Tag: climate change

Five farms in Cornwall on a journey towards Net Zero

Posted on January 18, 2024 by - Farm Net Zero, Insights, News

We’re excited to share a series of five new videos that showcase some of the farms in Cornwall that are part of the Farm Net Zero project.

Each video shares a different farm’s journey as it works to improve the environment, produce nutritious food, while also responding to climate risks, such as flooding. There is a specific focus in these videos on how the farms are engaging within their local communities, to help tackle these issues. The Farm Net Zero project includes practical advice for farmers on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, showcases innovation, provides robust science through soil testing and carbon footprinting, and inspires other farmers to tell their stories to consumers on the steps that they are taking to address climate change and protect soil health.

The full-length video below includes all of the following five stories. If you prefer to view each story separately, please simply click on each of the links here:

A Day in the Life – Michael Brown, Calculator Customer Service Officer

Posted on October 28, 2024 by - Insights, News

A little challenge every day

Chances are, if you’re interested in measuring the carbon footprint of your farm you know a bit about what my job entails. I’m here to support you and help more and more farmers measure the carbon footprint of their farm. Each day, I’m immersed in both the challenges and rewards of what this involves:

We get it – carbon footprinting a farm can be hard, every farm is different, time is short and sometimes we all face problems fitting the farm information we have into an online carbon calculator.

Rising to the challenge

Behind our calculator is an approachable team who benefit from a two-way process where we help you and the more we do this, the more we learn and can improve the calculator in the long term.

We put together online resources; we generate and record ideas which guide ongoing research into methodologies of calculating GHG emissions in agriculture; and we contribute to the development and testing of our software.

When we develop, and when we test – we’re looking to see if things are getting better – and since starting in April 2024 we’ve already seen some great improvements rolled out to the calculator. My role contributes toward this on an average day.

Starting the Day: Checking in with the users

The day kicks off with a review of support requests from users across the UK and farms around the world. Our users vary widely, from small family farms to large agricultural enterprises, and their technical needs are just as diverse. Questions cannot be predicted but range from understanding how to input specific data into the calculator to interpreting their carbon footprint results.

I love interacting with those farmers taking the important step of calculating a footprint. There are many reasons for doing this – and all are inspiring, so it is great to hear from those involved. By solving problems or helping guide users my small but crucial role builds our understanding of carbon data. 

Mid-Morning: Developing resources for sustainable agriculture

A big part of my role is creating and updating online resources that help users maximize the calculator’s potential. I’ll work on developing these resources – which you can view in our FAQ’s, downloadable resources, instructional videos, or during training sessions. 

We think many farmers work long hours and appreciate a well-organized, easy-to-navigate guide that helps self-starters make the most of the Calculator – we believe it should be possible to use the tool yourself and feel that satisfaction of having achieved something.

Afternoon: Finding a solution for businesses or environmental professionals

The afternoon usually involves working closely with our Calculator Manager and other team members to ensure the Farm Carbon Calculator continues to deliver for our professional and commercial users. 

We rely on the legion of professionals, organisations, and partners who pay to use our software through licences, our excellent API, or in other ways to reach ever more farmers. Their fees support the work we do in all senses and this is clear in all our approaches to commercial work.

Staying informed in this area is critical for our relevance as the opportunities for us to help those working in carbon management and agricultural sustainability are constantly evolving.

With Lizzy Parker, Calculator Manager, at FCT’s Annual Field Day 2024

Wrapping up: Reflecting on progress and user feedback

Toward the end of the day, I might be reviewing feedback from users on recent updates or features, and discussions from the morning. Positive feedback is always motivating, and constructive suggestions are tracked to help us improve.

Without farmers and others working hard on their footprints and their sustainability I either wouldn’t have a job, or wouldn’t have the inspiration to know what to do next. With that in mind – throughout the day you can reach me at the end of the phone or on email – so give me a call. 

If you are an agricultural professional or large organisation you may want to see the services available for you, book a demo with us, or let me know if you want to learn more. Everyone else using the tool – just get started, create an account, or get in touch. You can reach us Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on calculator@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk 

A Day in the Life of … Rachel Hucker, Operations Administrator

Posted on July 12, 2024 by - Insights, News

I’m the Operations Administrator at the Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT), a role which provides a range of administrative and operational support across the organisation. I also arrange our regular, in-person Away Days; organise, alongside our Advisory team, our Annual Field Day and I support additional FCT events throughout the year.

