) competition which recognises those farmers who are going above and beyond to support improved soil health on their farms and to showcase all the good things which flow from that enhanced soil quality. This competition has been highly successful at celebrating incredibly forward thinking farmers and through it we have been able to share their methods, spreading their knowledge and normalising practices that may have previously seemed intangible to many farmers. The approaches these farmers have been demonstrating through the highly popular SFOTY farm walks have been a great opportunity to show to others that increasing soil health to safeguard our soils for future generations and future food production can be achieved whilst maintaining profit and production. 

We are confident that our new Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will do the same as the SFOTY, but with a focus on carbon reduction and carbon sequestration.

We are looking for those farmers and other businesses who are doing great things to reduce farm emissions and to store carbon in soil and non-crop biomass within resilient, biodiverse businesses. We believe the more we celebrate and recognise those farmers that are leading the way with regards to reducing emissions, increasing carbon capture and minimising reliance on imported energy the more we can spread this knowledge, create a new norm and share best practice across the industry. 

All the details to make nominations/apply and the entry form are available on our website here. Or you can go straight to the nomination/application form here.

Entries close on the 4th July and we will be announcing the winners at our annual Farm Carbon Toolkit Field Day on the 21st September.

Please note – the Soil Farmer of the Year competition will still be running alongside this new competition, and as always we will be announcing the winners at Groundswell in late June. 

Farm Carbon Calculator update May 2023

Posted on May 22, 2023 by - Calculator

Farm Carbon Calculator logo

This month we have launched further improvements to our Farm Carbon Calculator that enables farmers and growers to measure and understand the carbon footprint of their business.

In this upgrade there are a large number of improvements to the data and calculations that underpin the tool. This means we are up-to-date with the latest science and correspondingly your carbon reports are more accurate. We constantly aim to be reflecting the most recent emissions factors. In this upgrade we have updated factors and calculations in:

  • Livestock (including new category descriptions)
  • Fuels
  • Distribution
  • Materials
  • Processing

In addition, we’ve re-ordered and updated the list of sprays, as well as a new sub-section for molluscicides. Some additional mineral amendments and specific fertilisers have been added too.

Animal feeds are a very important issue, and the impact of feeds on the footprint of livestock farms can be very significant. We’re constantly trying to improve the information available in this area and have expanded the number of items on offer. This is a continual topic of research for us.

There are some changes to how users select a report date, so that a start and end date is required (for the 12 months of the report). This is due to how our database works, which is a hidden but important area of the improvements we’ve made.

Renewable energy exports now don’t show up as a carbon offset, in line with scoping guidance provided by GHG Protocol, which is a globally recognised carbon standards organisation.

Details of all the changes can be found here, including a list of sources of our emissions factors.

Next stages

Months of research, development and testing by the Calculator team have led to this point. We are proud of what we’ve achieved, and see it as a vital improvement for users. But, more excitingly, the development continues as part of the two projects that are going to radically improve the user experience of the Calculator. This first stage of these feature upgrades will be launched in early September.

The Tesco-WWF funded work, in partnership with Produce World, focuses on improving the user experience, building infrastructure to allow carbon data to flow through the supply chain, with improved benchmarking and target setting for users, and an international version.

A parallel Innovate UK funded project, in partnership with Velcourt, CHAP and Agrimetrics, will strengthen many of the above developments, as well as enabling better data flow into and out of the Calculator. This stage of the feature upgrades will be completed at the end of December.

These are hugely exciting developments for the Farm Carbon Calculator, so expect to see much more activity from us in coming months and, importantly, a much improved tool for our users. Alongside our project partners, we are supporting the food and farming sector to cut carbon emissions and reach beyond net zero.

Resources

There are a range of resources for users of the Calculator on this page https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/resources, including the popular Data Collection Spreadsheet which gives guidance on how to complete data collection and the process of completing the report.

There are also useful FAQs and a ‘how to’ video on the Calculator homepage. You can also login to access your reports here, or set up a new account if you’re new to the Calculator https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/

Methane Capture from Slurry

Posted on April 20, 2023 by - Farm Net Zero

A Farm Net Zero (FNZ) event held in March 2023, Trenance.

