Farmers working with scientists to achieve the best from pulse crops and reduce their carbon emissions. Led by farmers, backed by science

FCT is part of a consortium of project contributors and would like to share more information on the project aims and how it will run. Please note this blog takes its content from the NCS brochure linked to at the bottom of this page.

NCS at a Glance

What is it about?

The NCS project is a new £5.9M farmer-led research programme, set to revolutionise on-farm carbon footprints by delivering more than half of the GHG emissions reduction
target for UK agriculture.

What are the project aims?

The main aim is to enable UK agriculture to bring about a reduction of 1.5Mt CO2e per annum or 54% of the maximum potential for the industry.

The ambitions of the project are to increase pulse and legume cropping in arable rotations to 20% across the UK and to develop and test new feed rations. This will help livestock farmers to substitute up to 50% of imported soya meal used in feed with more climate-friendly home-grown pulses and legumes.

These twin aims will be steered by science and proven by real farm enterprises, with significant benefits for both crop and livestock productivity, including cost savings of over £1bn/ year.

Who is running the project?

The project partners comprise a consortium of UK companies, research institutes and farmer networks, led by PGRO and including Farm Carbon Toolkit.

Who is it for?

Anyone and everyone concerned with reducing carbon emissions on farm and those interested in the potential for peas and beans to help them achieve that. From boots in the field, to scientists in the lab, this project will bring together the entire supply chain to seek sustainable long-term solutions to climate change.

Can I be involved?

Absolutely. As part of the project, a new ‘PulsePEP’ (Performance Enhancing Platform) community will be established – a platform and knowledge exchange hub, led by ADAS, for farmers who are striving to achieve the best from pulse crops and reduce their carbon emissions.

From this community, a group of ‘Pulse Pioneers’ will be selected to host paid-for trials on their own farms. These trials will test novel concepts, ideas, products, rations and sensors designed to help farmers reduce GHG emissions.

Project overview

STEP 1: Gathering the data

Led by the James Hutton Institute, the first stage of the research will involve data athering to draw insight across the scope of the project, which will lead to the UK’s first comprehensive life-cycle assessment of arable cropping systems.

Also included will be data from the core group of 200 farmers within the PulsePEP community who will receive tailored assistance from Farm Carbon Toolkit to establish their farm carbon footprint baseline and whose GHG emissions will be tracked throughout the project.

STEP 2: Capturing data

Led by ADAS, the next stage will involve capturing data from historic information and
new on-farm trials to test the hypothesis that increased pulse cropping can substantially
reduce carbon emissions from agriculture. Some of the technology used to do this will
include PBL Technology’s new in-soil nutrient sensors.

STEP 3: Analysing soil resilience

This part of the project aims to identify and quantify the resilience of soil GHG emissions under climate change. It will also provide baseline and historical contexts for management and legume inclusion on GHG emissions, carbon footprint, environmental impact, and economic returns. This will be used to evaluate the relative GHG emissions, soil health and nitrogen benefits of legumes in rotations.

STEP 4: Feeding trials

Led by McArthur Agriculture, feeding trials will be carried out to better understand the
end use of pulses and legumes in animal feeds.

Farm-based heat treatment, de-hulling of beans, whole crop forage optimisation and a
score of other innovative techniques will be deployed in both scientific and commercial
trials.

STEP 5: Practical application

At the end of the project, the data will be pooled together to establish the best scenarios for delivering the optimum environment and financial result on investment for farmers.

It also aims to establish the carbon cost-benefit analysis of transitioning to increased production of legumes and pulses in the UK, alongside changes in livestock diets in favour of home-grown legumes and pulses and away from soyabean meal.

This will ensure the project has impact, delivers resilience to the whole of UK agriculture and that it stays on track for its ambitious net zero goals.

About NCS

Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) is a four-year £5.9M research programme involving 200 UK farms and 17 partners. The NCS Project is funded by the Farming Futures R&D Fund: Climate smart farming, part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme. Defra are working in partnership with Innovate UK who are delivering the programme.

Resources:

Download the project brochure here.

This year our Annual Field Day will take place on Thursday the 21st September 2023 

A day for farmers by farmers sharing experiences for improving performance and resilience in a challenging environment.

We are grateful to Julian Gold and the Hendred Estate for kindly hosting this conference at the Hendred Estate Farm, Oxfordshire on the edge of the Berkshire Downs (W3W/roosters.bleak.earl). 

