I started work at FCT as their Chief Executive on the 20th June and was straight into Groundswell. This was the best ever introduction to the tremendous staff who are the Farm Carbon Toolkit. I have been involved with the organisation as a Director since 2017, and when the opportunity arose to become more involved as their Chief Executive I jumped at the chance. Over the last five years I have seen just how the FCT has developed and grown, but always with the key mission to support farmers and growers to understand their farm carbon footprint and to assist them in responding positively to the climate and nature crises we are in.
At Groundswell, I saw first hand the solid commitment from the team, but also the high regard with which the team is held by so many of the farmers and growers who came to see us on stand, as well as other sector businesses and organisations.
At this point in time it feels critical to me to use all my knowledge and experience, gained over my career in agriculture, to play my best part in supporting the UK agri-food sector to transition towards much ower emission food production, whilst reversing the decline in nature and keeping farmers in business. I believe that being involved with FCT on this journey is where my role is most usefully suited.
My vision for FCT is that we grow our capability to support farmers and growers to transition towards more agroecological farming systems, through ensuring that our carbon calculator is always the first choice for farmers and growers and through providing the kind of advice and assistance which works for them. We are already the most popular calculator with UK farmers and we want to keep it that way.
I also want FCT to play its part in helping policy makers to understand the role of farm businesses in esponding positively to the climate and nature crisis and to provide the kind of support which is vital to enable them to do this. FCT is already a trusted advisor to many of the largest estates in the country as well as Councils and National Parks. However, I believe we can do much more to support adoption at scale of effective ways to monitor and benchmark farm environmental performance and support key innovators to understand the potential impact of their work on reducing farm level emissions. It really is exciting, but at the same time I am so aware of the urgency to change fast, and for the changes to work within a landscape of viable farm businesses.
I am hoping that all my experience with the Soil Association as their Farming and Land Use Director over the last eight years, my work on supporting farmer and supply chain collaboration at the English Food and Farming Partnerships, and my great start in this industry with ADAS in a number of roles, alongside being a farmer myself will stand me in good stead as I embark on this exciting and tremendous role.
Farm Carbon Toolkit is delighted to announce the appointment of Liz Bowles as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Liz Bowles has been a Non-Executive Director at the Farm Carbon Toolkit since 2016, a role in which she has shared highly valued knowledge and experiences from her distinguished career in agriculture.
Before joining the Farm Carbon Toolkit as CEO, Bowles was the Associate Director of Farming and Land Use at The Soil Association. Bowles also farms in the Exe Valley where she has one of the largest pedigree flocks of Shropshire sheep, this breed is in demand across Europe as they graze safely in tree plantations.
Bowles brings not only an extensive expertise in the UK food and farming markets, but she also has a deep and practical understanding of the importance of improving soil health, reducing environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and building resilience within the sector. She advocates that building economic resilience must occur alongside retaining product quality and animal welfare standards and building sustainable, regenerative practices on farm.
Bowles is a Nuffield Scholar, where her report on global cooperation in the red meat sector won the HSBC prize for the most relevant report to UK farms in 2004. She has also had management positions at ADAS and the English Food and Farming Partnerships, where she led on livestock marketing collaboration.
Liz Bowles, Chief Executive Officer of the Farm Carbon Toolkit says:
“I am thrilled to accept this position and the opportunity to lead and deliver Farm Carbon Toolkit’s strategy for growth and financial resilience, while cultivating a caring, professional, purpose-driven organisational culture. Working with the team, I believe we can position ourselves as the ‘go-to’ independent, trusted experts on farm and soil carbon.”
David Gardner, Chair of the Farm Carbon Toolkit says:
“We are absolutely delighted to have Liz taking the role of CEO at Farm Carbon Toolkit, where we can draw from her notable expertise and experience. Her guidance will be invaluable to everything we do.”
ENDS
Note for editors
Established in 2009, the Farm Carbon Toolkit is an independent, farmer-led enterprise, supporting other farmers to measure, understand and act on their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their business resilience for the future.
Regarded by many as the most comprehensive, accurate and user-friendly carbon calculator available to farmers and growers, Farm Carbon Toolkit’s Farm Carbon Calculator, is one of just three tools recommended by the NFU to its members. Thousands of users already benefit from the free tool to calculate the carbon footprint of their business, identify ways to reduce their emissions – and increase farm profitability.