Methane emissions from livestock make up a large part of a farm’s carbon footprint, capturing and processing these emissions can help to reduce the carbon footprint. Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmers, Katie and Kevin Hoare, milk 120 cows on a 130-acre Cornwall Council holding which required investment to improve slurry storage. They have worked with Cornish company Bennamann as part of a pilot with Cornwall Council to install a covered slurry lagoon that captures and processes methane gas for use as a fuel. A group of farmers met to learn more about the system, with talks from Dr. Chris Mann, co-founder of Bennamann, and George Mills, Area Sales Manager at New Holland who supply methane-powered tractors. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.

Chris Mann explained how the Bennamann system works, and how it can allow slurry pits to become mini power stations. Slurry is scraped into a reception pit where it is macerated to enhance breakdown and then into a well-insulated lagoon where microbial activity produces methane and other gases, as it does in an uncovered pit. The gases are collected by the cover, processed in a shipping container-sized plant unit with the cleaned methane pumped into another reception chamber sitting above the slurry pit. This processed methane can then be bottled and used as fuel in New Holland’s methane-powered tractor, or in a Bennamann methane-powered generator to provide electricity either for on-farm use or sold to the grid. 

George Mills showed the group around New Holland’s methane-powered tractor. Currently, this is able to do four hours of work on a single tank, with a range-extending fuel tank/front weight increasing this to twelve hours. Although slightly more expensive than a diesel tractor, the ability to run on home-produced gas can mean it is cheaper to run in the long-term by avoiding fluctuating fuel prices. Plus, the reduction in diesel use can have major benefits to reducing the farm’s carbon footprint.

Kevin and Katie say the covered and processed slurry is a better product to use as it is almost like digestate, allowing them to apply it with a trailing shoe between grazings and reduce the amount of artificial fertiliser they require. They are now able to meet all the grassland’s P and K needs from slurry, which has clear financial benefits and also helps their carbon footprint by reducing demand for carbon-intensive artificial fertiliser. A grass yield trial is in development to quantify the benefits of the new slurry.

The ultimate aim for Trenance is to go off-grid, with the methane capture system providing all the fuel for machinery and electricity. Katie and Kevin are keen advocates for agriculture’s role in providing climate change solutions and feel it is important for farmers to tell their story to the public to demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Using the Farm Carbon Calculator for Trenance through the Farm Net Zero project shows that the new slurry store is capturing around 600 tonnes of CO₂e from methane, putting the overall carbon footprint at 0.13 kg of CO₂e per kg Fat- and Protein-Corrected Milk (FPCM).

Key takeaways:

  • Methane capture from slurry reduces the farm’s carbon footprint by preventing methane entering the atmosphere
  • Using processed methane as fuel also reduces emissions from red diesel and electricity use
  • The methane capture system has financial benefits through reductions in fuel/electricity purchases, the option to sell gas and the ability to use slurry more effectively and replace bought-in fertiliser.

Farm Net Zero resources, events, newsletter

  • To find out more about other previous events, trials and resources produced from the Farm Net Zero project head here.
  • To keep an eye out for future Farm Net Zero events head to our events webpage here.
  • To keep up to date with the project subscribe to the Farm Net Zero newsletter here.

Defra’s 2024 plans to support farmers in carbon footprinting

Posted on April 5, 2023 by - News

Farm carbon footprinting is in the spotlight again this week, following Defra’s plans to support farmers to carry out farm carbon footprinting from 2024, as well as to help harmonise the methodology for farm emissions calculation engines.

Although there is little detail behind Defra’s announcement, Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT) very much welcomes the potential for greater financial and technical support for farmers to measure their emissions as a first step to identifying how best to reduce them and increase land sector removal of carbon into soils and on-farm biomass. FCT is already collaborating with other industry stakeholders to harmonise carbon calculation engines, including Dairy UK’s initiative, the Dairy Roadmap for Farm Carbon Accounting, which was announced earlier this month and looks forward to working further with Defra on methodology harmonisation in the coming months. 