Every day is genuinely different, and I always open my laptop on a morning or check my phone not knowing quite what to expect from the day ahead (despite having made a clear plan and ‘to do’ list!). 

I could be attending internal or external meetings, either taking notes or contributing from an operations perspective. 

I may be updating posts and blogs on our website or creating newsletters. 

I might be booking accommodation, travel, event stands or buying tickets for us to attend key agricultural shows then answering phone calls and email enquiries from a wide range of people – from our existing farmer and sector partners to new growers or farmers seeking advice; from agronomists to journalists; from individuals interested in attending our events to prospective candidates for roles within FCT. I never quite know what I’m going to be asked about, which keeps me on my customer service toes! 

Alternatively, I could be getting deeply involved in event planning such as creating Eventbrite pages and blogs, liaising with caterers, sourcing portaloos, visiting host farms…

I also work closely with our Board of Directors, providing admin support for regular Board and various Director-led Meetings.

The joy of this role is that I get to work with all of my FCT colleagues and our Directors in one capacity or another, and I therefore get to know everyone individually. As we mostly work remotely, it’s lovely to have that contact with everyone and to really feel part of both the whole organisation and also of each individual team. 

The FCT team is one of the most friendly, approachable, kind and supportive group of people I have worked with – and also one of the most passionate and dynamic. Our in-person get-togethers are always really chatty, supportive and fun – and something I always look forward to!

Previously, I have worked as a foreign language tutor in Singapore after a Mod. Langs. degree at the University of Sheffield; I’ve been a multilingual Executive PA in the finance sector in the City of London; had a cheeky career break in the West Indies; supported the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter for 14 years as their Executive PA. I qualified as a Swedish Massage Therapist in 2017 and have a private practice as well as a part-time role in a Wellness Spa.

In late 2023, I finally acted upon a realisation that I wanted to learn more about the sustainability sector and to start doing something practical to help our environment and to nurture our natural resources. The Farm Carbon Toolkit was the perfect organisation to work for (in my view!), as our teams work directly with, support and advise farmers and growers as they experiment with new ways of working to achieve a more sustainable farming or growing model. I often feel like the new girl at school as I learn something almost every day from the passionate and overwhelmingly knowledgeable people I work with. I absolutely wouldn’t have it any other way! 

I love being a part, however small, of this sector and particularly of this team, as I feel we never lose sight of the bigger environmental picture while spending, literally, a lot of our time down in the weeds!

Soil Farmer of the Year 2023 – Farm Walk with Bronagh O’Kane

Posted on January 4, 2024 by - News, Soil Farmer of the Year

Written by Emma Adams on behalf of The Farm Carbon Toolkit

In a first for the Soil Farmer of the Year competition, in October 2023 our series of farm walks took place in Northern Ireland. A group of farmers, academics and industry professionals met at Drumard Farm, just outside Cookstown in County Tyrone, to hear from Bronagh O’Kane on how she is transforming her farming business with resilient soil at its heart.

Bronagh introducing the farm to the group

Having come back to the farm in 2020, Bronagh began a journey to transform the soil. Historically the farm supported continental cattle breeds with a high reliance on imported feed, Bronagh has transitioned this system to more traditional breeds managed on herbal leys and ever-increasing diversity grasslands. Utilising a rotational paddock system she has extended the grazing period so that cattle can be out by 4 weeks and soils are more resilient to the extremes of dry and wet weather. Bronagh has started producing vermicast and composting to improve soil biology; focusing on natural inputs and a softer approach with foliar fertilisers where needed to manage historically compact and imbalanced soils. The walk will provide the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate the practices undertaken at the farm and the ongoing challenges and successes that Bronagh sees in her system.

The beginning of the farm walk

At Drumard Farm, Bronagh was told she had poor soils and no doubt they are a challenge, with testing suggesting an average of 45% silt and 45% clay they are tight and sticky, with little aggregation or infiltration. As such, understanding what was needed for the soil to function better was a priority for Bronagh, with a great deal of research it was understood that the high magnesium, bacterially dominant soils were being held back by a mineral imbalance, compaction from big tractors and heavy cows. 

Inspecting the soil condition following the autumn rain

Changing the livestock system at the farm has been central to Bronagh’s evolving management. The cattle business has been streamlined, and as such the previous finishing and store systems have been stopped instead to focus on a suckler system with pedigree Charollais sheep. The sheep are high value stock, as Bronagh suggests there isn’t the acreage for a larger flock, instead, she buys in September before selling the ewes with lambs at foot in the spring and runs the rest of the flock throughout the year. This system works well as there is the housing space available over winter and also the sheep provide a good opportunity to clean up the last of the grass when it is too wet for the cattle to graze. Previously the farm also had Charolais cattle, but these have been restocked, reducing numbers from around 80 to 50 on a sucker system focussing on more native breeds such as Speckle Park, Shorthorn and Hereford crosses with an Angus Bull. Even with these changes, Bronagh found that those animals with a Limousin cross within the breeding still comparatively lost condition on the new system which is thought to be from underlying epigenetic traits. This has led Bronagh to source more local Shorthorn heifers which are better adapted to a grass-based system. 

Bronagh utilises plant diversity as an indicator of the status of the soil. The species that may dominate in a field or area can suggest what the underlying composition may be – chickweed for excess nitrogen, low calcium or high potassium or creeping buttercup thrives where there has been poaching, bare soil and a low pH. Like many farms, docks have historically been widespread at the farm, often indicating compaction and an anaerobic soil environment. Bronagh’s approach to dock management is to change what has historically not been working – sprays and topping – and instead let them grow and allow the dock beetle to get to work combined with a cut for silage around June. This understanding of what the plants are indicating has led Bronagh to stop spraying and minimising fertiliser use to zero, instead focusing on balancing the soil and improving the health of the biome. She explains:

“Biodiversity, long rest periods and grazing management can change soils – you’re not stuck with what you have”

Grassland management is central to how the business is now run. Bronagh has diversified existing grasslands into multi-species swards despite the testing conditions and low pH of the farm. On the walk, the group visited a newly established herbal ley that had been planted in a field that was pH 5.8.  

The newly established multi-species herbal ley

The 15-way mix contained species such as sainfoin, plantain and chicory and Bronagh has subsequently experimented with both cutting and grazing, which has led to discussions with contractors on cutting heights, timings and more to best maintain the sward. For Bronagh, managing these lays to allow the full diversity is important, with the understorey plants encouraged through the aforementioned considerations in combination with the paddock grazing system. Bronagh has experimented with the paddock grazing timings and methods, including grazing the cows on knee-high swards which resulted in moving them faster but increasing the size of the paddock as the cows were found to be trampling rather than eating following heavy rain. Bronagh suggests:

“The definition of overgrazing is letting them get that second bite – it is so important for my fragile, shallow roots to rest”

In addition to the home farm, Bronagh also has a 30ac National Trust tenancy on a zero-input system supporting both a rotational grazing and cutting platform. For Bronagh, having the right livestock that will thrive on a grass based system is key to success. As such, she puts the heifers on the poorest fields to determine which animals will be kept as some breeding is adapted better to the system than others. 

The walk also incorporated learning more about how Bronagh is using vermicast to provide nutrition and balance to her soils. Vermicast, or worm castings is made by using worms to compost organic amendments such as farmyard manure, food waste, wood chip etc to create a soil conditioning fertiliser.

Worm farm whereby organic materials are broken
down to create the vermicast

On the farm, vermicast is used to provide nutrients, stabilise pH and also as a coating on any new seed that is established. Bronagh applies her vermicast through a sprayer after making a ‘compost tea’. The vermicast is added to a porous ‘tea bag’ within an IBC filled with water which is then agitated and aerated using a bubbler to extract the nutrients and beneficial organisms which vermicast contains, the resulting liquid is then applied to land to stimulate soil biology and provide nutrients. Bronagh is aiming for a 1:1 ratio of fungi to bacteria which the vermicast and good soil management will help promote.