Alongside their Farm Carbon Calculator, the Farm Carbon Toolkit run the highly regarded annual Soil Farmer of the Year competition, as well as numerous practical projects and workshops that inspire and empower farmers and growers across the UK to act on their greenhouse gas emissions and improve soil health
In order to understand how to manage carbon on your farm it is important to first be able to measure it. Knowing where your emissions and sequestration are currently coming from, and what that means in terms of hotspots, should be the basis of developing strategies for the future, but what if it’s difficult to work out how to measure it?
This is exactly the conversations that the team at FCT have been having recently with upland farmers. Through our project work with the Yorkshire Dales National Park, farmers across Dartmoor and the Fellfoot forward partnership, farmers have often felt that the current available carbon tools don’t reflect their farms; an issue which is compounded when they are also grazing commons.
How to ensure that grazing allocations for common land are accounted for, so that the impact of management can be included across these special areas is complicated. This is compounded where there are multiple graziers who may have different numbers of stock and areas of the common, and may also be managing in different ways. These areas are immensely important for carbon sequestration, and, where the environment is peat dominated, management may also contribute to large quantities of GHG emissions as the peat is degraded. Often management of these areas is tightly managed by stewardship schemes to protect biodiversity and natural capital which can sometimes mean that grazing numbers are tightly controlled.
So, what is actually happening on the commons and how do we account for the carbon footprint of the in-bye land and the commons so that the farmers in these landscapes can provide an accurate assessment of what is happening?
We are incredibly excited to be working on a new project with the Foundation for Common Land on their Upland Commons project to dig a little deeper into these issues. We will provide a version of the Farm Carbon Calculator that is specifically designed for GHG accounting across these landscapes, pioneering an approach that empowers the commoners to understand the current carbon balance and what can be done. The project will work in partnership with the commoners of Kinniside Common in the north west of the Lake District to test the new calculator and provide feedback to ensure that what has been developed meets their needs.
Where are we now?
Currently the calculator team are working to collect all the available research and insights to ensure that the best data sits behind this new calculator. At the same time our advisory team are busy talking to commoners, land holders, environmental organisations, Natural England and others to understand some of the complexities and multiple objectives to provide a tool which has genuine use on the ground and will provide insight into the carbon balance of these diverse ecosystems and how they are farmed.
Thank you to the funders
Thanks to National Lottery players through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Esmée Fairbairn and other local partners and funders of the Foundation of Common Land.
Farm Carbon Calculator upgrade gives users an even better experience, underpinned by the latest science.
The Farm Carbon Calculator has released another major upgrade to its free online tool, which is designed to help farmers and growers understand and manage greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and horticulture.
This latest upgrade – the second in six months, focuses on usability, livestock, nitrous oxide, crops and fertilisers. Calculator users will notice significant improvements in design and usability, in particular:
Clearer design and layout across the user interface
Results reorganised to give users a clearer understanding of their emissions and sequestration results
Benchmarking allows users to understand where their carbon footprint is in comparison to other users
Results split into all greenhouse gases, and Scopes 1,2 and 3 for clarity
A new way of recording yields of crops and outputs of livestock
The well regarded Nitrogen Module, introduced in November (and kindly funded by WWF-UK), has also received a significant design improvement in this latest upgrade.
Designed by farmers for farmers, the Farm Carbon Calculator offers an intuitive user interface and a comprehensive and accurate list of categories for all farmers and growers across the UK.
Regarded by many as the most comprehensive, accurate and user-friendly carbon calculator available to farmers and growers, the Farm Carbon Calculator is one of just three tools recommended by the NFU to its members.
Currently thousands of users already benefit from the free tool to calculate the carbon footprint of their business, identify ways to reduce their emissions – and increase farm profitability.
Jonathan Smith, Carbon Calculator Director, says
“The drive for continual improvement in the Farm Carbon Calculator is always at the forefront of our minds. Understanding what our users need, whilst keeping on top of rapidly emerging science is a constant challenge, but one that excites and motivates us.
“Never before has carbon management been so important for farmers and growers in the UK. Yet the scale and pace is only likely to accelerate over coming months and years. We understand the importance of our users being empowered to measure, manage and mitigate carbon in their businesses in a user-friendly and cost-effective way.”
Oliver Kynaston, Carbon Calculator Manager, says
“This upgrade, hot on the heels of last November’s release, features important upgrades to methodologies and emissions factors in key areas for many farmers: livestock, fertilisers and crop residues. Our drive for accuracy is always high on the development list.
“We are particularly pleased with the re-design of the interface, which presents data entry and results in a very clear way to users. It’s vital that these tools are as easy to use as possible for today’s busy farmers and growers.”
This upgrade was completed in association with our valued web development team at Creative Coop, with whom Farm Carbon Calculator has worked with for over 10 years. Their expertise in design and software development is a very valuable part of the Calculator.
A Commercial Licence is available for consultants and advisors wishing to use it for profitable purposes, with integrated training and support.
White label versions of the Farm Carbon Calculator can also be designed and developed for individual businesses, organisations, and groups. For more information on either product contact calculator@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
Notes for editors
Farm Carbon Calculator is owned and managed by Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT). FCT was set up in 2010 to provide advice, support and encouragement to farmers and growers wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. It is actively engaged in research, training, and consultancy work. It is run by farmers for farmers and is a Community Interest Company.
Farm Carbon Calculator has been running for over 12 years. It is free for users and always will be.
The 5th of December is World Soil Day and also the launch of the 2022 Soil Farmer of The Year Competition.
Now in it’s seventh year, the Soil Farmer of The Year competition aims to find farmers and growers who are engaged with, and passionate about managing their soils in a way which supports productive agriculture, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and builds soil health, organic matter and carbon.
Previous winners of both the Arable and Livestock Soil Farmer of the Year title have demonstrated how soil health can be integrated into all aspects of a farming business, to aid economic resilience and environmental custodianship. The competition aims to promote businesses or individuals who are fantastic ambassadors for soil health and the benefit agriculture can have on the wider landscape.
If you would be interested in entering the competition please see the further details below. Equally, if you would like to nominate someone who you feel would be an excellent candidate please do not hesitate to get in touch!
FAQ:
When does the entry period close?
The closing date for the competition is the 5th of March 2022.
We encourage applications from all sizes and types of farm – if you are passionate about soil management we would love to hear what you are up to. Equally, if you know someone who you would like to nominate or have any further questions please get in touch and we will be happy to have a chat: emma.adams@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
How is the competition judged?
All entries will be anonymised and short-listed for judging by our panel including the winners of the 2021 competition. The highest placed entrants will then be contacted and farm walks with our judging panel will commence in May 2022 to decide the finalists for the 2022 competition.
When are the winners announced?
The winners will be announced at the Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Show and Conference at the end of June 2022.
COP26 in Glasgow brought a sharp focus on human activities that create greenhouse gases. There were many welcome announcements on reducing methane from oil and gas, cutting coal, limiting deforestation, “keeping 1.5 alive”, and a whole other host of measures. While many campaigners and leaders agree that the pledges do not go far enough, progress has been made, momentum must continue and these pledges must now be translated into action on all scales from grassroots to governments, across the world.
Building carbon in soils is a win-win for farmers and society
But one major issue was not given adequate attention – food and farming. Representing around 21-37% of global carbon emissions and something so fundamental to our daily lives, the lack of discussion is baffling. Is it because farming is a knotty problem and governments think there aren’t easy solutions? There could be many reasons for this lack of discussion, but the net effect is a lack of policy and action driving the collective carbon footprint of food and farming in the right direction.
At Farm Carbon Toolkit we’ve been working on the ground, encouraging, informing and enabling farmers and growers to cut their carbon and increase sequestration on their farms for more than 10 years. We enable them to measure their carbon footprint, using the Farm Carbon Calculator, and point them to tried and tested solutions, advice, inspirational events and other learnings through the Toolkit.
The level of interest in our work has increased hugely over the past 18 months and we see that as very encouraging. Many farmers and growers want to reduce their carbon footprint, and can see the benefits. Legislation might well demand it soon, and some supply chains are already requiring their farmers to start going on a path towards net zero carbon, many of which point towards 2030 as an end date. Eight years from now…that’s not long.
How can farms be net zero?
All farms have greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions, such as from fuels, fertilisers, livestock, bought in materials, and soils. These all have to be accounted for, and steps must be made to minimise these emissions. Reducing emissions is the first step and every effort must be made to go as low as possible.
However farms are one of just two main industries in the UK that can also sequester (absorb) carbon – the other being forestry. The soils, hedges and woodlands of our farms can, when managed in the right way, lock-up carbon over a long time and keep it there. In the case of soils, when farms build organic matter it not only sequesters carbon, but also improves soil fertility, crop growth, water management, and biodiversity.
When the carbon emissions and sequestration are added together – the carbon balance, it’s quite possible for farms to be net zero, or better still ‘sub zero’ where they absorb more carbon than they emit. Or should that be ‘carbon positive’?!
Farms that have already made it
Plenty of farms that are using the Farm Carbon Calculator are already net or sub zero, including livestock, arable and horticultural businesses. Through a combination of reducing emissions and maximising sequestration, these farms are showing that farms can produce quality food, run successful businesses, and be part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Farmers and growers have a wide range of actions open to them, such as generating excess renewable energy and exporting it, reducing cultivations (which both saves fuel and increases soil organic matter), planting and better maintaining hedgerows, building soil organic matter, reducing fertiliser use (which also saves money), and changing the way livestock are fed.
There are huge business advantages to being net or sub zero – reducing costs, access emerging market trends, being in line with future subsidy systems, and morally doing the ‘right thing’.
Farming to be part of the solution
When farms transition to sub zero they are actually becoming a part of the climate solution in a very active way. When farms absorb more carbon than they emit, carbon dioxide is sucked out of the atmosphere providing a mechanism of helping to reduce the climate crisis.
This is clearly a positive in environmental terms, but also socially because it provides an empowering connection with customers to say that your business is doing such a good thing for society and the planet. And for customers to have the opportunity to buy carbon negative (or positive – the terms can be confusing!) food.
The bigger picture
We believe that many more farms could and should transition to sub zero carbon as soon as possible. It is certainly possible, the benefits are clear, and the planet requires it. So what’s stopping it?
Part of it lies with farmers and growers themselves, in having the knowledge and drive to do so. Learning new techniques, knowledge-exchange with peers, and rethinking business models and practices. We have seen many forward thinking and dedicated farmers achieve fantastic transformations in the carbon performance of their businesses.
Farmers learning about good soil management
But critically, there is also a policy context in how the environment in which businesses work can be tweaked to favour low carbon practices. Some change is happening but much more is needed, and faster. The legal framework for business is important, ensuring that environmentally damaging practices are outlawed , whilst assessing the equivalence of imported produce. The subsidy regime must support sub zero farming in the future. Supply chains need to require and support businesses to meet net (or sub) zero targets.
The whole food system needs reform, from the farmers and growers who produce food, through the packhouses, retailers and processors that sell us food, through to us all who eat the food we buy. A systemic shift towards a better food system that values low carbon, low impact, quality food over merely price and convenience. The same level of thinking that got us into this mess will not give us the solutions we need to fix the problems.
Perhaps what’s missing though is the big picture. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and maybe what’s needed is a movement. Going back to COP26, what was important was the political context. One success of Glasgow is that the need to act is not in dispute now, it’s the how. The same doesn’t feel true in the farming industry…yet.
Taking a lead
Leadership is crucial for the advancement of critical issues, and in the area of farming and the climate crisis leadership does not appear to be in abundance. Equally, leadership by businesses collectively can lead to huge change, and this is being shown to be true with the climate crisis in other industries. Farmers and growers could become that lead in this sector.
Improving the carbon performance of a farm can go hand in hand with a whole host of other benefits, including more biodiversity (above and below ground), water management, reduced inputs, better soil management, and better food quality. These qualities, and many more, are also key to improvements in the environmental and social impacts of our farming and at FCT we see these wider benefits as critically important too, and know that many farmers and growers care deeply about this also.
So why not build momentum for Zero Carbon Farming 2030 in the UK? Is it possible to achieve? Maybe. Should it be achieved? The moral argument is hard to refute. Sometimes a vision and target is what’s needed, then work out how you get there. No one is pretending it will be easy, painless or cheap. But the planet is facing a crisis and we in farming should be part of the solution, not the problem.
Today the Farm Carbon Calculator has gone live with a major upgrade. As part of our development cycle, every few months we deliver updates to ensure our calculator keeps up with the latest science, while also improving its features and usability. As the number of users continues to rise, we regularly update the tool to ensure it’s the best it can be and matches our users’ expectations.
The recent COP26 exemplified how carbon has shot up the agenda for everyone in societies across the world, and this fact is reflected in the number of farmers and growers we are engaging with at the Farm Carbon Toolkit. We have been advocating for over ten years that farmers and growers have a key role in cutting emissions and indeed in sequestering carbon in their biomass and soils, and we provide solutions for users to measure and manage carbon in their businesses.
Farms are one of just two industrial sectors that can not just reduce emissions but also sequester carbon (the other being forestry). This means farming can play a positive role in the climate crisis by potentially drawing down atmospheric CO2 into its soils and biomass. Facing the climate crisis, we are here to support farmers and growers to make a positive contribution, as we all must do.
What’s changed
In this upgrade we have updated a wide range of emissions factors based on the latest research; including in Fuels, Livestock, Fertilisers, Crops, and Materials. This means up-to-date figures, more categories and therefore increased accuracy.
Major changes include a larger range of fertilisers, a huge range of branded sprays to choose from, a new way of recording livestock numbers – giving much more useful outputs, more animal feeds, new animal bedding section, a much greater range of bought in manures, and upgraded factors in fuels, electricity and travel.
There are new user features including an improved way of recording yields of crops, more FAQs to help you through the process, and videos to support you in filling in the Calculator.
On the Report Summary page, the emissions are now broken down into Scopes 1, 2 and 3, which makes Company Reporting easier and clearer. We’ve also separated results for carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, so users can understand which greenhouse gases make up their total carbon footprint.
A brand new feature, and a great compliment to Carbon, is a way to measure Nitrogen. Thanks to funding from the WWF, and in conjunction with the Soil Association, our new ‘Nitrogen Module’ allows users to visualise the nitrogen flows in and out of their farm system. Nitrogen (N) inputs are built up from biological fixation, synthetic fertilisers and organic manures as well as purchased livestock and animal feeds. The N output is calculated from in-field N2O emissions as well as crops, milk and livestock sold and the N balance calculation provides an overview of the net change of Nitrogen over the year.
The new Nitrogen Module shows overviews and details of the flows of N in and out of the farm
The process
It takes several months of work to prepare for an upgrade. We plan, prioritise, research, extract figures, build new functionality, review, then test, test and test again!
The Calculator team is already planning the next update, which is scheduled for late February 2022. We will be working to update a raft of more emissions factors, reviewing the latest science (which is changing quite rapidly), and working on even more user features. Which all means that in another three months the Calculator will take an even bigger leap forward!
The Calculator can be used on all types of farms, including livestock, arable and horticulture
Working with consultants, larger companies and organisations
The Calculator will always be free for farmers and growers to use. But increasingly we have a new group of users who want to use the Calculator within their supply chains and as part of a consultancy service.
For consultants advising farmers, we offer a licensing service, where they can receive training and access to the Calculator to calculate the carbon footprint of their clients, and deliver advice upon the results. For businesses and organisations managing groups of farmers and growers – such as buying groups, co-ops and larger food businesses, we offer a white label version of the Calculator. This is branded and tailored to the user, along with support from us, and a group admin function to manage and compare group users’ data.
Finding out more
We hope you find the Farm Carbon Calculator useful for your business, and take steps to reduce your carbon footprint. You can use the Toolkit for further help, advice and case studies https://farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/toolkit.
We’re pleased to announce the launch of a new guide for monitoring soil carbon. This practical field, farm and lab guide aims to answer key questions for robust on-farm field monitoring of soil carbon and associated indicators of soil health.
This guide has been produced as part of the Soil Carbon project and written in collaboration with Duchy College, Plymouth University, Rothamsted Research and the Farm Carbon Toolkit. It is designed and printed with kind support from the Farm Net Zero project, funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund.