Supporting farmers to understand their carbon footprint and to adopt farming practices to reduce emissions and store more carbon farmland is critical if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. 

The IPCC’s latest AR6 Synthesis Report makes this clear. Rapid reduction in emissions is imperative—and yet global emissions are still heading in the opposite direction. The report is not an easy read, with the level of confidence in the negative – and devastating – forecasted impacts of climate change growing with every new IPCC report produced. What is very clear is that the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels is the largest contributor to overall emissions and, hence, global warming. Nevertheless agriculture’s overall contribution as a proportion of total emissions looks set to increase rapidly as we wean ourselves off fossil fuels.

On a more positive note, the IPCC report points to substantial mitigation and adaptation potential from options in agriculture, forestry and other land use that could be upscaled in the near term across most regions.

The IPCC report backs up FCT’s important work in assisting farmers and growers to reduce GHG emissions through adopting farming practices that increase biodiversity within the farming system, keep soil covered, improve soil health, and reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers and imported animal feed protein from areas affected by deforestation, as well as improving systems and business resilience – an important factor when considering the impact of climate change on UK food security. For example, it is now widely accepted that there is significant potential to increase the levels of atmospheric carbon stored in soils (approximately 9 tonnes/ha from increasing soil organic matter by 0.1%). 

However, we cannot rely on storing more carbon in soils and biomass without facing up to the imperative of doing all we can to urgently reduce emissions. This means ensuring farmers understand the sources of their GHG emissions on their farms, and that the practical advice on how best to reduce them is readily available, together with the necessary financial support to enable the transition.

To find out more on how the Farm Carbon Toolkit can help please contact us at [email protected] 

Written by Liz Bowles, Farm Carbon Toolkit’s CEO.

FCT publishes its 2023 Annual review

Posted on June 5, 2024 by - News

We are pleased to announce the publication of our 2023 Annual review. This document looks back over the year to celebrate our achievements and share how our organisation is supporting the agri food sector to play its best part to deliver a nature friendly decarbonisation.

As a not for profit organisation we are constantly working to improve the ways we function and deliver our services to ensure maximum impact.  We recently completed two major projects to upgrade our Calculator, supported by Innovate UK and the Tesco & WWF Sustainability Innovation Fund. These have helped us to align with new industry guidance and to provide greater interoperability with other data platforms, reducing the data inputting onus on farmers. This new functionality has been warmly welcomed by supply chain businesses who are now using our Calculation Engine to support their customers without need for further data entry.

  • Our 2023 review demonstrates a selection of some of the exciting projects and partnerships we have been working on, and discusses some of the continual developments to our Farm Carbon Calculator and the services we provide to the sector. This is all set within the crucial context of emissions reductions on farms alongside business resilience and improving biodiversity.
  • We provide evidence on how broadly we engage with the farming community and the extent and effectiveness of our outreach activities.
  • Every year we publish our own emissions footprint, which we are committed to reducing as quickly and effectively as possible.

You can read the review here.

We really hope you enjoy reading it, if you have any questions or comments we’d love to hear from you. You can find our contact details on the final page of the review or at the bottom left of all our website pages.

Warm regards,

The FCT team.

Save the date – 21st September 2023

Posted on April 4, 2023 by - News

We are really excited to announce that our annual Farm Carbon Toolkit Field Day will, this year, take place on Thursday the 21st September 2023.

We are grateful to Julian Gold and the Hendred Estate for kindly hosting this Annual Field Day at the Hendred Estate, Oxfordshire on the edge of the Berkshire Downs. 

Please save the following details:

  • Date: 21/09/2023
  • Location: Hendred Estate, Oxfordshire.

The theme to this year’s event is: 

Gearing up to achieve Net Zero for UK Agriculture

During the day we will share our insights from the work we are doing supporting farmers to reduce GHG emissions and remove carbon into soils and biomass. This involves key elements of the transition to a nature friendly decarbonisation of agriculture. We will also be learning from the on farm trials which Julian is working on this year, with an opportunity to walk the farm. Our farmer panels during the day will feature such topics as the role of grazing and diverse swards in supporting the transition to net zero on farm.

At this years FCT Field Day, we will be announcing the winners of our Carbon Farmer of the Year competition, launched this year. To find out more about the competition and information on how you can apply head here. 

More details:

For more details as the event approaches keep an eye on our website and social media. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

FCT Team.

Outwintering on forage/cover crops

Posted on February 21, 2023 by - Farm Net Zero

A Farm Net Zero event in December 2022 at Blable Farm, Wadebridge.

Outwintering is one option for reducing costs and carbon footprint for livestock farmers, although issues can arise when outwintering unsuitable animals on unsuitable crops/soil. To address this, Farm Net Zero (FNZ) Demo Farmers, Mike and Sam Roberts, have been trialling different cover crop mixes for their weaned calves this winter. 94 weaned calves entered the cover crops in mid-November with enough crop to see them through to mid-February, In December they were on two-day moves with one hay bale for roughage. A cold day in December provided a good opportunity to see how they are getting on.

The crops were established through either direct drilling or discing/power harrow drill in late August, the drought through the summer of 2022 delayed establishment and therefore the bulk of the crop. In the spring, these fields will go into a herbal ley reseed with Mike and Sam hoping that the cover crops will have outcompeted much of the weeds, reducing herbicide use, and the cattle will have done some of the initial cultivations. In December the calves were leaving some of the stemmier material and radish bulbs, and attendees discussed the merits of either cultivating this material in to benefit the soil, leaving calves for longer to ensure they eat it (and therefore risking growth rates) or utilising suckler cows to clean up after the priority stock class of the calves. Calf growth rates were to be measured through the winter and spring, with Mike and Sam expecting to see a slow-down in growth through the winter but a faster growth rate in spring as the outwintered calves take less transitioning onto grass than housed animals.

Having a range of plant species in the mixes is done with the ambition to discover which species grow successfully and in sufficient quantity/quality to support the calves through the winter. Species presence/absence was assessed by Dr Hannah Jones from Farm Carbon Toolkit and forage samples were sent for analysis of crude protein, digestibility and other qualities with the results available in the “Grazed winter cover crops” factsheet. Mike and Sam ultimately hope for this crop to be a “standing total mixed ration (TMR)” that could be grazed through the winter without supplementary feeding of silage or hay.

Mike also took time to show the main herd cows outwintering on deferred grass. These were on two-day moves on half a hectare of grass that has been left since August, plus two hay bales which will carry them through to calving in March.

Outwintering at Blable has helped to reduce costs through reductions in time, fuel and feed use through the winter. The outwintering crops greatly reduce the amount of conserved forage fed to the cattle and tractor use is negligible compared to housing where feed is brought to the animals, muck scraped away daily and dirty bedding spread after winter. This has clear corresponding savings in carbon emissions.

Key takeaways

  • Diversity of plant species increases resilience to extreme weather, pests and disease and provides greater diversity of ration for livestock.
  • Outwintering reduces financial costs and reduces carbon emissions from fuel and feed.

This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) project.

Farm Net Zero resources, events, newsletter

  • To find out more about other previous events, trials and resources produced from the Farm Net Zero project head here.
  • To keep an eye out for future Farm Net Zero events head to our events webpage here.
  • To keep up to date with the project subscribe to the Farm Net Zero newsletter here.

Planning for the Future with Environmental Stewardship

Posted on February 20, 2023 by - Farm Net Zero

A Farm Net Zero event held in November 2022 at Stumble Inn, Boyton, PL15 8NU.

With changes to farm subsidy payments, there is some uncertainty as to what will replace them. In November 2022 a group of farmers met at the Stumble Inn to discuss the future of environmental stewardship and the options available to them.

The talk started with an introduction by Hannah Jones of Farm Carbon Toolkit. She explained that while environmental schemes have traditionally been paid on an income foregone basis, farmers should also recognise the hidden benefits of environmental practices for their farm businesses. These can include:

  • providing pollinator habitat to benefit crops
  • providing shelter for livestock in inclement weather
  • preventing soil erosion.