• During the day we will showcase all the ways in which farmers are already changing farming practice to respond to the need to reduce emissions and build on farm carbon within resilient farm businesses.
• We will also 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. 
• Discussions of how farmers we have collaborated with have reduced emissions whilst improving resilience.
• The winners of the Carbon Farmer of the Year competition will be announced, a new competition which we launched this year. To find out more about the competition and information on how you can apply or nominate head here.

Price includes tea/coffee and a hog roast lunch (get in touch for any dietary requirements).

Confirmed speakers to date:

• Andrew Rees (dairy farmer from Wales)
• Anthony Ellis (farmer from Cornwall, Farm Net Zero monitor farmer)
• James Daniel (Precision Grazing)
• Danielle Semple (FarmED)
• Julian Gold (host farm)
• Tim Williams (Farm Net Zero demo farmer)
• David Miller (arable farmer from Hampshire)
• Kevin & Katie Hoare (dairy farmers from Cornwall, Farm Net Zero monitor farmers)
• Andy Bradford (Dartmoor Woodfuel)
• John MacArthur (McArthur Agriculture)
• Michael Carpenter (Kelvin Cave)
• Rob Shepherd (Environmental Farmers Group)
• Dan Wynn (Wilder Carbon)
• Nick Down (Velcourt)

See speaker bios here and the schedule here

To book:

To book your place (numbers are limited) please follow this link.

Lift sharing:

Interested in lift sharing? Head here

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Thank you,

FCT Team.

Kindly supported by:

Yeo Valley, First Milk, and Velcourt.

Invitation to The Prince’s Countryside Fund and Morrisons Carbon Clarity Publication Launch Brunch and Programme announcement at the Devon County Show 18^th May.  

The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) and Morrisons have a long standing relationship since initiating their partnership in 2016, specifically working to improve the business and environmental resilience of farming families through co-creating the Carbon Clarity programme and Morrisons’ continued sponsorship of the Farm Resilience Programme.

We would be delighted if you could join Becky Willson, PCF and Morrisons for the launch of the new Carbon Clarity Publication, a practical guide to begin managing carbon on farms. PCF also have an exciting announcement about their successful Carbon Clarity farm support Programme. The session will include a carbon ‘myth-busting’ discussion, facilitated by consultant Becky Willson, from Farm Carbon Toolkit.   

Please join Becky and the PCF at stand 459 Avenue L, at 10.15am, for a 10:30am start. The brief event will conclude at 11am. Refreshments will be provided.

To attend:

Please RSVP by using the following link to secure your place:  Carbon Clarity Launch sign up here

(Above pictured is Peter’s hill farm in West Yorkshire)

This project led by Dr Peter Gittins and Dr Deema Refai of University of Leeds aims to assist UK farmers in their transition to net-zero agriculture by identifying the barriers and constraints they face, evaluating current progress in measuring carbon emissions, and helping farmers develop strategies for becoming net-zero through entrepreneurial skillsets and business activities. Scroll down to find out how to get involved.

Phase One: Farmer Interviews & Carbon Mapping (February-June)

The project will conduct on-farm interviews with upland/hill farmers to discuss barriers in
becoming net-zero and views on current and proposed new environmental schemes. The
project will also interview stakeholders such as agricultural organizations, local councils, and
wildlife and conservation groups.

On-farm interviews with farmers (no longer than an hour):

• Cumbria- W/C April 3rd ———— W/C May 22nd onwards till August
• Yorkshire- W/C April 10th ——— W/C May 22nd onwards till August
• Exmoor- W/C April 17th ———– W/C May 22nd onwards till August

They aim to produce:

• A policy brief outlining farmer concerns around adapting to ELMs and becoming net zero
• An academic journal article
• A podcast/university seminar event- hybrid event you will be invited to
• An article summarizing the key findings from the activities published in The Conversation.

Phase two:

They will be hosting a two-day workshop event at Leeds University Farm. Throughout the event, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from a diverse array of academic and industry speakers and participate in planned activities. The theme of the workshop is focused on developing the skillsets of farmers. Topics include:

• Developing an Effective Farm Business Strategy
• Exploring New Markets and Entrepreneurial Opportunities
• Innovation and Technology: Tour of the National Pig Centre
• Environmental Sustainability
• Marketing Your Farm Business
• Policy Session and Discussion: The Future of UK Agriculture – Adapting to ELMs
  and Net-Zero

Why Take Part?