Who is it for?
This practical guide is relevant to farmers seeking to measure and understand their soil carbon stocks – as well as landowners, advisors and researchers.
Supply chains and organisations seeking to reward farmers for improving soil carbon stocks will also find this guide helpful. However it should be noted that it’s not written as a formal standard or detailed protocol. The guide will be accompanied with detailed supplementary materials stemming from the ERDF Agri-Tech Cornwall funded “Soil Carbon Project”(2018 to 2021).
Why is this important?
Robust estimates of soil carbon stocks can be complicated. Not least because soil carbon levels are constantly in-flux with in-field variation. Estimates are also heavily influenced by the way in which we collect, process and analyse soil samples. In the Soil Carbon project, we’ve been working with research partners to investigate how soil carbon estimates are influenced by variables such as when the samples are taken, how many samples are taken and at what pattern across the field.
What does the guide cover?
The guide consists of answers to the following core questions:
When to conduct your soil carbon sampling?
What fields to select on your farm?
How to sample within those fields?
At what depths should samples be taken?
How often should you repeat your sampling?
How to collect and prepare your samples?
What are the options for the lab analyses?
What are the main soil health indicators that should be monitored?
Farm Carbon Toolkit is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Mercian Ltd, the UK’s largest supplier of crisping potatoes.
Farm Carbon Toolkit is using its years of experience in carbon footprinting to create a bespoke Carbon Calculator module customised for Mercian’s potato farmers.
The tool provides both a broad overview and the fine detail of the individual farm’s footprint; taking into account the greenhouse emissions and carbon sequestration from all aspects of the operations. Mercian’s potato growers will find categories for their seed, sprout suppressant and specific contractor operations, such as de-stoning the soil, in this user-friendly tool.
Future releases of the tool will focus on integrating the Calculator with existing farm software, to improve the accuracy of the results and reduce the time spent inputting data.
Farm Carbon Toolkit’s Calculator Development Manager Oliver Kynaston explains the motivation behind the collaboration:
We’re working with farmers and growers right across the UK, providing them with the tools they need to lower the carbon intensity of the food we all eat. Farmers are all at different stages on their carbon journey, but we believe an important first step is to get a good baseline of their whole- farm carbon footprint. From there, farmers can see the hotspots of their activities – whether that’s diesel use, fertiliser application or new equipment– and then focus their efforts and reduce their emissions and increase carbon sequestration.
We’re delighted to work directly with Mercian to improve our calculator and increase our reach in one of the most important agricultural sectors in the UK.”
Oliver Kynaston, Calculator Development Manager
Jon Kemp, Business Manager of Mercian, says:
As the largest supplier of crisping potatoes in the UK, we felt the time was right to take the initiative. The input we received from Farm Carbon Toolkit has been both professional and very much inspirational for us, which has led to a joint approach that builds our understanding of the carbon intensity within the supply chain. “
We are truly hoping that technology will help the UK potato industry play its part in the positive changes that are taking place across agriculture.
Jon Kemp, Business Manager
As well as offering ‘white label’ carbon calculators to businesses and organisations, individual farmers and growers can start their first carbon footprint by using the Farm Carbon Calculator, the UK’s leading tool to help farmers and growers measure AND reduce their carbon footprint. Visit calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk
ABOUT FARM CARBON TOOLKIT
Farm Carbon Toolkit is an independent, farmer-led enterprise, supporting other farmers to measure, understand and act on their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their business resilience for the future.
The final walk for this year’s Soil Farmer of the Year series was with Sam Vincent at Rookery Farm in Dorset who was recognised this year as our Livestock Soil Farmer winner. We are very grateful to Sam for fitting the walk in during calving, which is much appreciated! The farm is 130 ha which is all down to permanent pasture with no reseeding for the last 15 years, following some experimental direct drilling which yielded mixed results. The grazing platform for the milkers occupies around 45-50ha and the rest of designated for youngstock grazing and making winter forage.
Sam’s transitioned his 100 cow dairy farm to organic in 2018, following a breakdown of TB which had meant a reduction in cow numbers from his formerly fairly intensive system.