Bronagh explains the process of using vermicast
to make a compost tea

Regularly conducting Brix testing has allowed Bronagh to understand how to best apply the vermicast and the benefit it is having to her land, with fields which have had no fertiliser, slurry or inputs other than vermicast scoring 12, with Bronagh suggesting that every 1% increase in a Brix result can give a 0.5-0.75kg improvement in liveweight gain in the cattle. Any amendments which Bronagh applied to the land are designed with this goal in mind, alongside the cost and feasibility within her system. An example of this is that she has been experimenting with using egg shells to help aid the calcium balance and flocculate the soil; this can be spread with a conventional fertiliser spreader rather than other products which can have additional costs due to the price of both material and the contractor required to apply the product. 

Since 2015, the Soil Farmer of the Year Competition has helped to find, promote and champion UK farmers who are passionate about safeguarding their soils and building resilient businesses. As part of the competition, the top three farmers host farm walks that bring farmers together to share good practice and innovations that improve soil health. The 2024 round of the competition opens on 5th of December 2023, which is World Soils Day – if you are interested in finding out more, entering the competition or nominating someone who you think is deserving of this award further details can be found on the Farm Carbon Toolkit website or https://farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/soil-farmer-of-the-year/ 

The Fellfoot Forward Project: A Case Study

Posted on December 7, 2023 by - Insights, News

In December 2021, five farmers from the Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership participated in a carbon footprinting project in association with the Farm Carbon Toolkit. Based in proximity to the North Pennines AONB these five upland businesses demonstrated how livestock farming can work in conjunction with the wider landscape to produce quality food whilst providing environmental services such as water and air quality alongside carbon capture and storage. 

A carbon footprint, or carbon balance, is the measure of the total emissions and total sequestration associated with a particular business or product. For this project, the whole farm was measured to include all of the enterprises included within a farming business. When we discuss ‘carbon’ we are referring to ‘CO2e’ or ‘carbon dioxide equivalent’ which is a measure of the three main greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Different greenhouse gases have different dynamics within the atmosphere, consequently having higher or lower warming potentials and thus potency as a contributor to climate change. Therefore, ‘carbon’ as a term encapsulates all three of these gases under one metric so we can compare items such as fuel alongside the biological systems seen in livestock like for like.   

To produce a carbon footprint the farmers were asked to collect a variety of data associated with their business, including items such as fuel and water usage, livestock numbers and quantity of materials used for activities like silage wrapping or maintenance. Alongside these figures, it was also important to record the ‘natural capital’ of each farm holding – the resources found in the farmed environment which are managed as part of the business but provide wider ecosystem services and value – such as areas of woodland, length of hedgerows, soil organic matter and specific habitats such as floristically enhanced margins or wetlands. When all of these details had been recorded, the data was entered into the Farm Carbon Calculator to produce a carbon footprint detailing the balance of emissions and sequestration found at each farming business. 

For the farms included in the project action plans were created to highlight where emission savings can be made or sequestration opportunities maximised. All of the farms within the project were found to be likely to be able to reach a Net Zero, if not already in this position. A large factor on many farms to reach this target is proper accounting of carbon held within the soil as organic matter. For the Fellfoot Farmers who are in majority grassland systems, livestock can be utilised as a tool to increase organic matter in soils – either through grazing systems and the capture of sunlight to be stored as carbon, or through the return of manure to pasture for nutrient cycling. To fully account for the potential sequestration of carbon through the building of organic matter in soils regular testing should be conducted to measure and monitor the levels found in soils. If, like on many farms there has been no prior soil organic matter testing the best advice would be to select three or four key fields within the farmed area which are representative of the systems within the business. For example, if the farm was in a grass-based system, a field which is usually cut for silage, one only grazed and a traditional low-input or hay meadow would demonstrate potential underlying trends in organic matter across the landscape. Equally, if there is a range of soil types or diversity of land use on a single farm it would be perhaps useful to test fields representative of these features to better understand trends and consequently the best management approach to conserve existing carbon and build stocks in the future. As ever, when testing soils aim to minimise external variation by ensuring consistency in the laboratory used and the time of year when sampling.   

The project with the Fellfoot Forward farmers demonstrated the variety of approaches to upland livestock farming, from the number or type of stock to the management required to protect and enhance vulnerable habitats within their farmed area. Some of the farms included in the project had areas of peatland within their management, using cattle or sheep to maintain and conserve the landscape in association with government or local schemes to the benefit of the wildlife and ecology found there. Peatlands are a vast store of carbon and consequently, the condition of this landscape could greatly impact upon the land managers responsible for its status. More information is required to fully understand the dynamics of peat and how farmers can measure and monitor this landscape for not only carbon footprinting processes but also for generations to come. 