By taking part in this research project, you can gain valuable insights into how your farming
practices impact the environment. You can also contribute to academic research and
influence UK policy-making. Furthermore, you will be invited to attend workshops later in the year at the University Farm, where you can learn about topics such as adding value to your farm business, designing an effective business strategy, exploring new markets and
entrepreneurial opportunities, future-proofing your farm business, and sustainable farming
practices. These workshops will be led by academics and industry speakers, providing a
great opportunity for you to expand your knowledge and skills in these areas.

To register your interest, please email Dr Peter Gittins at p.gittins@leeds.ac.uk or call 07480135127.

Finally, if you know of any farmers who might want to get involved in this project who do not have internet access, then please pass on the above contact information and they will personally sign them up.

With thanks from the project team:

Dr Peter Gittins & Dr Deema Refai

Supporting farmers and growers to integrate Nature Based Solutions alongside food production

Over the last few weeks, four key reports have been published that are highly relevant to farming and land use:

• The Green Finance Institute’s (GFI) Financing a Farming Transition document
• The IPCC’s latest AR6 Synthesis Report
• Defra’s Environmental Improvement Plan
• Defra’s Nature Markets Framework

The UK has made a legally binding commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. This ambitious target will require the rapid decarbonisation of the entire economy. Although agriculture currently accounts for an 11% share of GHG emissions in the UK, the industry is projected to have an increasing share (perhaps as high as 30%) by 2030, as other sectors reduce emissions more quickly. The GFI report notes that there is an urgent need for greater financial support to help farmers achieve this ambitious target over and above the funds likely to be available through the different elements of the Environmental Land Management Scheme.

Of course, it is highly evident that this urgent transition in farming practices cannot happen without government support, and the 2021 report commissioned by Defra (and delivered by the Green Finance Institute) found a £3.7 billion financing gap for sustainable soil management and a £19.4 billion gap for protecting and restoring biodiversity to the end of 2030. With farmland representing 71% of the UK’s land area – and the reality that most of the investment will be required at the land management level – engagement with farmers will be crucial in closing this gap for soils and nature, as will ensuring that farmers are properly supported through the transition. 

In this space there has been much talk of the potential for stacking and bundling.

What does stacking involve?

When more than one type of separate credit or unit is issued from the same activity on the same parcel of land this is known as ‘stacking’ – for example if a land manager were to sell both carbon and water quality units from the same woodland (Extracted from Defra’s Nature Market Framework 2023).

What does bundling involve?

When a single credit is sold representing several different environmental benefits (for example a wetland unit delivering carbon, biodiversity and water quality benefits), this is termed ‘bundling’.

While Defra is keen to support greater use of stacking as well as explicit bundling, the devil could well be in the detail with some markets already starting to raise concerns on how this will work in practice. For businesses looking to enter such agreements, it will be imperative to secure robust and water tight agreements prior to commitment. 

The GFI’s Financing the Farm Transition report made recommendations for change in four distinct areas to enable more effective financing of this transition. The report clearly recognises the need for more guidance for farmers and landowners on environmental markets, how they work, and key principles that need to be established. Alongside this is improving access and availability of robust data and the identification of the key environmental outcome metrics to monitor and support farmers to work together to deliver the transition. Defra’s Nature Markets Framework goes some way to bridging this information gap.

FCT welcomes the suggestion that the cost of collating and verifying the data collected by farmers to measure their environmental impact could be shared by Government and the private sector. Currently the use of carbon audit tools is relatively low, unless specifically required by individual supply chains.

FCT and Wilder Carbon working in partnership

To support farmers who wish to increase the level of nature-based solutions on their land holdings alongside food production, FCT has teamed up with Wilder Carbon to offer the tools and advice to determine the best integration of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) finance and agriculture for a future land management system that achieves multiple benefits for the public good. The Farm Focused NbS provides an all-encompassing toolkit for land managers to assess, plan, deliver and fund a carbon reduction plan that, crucially, supports habitat restoration as a way of insetting farm business residual carbon footprint within the holding or landscape, as well as accessing the voluntary carbon market (VCM) to leverage carbon finance and deliver the management practice for the long term. 

To find out more about this new initiative go to  https://www.wildercarbon.com/ or contact Liz.Bowles@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk