Category: Farm Net Zero

Farm Net Zero February update

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Sam Smith - Farm Net Zero

Welcome to our February Farm Net Zero (FNZ) update, sharing updates for our farmers and the wider community this project supports. We’re very happy to see the associated newsletter is reaching increasing numbers and do hope that with more engagement we can really celebrate and disseminate what our fantastic Farm Net Zero community is showcasing.

New resources

We are pleased to share with you some recent resources that have been produced over the winter as part of the project.

Read about our trial on grazed winter cover crops in this handy pdf factsheet. Key criteria to assess on farm are livestock growth rate, forage yield, and seed costs. This fact sheet focuses on seed selection and cost.

Winter vetch (left) and common vetch (right)

We have also released a factsheet in response to the maize establishment trial at Tregooden Farm. Here, they ran three different trial plots, the first conventionally ploughed, sumoed and drilled, a second one was Sumo trio cultivated only and drilled, and the third was direct drilled -all 3 plots drilled with a Mzuri strip till machine. You can read the factsheet here. You can access all the other FNZ resources on the FNZ resources webpage here.

Recent events

Throughout the winter months the Farm Net Zero partners have run some insightful events:

In October 2022, The Nattle family kindly hosted a group of farmers at their dairy farm in the Tamar Valley to look at the establishment and management of herbal leys. The event discussed the many benefits associated with herbal leys including, but not limited to:

Nitrogen fixation by legumes resulting in reduced (on cutting ground) or no (on grazing ground) need for purchased fertiliser
Drought resilience from the deeper rooting species
Improved soil health through enhanced soil biology, carbon sequestration and structure

To find out more details about the event head here.

In November 2022 Tim Dart of the Devon Wildlife Trust (who is also a Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmer), Hannah Jones of Farm Carbon Toolkit, James Ruddick from Cornwall Council and Jenny Rogers from Forest for Cornwall discussed issues focussing on how to plan for the future with environmental stewardship. The evening was aimed at supporting farmers to understand the funding opportunities that are available that not only increase economic resilience, but have several other on farm benefits such as increasing shelter for livestock, and preventing soil erosion. Read about it here.

In December 2022, Blable Farm in Wadebridge (one of our demo farms) hosted an event to discuss outwintering livestock on forage/cover crops. To read about the many associated merits head here.

Outwintering livestock grazing at Blable Farm

And on the 3rd of February, members of the FNZ team held a stall at the ‘Imagining a Net Zero Future for Falmouth’ event. Featuring over 15 local environmental organisations, the pavilion transformed into an inspiring space for the Falmouth community to learn more about the small everyday changes they could implement to work towards a Net Zero Future.

Guests approached our team eager to learn more about climate friendly gardening. Hannah Jones’ infectious enthusiasm for the project was demonstrated during her talk on ‘Greenhouse gas emissions counting in our fields, gardens and allotments – what can I do?’, resulting in 3 pledges being made on our new postcards that day!’ You can find out more about the pledge cards below.

Hannah Jones and a stall guest at the event in Falmouth

Additionally, between our partners we have had a presence at the Oxford Real Farming Conference and Dairy Tech.

Please do keep an eye out for future events on our events page here.

Demo farms update

As ever the demo farms are constantly trialling and developing innovations and planning and running events.

Ennis Barton – Andrew Brewer has received planning for solar and is interested in the sustainability of grazing sheep under the panels, whilst also increasing biodiversity. Discussions are on-going on the continuing trial on soil recovery after potatoes, and data and literature is being reviewed on milk yield, quality variability and herbal leys. Watch this space to find out more!
Blable Farm – The herbal leys trials are ongoing. Mike and Sam Roberts who run the farm are looking into the comparison of weight in cattle on and off diverse cover crops, crucially looking at livestock health as well as soil health. They have several plans for farmer meetings with external groups, these groups include: BGS, NFU Mutual, and a local beef vet group. Additionally, Mike is looking into hosting university lecturer(s), which could bring about some really educational sessions.
Erth Barton – Erth Barton are hosting more ongoing herbal ley trials, alongside their continuing pasture cropping trials. Also, Hannah Jones, from Farm Carbon Toolkit, has given Erth Barton’s project manager, Tim Williams, support for an upcoming soil data talk at Harper Adams (read on to find out more details).