“Prior to the TB breakdown, I had considered going organic, because we weren’t using a huge amount of inputs” Sam explained, “but once our cow numbers were lower and following a couple of years where we had cut our Nitrogen back dramatically (from 120kg to 35kg) and seen an increase in grass yields we felt ready to make the jump.”
The farm came out of conversion last year and now Sam supplies Arla on an organic milk contract as well as being a member of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association for his youngstock operations and any dairy beef that are sold. Traditionally the herd was on an all year round calving pattern, however this has now changed to a split block with half the herd calving in Feb – April, and then other half August / October. Now the herd calves in late summer in one block with the aim to gradually bring the calving earlier in the summer, ideally in May and June. The youngstock graze the fields that are further away from the dairy and that provides an opportunity to cycle the nutrients around the farm. The dairy is based on the site here and then there is another farm up the road where the youngstock are kept in the winter.
On grazing
“We’ve certainly changed the way that we are grazing now,”
Sam explained. “In the past we were going back and back to the same fields, eating everything and leaving nothing. Now we try and lengthen our rotations as opposed to keeping the grass continually short; some people call this mob grazing.”
The cattle are predominantly British Friesian, which seems to suit the farm, although Sam has experimented with other breeds in the past, including New Zealand Black and Whites. “We needed a cow that has longevity, and will work on our system,” explains Sam. The milking herd are fed a small amount of concentrates (between 6-800kg) and yield on average 5,500 litres. Due to the losses from the herd Sam is looking to build the milkers back up in numbers again to be more like 100, currently he is milking around 85.
“The plan next year is to front load the summer block with some older heifers that we’ve had this year and the fresh heifers we’ve got coming on that will be ready to serve mid September this year. However there is a group in with the bull now which will calve April – May next year. Last year we had a few issues with the heifers, they weren’t on a great rising plane of nutrition and then we kept them out too late and it didn’t pay off, but that is how you learn. We’ve currently got 17 in with a Friesian bull and the idea is to push them all up next year and sell the surplus and then get the dairy herd back up to around 100 and see where we are then the following year.”
The first field we visited was a field of pasture that had been last cut for silage at the end of June. Discussions ensued about the need for pre mowing or topping to manage forage quantity, Sam is not keen on doing either of these operations, “the field and grass stays as it is unless it would benefit from being mown, then its baled up and put in the clamp.” The field that we walked through had some interesting features in it, including one half of the field which had significantly more clover than the remaining area. The fields were reseeded a long time ago, using mixtures that were predominantly ryegrass. “It almost set some of the fields back in hindsight,” Sam explains,
“We should have done things a little bit differently, but that’s how you learn.“
The field in front has never been reseeded, but the one over there has, and you can tell the difference when the cows are grazing.”
The plan of where to put the cows next is now dependent on the stage of growth and pasture quality, rather than following a set plan. Sam explains, “Originally the cows were supposed to be grazing in the fields across the hill at the moment, however I had to weigh up whether I put them over there for a week and then get them eating on regrowth, or put them over there for 10-14 days and then have a lot more grass in front of them just in case it was going to carry on staying dry. I’d rather stay on a 40 day plus rotation at the moment, rather than a 30.” The increased length of rotation is something that Sam sees is a measure of success.
“By increasing the rotation length to 50-60 days, and leaving higher covers we are seeing diversity within the pastures which is as a result of management.”
We then walked up to see the cows from the milking herd. The cattle are moved twice daily on 12 hour moves and have a back fence. There were lots of discussions and questions from the farmers about the design of the water system and how portable it was. The trough design that Sam has works quite well and was made for him and is on a skid which can be moved daily using the buggy. Sam’s aspiration is to gradually move all the farm over onto mobile troughs so that he has ultimate flexibility and can be responsive in terms of grassland management.
“The grass allocation is based on the grass covers and the cows,” Sam explains, “we sample the grass and plate meter so we have a good understanding not just of the covers but also the quality.” Last year Sam experimented with satellite measurement of the grass, which is something that needs a little more development but is a useful future tool.