Carbon footprinting is a process that can be repeated on an annual basis, used as a monitoring tool for both the emissions and sequestration of a farming business but also to understand changes in management approach. There is a general underlying correlation between high carbon and high cost on many farms, with items such as fertiliser and blended livestock feed being both expensive and also a comparatively larger contributor of emissions. Therefore, conducting a carbon footprint not only has benefits towards understanding the environmental impact of a business but also can be used as a tool for resource optimisation and economic efficiency. 

Key findings

  • Conduct organic matter testing to understand the current carbon held within soils. Aim to repeat this testing every 3-5 years to understand whether your soils are sequestering (increasing in organic matter) or emitting (decreasing in organic matter) carbon. 
  • Account for things you are already doing such as hedge or tree planting that are under existing or future schemes.
  • Accept that you may not have all the data, aim to create a baseline from which you can repeat the process in future years and account for more information with more experience, time or understanding.
  • Identify ‘hotspots’ where emissions are highest. Except for cropping or livestock, are there particular items or categories which contribute a larger proportion of emissions than others, is there potential for reduction in these areas?

Carbon Farmer of the Year Farm Walk at Lockerley Estate, Hampshire – May 2024

Posted on June 6, 2024 by - Carbon Farmer of the Year, Insights

In May 2024, the Farm Carbon Toolkit were delighted to hold a farm walk at Lockerley Estate in Hampshire, home to one of the finalists from our 2023 competition. We would like to thank the Estate Manager Craig Livingstone and one of the owners Sarah Butler- Sloss for being so generous in hosting the farm walk.

Everyone who attended the farm walk heard from Craig and his team on how he has managed to make significant reductions in business greenhouse gas emissions, enhance the farmland biodiversity and enhance business performance.

Introduction

Craig Livingstone took on the role of farm manager at Lockerley Estate, owned by the Sainsbury family, 9 years ago with the challenge to improve biodiversity, sequester carbon, increase the health of the soil, and make a profit. To achieve this, a mission statement was devised with a list of objectives that really helps the whole estate team to work collaboratively to achieve the farm’s goals.

With just under 2,000 ha in Stockbridge, Hampshire, Craig farms Lockerley Estate and Preston Farms as one, which includes arable, grassland, woodland, a veg shed, and pockets of countryside stewardship schemes and SFI options. The farm is also part of a joint venture sheep and cattle enterprise, gaining benefits from grazing and muck which is integrated into the arable rotation. 

Over 9 years, Craig and his team have managed to vastly reduce emissions by transitioning to zero till and reducing artificial fertiliser and chemicals by broadening the rotation and integrating livestock. Specifically, Craig has saved 56,000 litres of red diesel annually and reduced pesticides and N-based fertilisers by 46% and 53% respectively. Soil organic matter has also increased by 1.1%.

Despite focusing on biodiversity, carbon and soils, Craig’s number one priority is profit – every hectare must pay for itself. Where he can, countryside stewardship schemes have been stacked with SFI options to increase profits. In some cases, the options available have encouraged Craig to adopt techniques that, for example, provide integrated pest management because the overall payment in combination with reduced pesticides is more than the potential loss in yield.

Currently, there has been a 17% change in land use, however the farm is still producing 9,000t food (approx. 4.5t/ha). So how has Craig managed to take the farm and reduce its emissions and increase soil organic matter?

Here are some of the highlights from the walk:

Arable

Using a broad and diverse rotation and choosing varieties that require fewer inputs, Craig has managed to halve the farm’s emissions due to vast reductions in fertiliser and pesticides. This in part has been achieved through implementing a mixture of winter and spring cropping interspersed with diverse mixes of cover and catch crops; legumes such as peas and beans; rotating grasses and legume fallow. The farm is also experimenting with clover understories and poly-cropping, prioritising diversity to build fertility and maintaining cover and living roots in the soil at all times.

The farm’s transition to no-till, aided by a zero-tillage seed drill, has also resulted in improved soil health and structure, increasing porosity and facilitating better water infiltration and enhanced soil biological activity through less disturbance. A multi-pronged approach to reducing fuels and fertiliser usage.