Duchy College Monitor Farms update

We are working with our Monitor Farms to complete their next round of carbon footprints, and comparing them to previous carbon footprints to look at areas that have changed and areas to work on. We are excited to get back out into the fields to collect the 2023 batch of soil samples.

One of our Monitor Farmers, Anthony Ellis, is trialling sheep grazing winter cereals and we have collected baseline soil samples to assess any impact on soil quality. We will continue to work with Anthony through to harvest to compare the grazed and ungrazed cereals and apply carbon footprint figures to the process.

Innovation for Agriculture Net Zero event

Join FNZ partner Innovation for Agriculture for the first ever ‘Farm of the Future: Net Zero in Practice event’.Taking place on the 13^th April at Harper Adams University, this free event will offer farmers an insight into the changes that their farming businesses will need to undertake to reach Net Zero.

Including discussions on:

Decarbonising livestock production.
Circular solutions for biowastes, clean energy, nutrients and future fuels.
Autonomous vehicles and robotics.

To register please click here – spaces are strictly limited.

Westcountry Rivers Trust Update

The West Country Rivers Trust have designed some fantastic postcards that will be given to attendees of future climate-friendly gardening workshops. The postcards are aimed at encouraging people to pledge to help reduce the impacts of climate change through refining their gardening and growing skills to a more climate friendly manner. You can join in and download your own pledge postcard here, please do share it afterwards on twitter/instagram!

There are six WRT FNZ events planned for the next twelve months, with topics to focus on soil health, water quality and phosphate. There will also be more citizen science to get involved in, and plenty of climate friendly gardening workshops which will focus on the following topics:

know your soil
pond and rain gardens
forest gardens
no dig and green manure
compost tea

These workshops are all planned for April/May (exact dates tbc) and will be kicking off with a Soil Health workshop for Mithian allotment holders, kindly supported by St Agnes Council. This will be closely followed by a public workshop on the 26th April, hosted by the beautiful and productive Real Food Garden near Wadebridge. This workshop will focus on ponds and wetlands, exploring how ponds act as major carbon sinks, mitigate climate change and provide some of the most species rich habitat in the UK.

Keep an eye on our event page for more details https://wrt.org.uk/events/.

Innovative Farmers Update

Compost Management

The compost field lab is well underway, and the group have been busy making compost over the winter. As well as contacting each other on their WhatsApp group, they will be meeting in early March at Prideaux Gardens (one of the trial sites) to discuss the field lab and plan their tasks and protocols for the next few months.

Join us for a second field lab on maize establishment methodsFollowing a successful farmer event in Stoke Climsland a group of farmers have joined with Innovative Farmers to set up a new field lab. This on-farm trial will focus on maize establishment methods, building on the trial carried out by Malcolm and Catherine Barrett at Tregooden farm.

If you are based in east or mid Cornwall, and are interested in taking part in this field lab or learning more about it, please join us for a discussion and lunch at Malcolm and Catherine Barrett’s Tregooden Farm on 10^th March. Follow the eventbrite link here: Join a Farm Net Zero On-Farm trial on maize establishment methods Tickets, Fri 10 Mar 2023 at 12:00 | Eventbrite

The group will agree on what questions they want to ask in the field lab, and agree how the trial should be designed. It will also be a chance to learn about the Barretts’ own experiences of trialing different maize establishment methods.

What next?

Other FNZ Events:

March 22nd – Bennaman Slurry system methane event at Trenance.

Others with dates TBC:

April – Silage event at Mearfield.
May – Dairy and herbal leys possible to be held at Ennis Barton.

In addition Innovation for Agriculture will have a presence at Catchment Sensitive Farming events and Beef Expo.

Getting in touch

If you have any questions or ideas that would further support the community of farmers that we are working with, please get in touch at info@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk

All information about the project including upcoming events and resources are available on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website. If there is anything you would like to see featured please let us know.

This project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, is a partnership between Cornwall College, The Farm Carbon Toolkit, Duchy College’s Rural Business School, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Innovative Farmers and Innovation for Agriculture.

Outwintering on forage/cover crops

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Sam Smith - 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 Sam Smith - 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.

Herbal Leys – the hows and whys

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Sam Smith - Farm Net Zero

Overview of a Farm Net Zero event held on 22nd Oct 2022 at Lowerton Farm, Latchley.

John, Sue and Emma Nattle hosted a group of farmers on their dairy farm in the Tamar Valley to look at the establishment and management of herbal leys. The Nattle’s herd of 66 spring-calving cows produces 7000 litres a year from 1t of concentrate per cow. On the current herbal ley grazing, they are averaging 7 litres per cow.

Two blocks of herbal leys were established in 2020 and 2022, the older block (30 acres) is used for youngstock grazing and the second block (20 acres) is part of the dairy cow grazing platform. Brassicas (kale/rape) were included in the seed mix of both leys. This acted as a nurse crop, creating a microclimate that aided establishment of the herbs and grasses.

The older ley was established in April 2020 by overseeding the herbal ley mix into a combi-drilled barley cover. This was then cut for silage bales twice before being rotationally grazed by 35 youngstock until housing in November 2020. Rotational grazing with youngstock continued in 2021 and 2022, with any surplus cut for silage.

The dairy grazing ley was established in May 2022 by drilling herbal ley mix into a ploughed and power harrowed seedbed. From June 2022, it has been grazed by milking cows in a 42-day rotation “on/off” system where they are given access for three hours before being moved onto ryegrass/clover. This is to reduce bloat risk, overgrazing and compaction on the newly reseeded ground. The visit in October coincided with the third grazing round and, although regrowth was strong, this is likely to be the last grazing of the year to ensure sufficient covers are built for spring turnout.

Diversity has declined in the older block, with grasses and white clover more dominant. Although this could jeopardise any Countryside Stewardship GS4 payments, it is still a very productive ley. The newer ley showed a high level of diversity with plenty of chicory, plantain, white clover and red clover alongside a number of grasses.

Potential benefits of a diverse mixture of species include:

Nitrogen fixation by legumes resulting in reduced (on cutting ground) or no (on grazing ground) need for purchased fertiliser
Drought resilience from the deeper rooting species
Improved soil health through enhanced soil biology, carbon sequestration and structure
Reductions in leaching from greater root distribution through the soil profile and plants with different nutrient requirements through the growing season
Extended grazing season
Forage anthelmintics which complement prophylactic pharmaceutical treatments
Improved resources for pollinators

Useful resources:

Part of the herbal leys established at Lowertown Farm were funded through the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FIPL) grant.
https://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/farming-in-protected-landscapes-in-the-tamar-valley-aonb/

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

Farm Net Zero Autumn update

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Sam Smith - Farm Net Zero

Here’s an update from our Farm Net Zero project – sharing updates for our farmers and the wider community the project supports in Cornwall. This post is taken from our quarterly project newsletter. Click here if you’d like to subscribe.

Our first farmer conference

We were delighted to run the Farm Net Zero Farmer Conference on the 13th September at Blable Farm, by kind permission of demo farmers Mike and Sam Roberts. The conference presented the work of the project to date, including a look at the results from the soil sampling and carbon footprinting. We also discussed future plans for trials and research to help the project’s community of farmers reduce their carbon emissions and move towards net zero.

A detailed summary of the Conference can be found here.