Sam has noticed the diversity in the pasture species start to return since the transition over to this management system as well as the reduction in the fertiliser rates. All the fields vary a little, but we get different species come up depending on the seasons and the conditions. In March / April there is a lot of foxtail, but as the season progresses, its amazing what you get, including tufted vetches and trefoils. The field that we were standing in hadn’t had any silage / hay taken off it since Sam has been managing it, its just had grazing. Sam stressed the importance of managing the ground using the cattle and ensuring that the numbers and paddock sizes are matched. This varies throughout the year and Sam’s risk period is often early spring when the ground can be a bit ‘tender’ and as such, higher residuals and lower stocking rates are left to protect the soil and minimise structural damage and poaching.
“Some people think, in order to get diverse leys you need to rip it all up and start again, but that isn’t the case. We have fields that haven’t been reseeded but have still got diversity including trefoils and native red clover. If you reseed with ryegrass, the species that come back once the ryegrass dies back is weeds, usually annual meadowgrass and other non productive species.”
There were questions around the number of cows and how well the cow numbers matched the grass covers. Sam explained that the dairy numbers are dependent on how long they want to keep the youngstock and beef cattle. All of the youngstock are weighed regularly so that growth rates can be monitored and they have no concentrates. The calves are fed whole milk and once they are in a small group they are turned out and fed milk through a 50 teat feeder as well as starting to graze.
The youngstock are moved once per day but have a back latch system and half way through the day the latch opens and they are into fresh grass. The stock have taken to the system well and Sam doesn’t get many problems. By allowing the stock to graze across the farm, Sam is seeing the benefits in terms of improved grass production.
“If we let the stock graze it then we don’t have to haul the muck out there. We cut fields and graze fields in a rotation rather than continually cutting all the time, the flexibility needs to be there to decide based on grass condition and stocking. The fields at the other end of the farm benefit a lot from the flexilblilty, the soils are a lot shallower. We cut here as well. FYM is spread in April on ground that had been grazed and spread on ground which is cut for silage later after cutting. All manure stores are covered which leaves very little dirty water to spread by irrigation. We normally cut very similar height as what the cows graze which makes for an adaptable system. Quite flexible, if you have a field that you were going to cut but the weather turns wet then it isn’t the end of the world, you can simply go back and graze it. The cows are normally out grazing from early March until the end of November. The youngstock stay out a bit longer and we outwinter the dairy beef on a deferred grazing system. The fields that are selected are the driest fields on the farm and then they are closed off early summer and then line the bales out across the field. “It’s a very simple system but it works for us,”
The farm has installed over 4000 railways sleepers to make cow tracks which mean that the farm is much more accessible in terms of grazing infrastructure and the benefits are visible in the pastures.
On weed management
Sam isn’t too bothered about weeds, he sees them more as an indication of a soil issue that he tries to solve using his cattle. Traditionally this farm had a lot of thistles on it, but they are starting to retreat and the ones that are around are looking less prolific.
On Soil health
The soils vary on the farm with some being heavier with a higher clay content and others more silty. The risk period for these soils is early season with risks of structural damage. For Sam what holds the soil back is tractor movement, so the more that the cows can do the work the better. “We don’t want to top and roll, at the end of the day its 4 wheels that are going along and causing damange. If you’ve got a rotation, with cattle who are utilising the pasture, then you don’t need to be sat on the tractor.”
Other enterprises
Sam also has pigs which he uses in the cattle housing to turn over the FYM and to help with the composting process. He adds some corn to the material in the sheds and then the pigs are turned into it to mix it all up and compost it. This process takes between 6-8 weeks, which is how long the corn lasts within the system. If the pigs are in for any longer then they will need supplementary feeding. A future aim to try and set up a Bokashi type system to enable further composting of the manure.
The final question was about the business benefits that Sam was experiencing due to his transition to this system. He explained that although the cow yields dropped from 6-5000l, a lot of concentrates were taken out leading to better margins. “Milk from forage percentage is high and milk solids have gone up. Not having inputs makes an impact on beef / dairy. Organic milk price means that the impact has been minimal. The business is a lot more stable.
“Before we went rushing around, we’ve now got time to stop and think – feel better. We are more resilient and sustainable now.”
The farm walk was absolutely fascinating and it was brilliant to see how Sam is pushing boundaries of what is possible in a pasture based organic dairy system. Thank you to Sam and the team at Rookery Farm for a brilliant evening.
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