Hannah also mentioned the carbon sequestration value for different stewardship options, which are included in the Farm Carbon Calculator.

Next, we heard from Tim Dart, FNZ Monitor Farmer and Head of the Farm Advisory Team at Devon Wildlife Trust. Tim suggested that with the reduction and eventual removal of the Basic Payment Scheme and the volatility in farm inputs and farmgate prices, farmers should consider joining the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This can provide a stable income for practices such as:

  • taking soil organic matter samples
  • writing a soil management plan
  • maintaining ground cover
  • growing diverse leys or cover crops

Many of which are practices that the FNZ Monitor Farms are already undertaking or are interested in.

James Ruddick from Cornwall Council then gave a talk on the new Daras website, developed by
Cornwall Council to provide a “one-stop shop” for agricultural funding opportunities and advice. By registering for free, farmers and landowners can see what funding opportunities are available to them for various activities funded by a mix of government and private finance.

Forest for Cornwall is a Cornwall Council initiative aiming to increase tree cover in Cornwall through the creation of woodland, copses, shelter belts, orchards and wood pasture. Project Officer Jenny Rogers explained the various ways that farmers can get involved through the Woodland Creation Partnership, Woodland Trust MoreWoods and MoreHedges grants and the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). The EWCO in particular will provide financial support of up to £8500 per ha for development costs and £300 per ha per year for maintenance costs for 10 years. Forest for Cornwall are also aiming to establish 10 fully funded agroforestry sites in Cornwall to demonstrate best practice and the diversity of options for integrating trees into farming systems. Jenny highlighted the range of benefits that trees can provide in agriculture including:

  • diversifying income
  • protecting soil from wind and rain erosion
  • providing shelter and forage for livestock.

The discussion turned to the experiences of some of the monitor farmers present at the meeting. Ben Thomas, who farms at Warleggan and manages the Belted Galloway herd on Goss Moor National Nature Reserve, spoke about the benefits he has seen of allowing cattle access to woodland on the moor. Willow was preferentially grazed over what Ben thought was “good” grass, with faecal egg counts showing a low parasite burden and good growth rates. Ben also mentioned his experience of the Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) grant that allowed him to invest in electric fencing to better manage grazing at the Warleggan farm. The FiPL grant is available to farmers in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is far less prescriptive than other grants. A wide variety of activities can be funded as long as they are approved by a local board for their contribution to nature, climate and the public. Dairy farmers, John and Sue Nattle and mixed farmer, Martin Howlett have also benefited from FiPL grants through the Tamar Valley AONB for herbal leys and a wildlife pond respectively. Martin had also made use of the Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier to support school visits for children from Plymouth to learn about farming and nature. Unfortunately, as suckler beef farmer Jonathan Chapman pointed out, FiPL only applies to farms within an AONB. Jonathan’s farm directly borders an AONB and his application was refused, opening up a conversation on whether FiPL-style grants should be made more widely available to extend their benefits.

New entrant dairy farmers, Bradley and Nicole Davey, then spoke about their experiences of farming within constraints set by their landlord’s stewardship agreement. GS4 herbal leys have been planted and are being successfully grazed by the Davey’s dairy herd, as well as benefiting soil health and biodiversity. Bradley encouraged others to try to find stewardship agreements that suit their farm system, a sentiment echoed by fellow dairy farmer Phil Kent, who has also found GS4 herbal leys to be of value on their own farming merits as well as stewardship payments. Arable and beef farmer Jon Perry rounded out the meeting by bringing up the important point of food production being a public good worth supporting. Jon also commended the younger farmers in the room for both their farming ambitions and commitments to environmental stewardship.

This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) project.

Farm Net Zero resources, events, newsletter

  • To find out more about other previous events, trials and resources produced from the Farm Net Zero project head here.
  • To keep an eye out for future Farm Net Zero events head to our events webpage here.
  • To keep up to date with the project subscribe to the Farm Net Zero newsletter here.