Encouraging diversity

As mentioned, the farm has taken advantage of environmental schemes such as winter bird feed (AB9), flower-rich margins and plots (AB8), and nectar flower mix (AB1) for multiple reasons. In short, to connect the woodland and encourage a host of wildlife, provide integrated pest management, and to make land more profitable.

Perhaps most interestingly, the team have implemented 6m assist strips of AB8 within a select few arable fields to encourage pollinators, beneficial insects, and predators. The initial cost of the seed is expensive; however, in this instance, the farm is not looking to reseed any time soon (especially within the duration of the agreement). That combined with savings on pesticides, they have found it far outweighs the cost of seed – it makes business sense. 

Craig has also looked critically at areas that are susceptible to weeds, difficult to graze, areas where the land lies wet, or where the shape of the field is awkward. Here, he has taken land out of production and implemented AB1 or other schemes to benefit wildlife and pocket.

Composting

A big project on the farm is taking cattle FYM and producing a superior product in solid compost and liquid extract using the Johnson-Su methodology. Agricultural soils tend to be bacterially dominated through repeated cultivations and chemical inputs but this process favours fungal communities which are excellent at cycling nutrients, disease suppression and soil aggregation. 

Good quality cattle muck is mixed with clover bales, straw, and woodchip, and through a series of steps breaks down into a fungally dominated compost. 

Once ready, a compost tea is created by placing a mesh bag full of compost into an IBC of water which is left to steep. This produces a highly nutritious and microbially active substrate which can easily be spread during drilling (rip and drip) and goes a lot further than the compost itself as well as reducing reliance on bagged fertiliser.

Veg Shed

Set up three years ago with a strong commitment to benefitting health, community, and the local environment. The veg shed is made up of 2 acres, 3 polytunnels, 40 laying hens and a fruit cage. The garden grows 50 different fruits and vegetables which it sells to local businesses on a wholesale basis but mostly through a local veg box delivery service.

Everything is grown from seed using heritage and heirloom varieties which have more diversity, and from testing, seem to have more nutritional value. They are also more resilient to a changing climate responding better to drought and high rainfall and requiring less inputs than other high yielding varieties.

The garden is designed as a polyculture and receives no artificial inputs, instead utilising compost from the farm and enlisting the help of dynamic accumulators to extract and release nutrients from the soil.

Wood pasture and Woodland

Linking SSSI woodland and calcareous grassland, the farm took advantage of the woodland pasture creation scheme and introduced longhorn cattle to graze instead of taking silage and hay. The aim is to create a large grazing area of species rich grassland and wood pasture that joins with 220ha of woodland improvement.

There is over 300ha of woodland at Lockerley Estate including a portion of semi-natural ancient woodland. The improved woodland is periodically thinned whilst retaining canopy cover to maintain diversity. Timber is harvested and removed with a percentage of profits returned to the estate.

The biggest outcome has been the flourishing biodiversity and wildlife. Diverse grassland is growing out from the hedges and wildflowers are starting to recover, blending into the woodland, and creating a mosaic landscape. Bird surveys see an increase in species year on year and botanical, butterfly and grasshopper surveys with fixed point photography are ongoing.

Hedgerows

Last but not least, Lockerley Estate takes great pride in its hedgerows, planting 12,000 hedgerow plants in the last year. Cutting regimes have also been lengthened to support all wildlife, from insects to birds to small mammals. This is made possible by replacing the hedge cutter with a saw blade to accommodate the thicker branches; the trimmings are then used for ramial woodchip in the composting process.

Summing up

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and an interesting insight into how Craig and the team manage to maintain a balance between a thriving farm both in terms of biodiversity and bottom line productivity. Craig has demonstrated that economic resilience can go hand in hand with reduced inputs and tillage without compromising on food production. Entries to this year’s Carbon Farmer of the Year competition close on the 14th June, so  if you believe you are reducing on farm greenhouse gas emissions do enter our competition here

Carbon Farmer of the Year Farm Walk at Durie Farms – November 2023

Posted on December 4, 2023 by - Carbon Farmer of the Year, News

The 21st November 2023 came in as a bright and sunny day, in stark contrast to the near constant rain which had fallen for the previous weeks.

The occasion was the farm walk for FCT’s Carbon Farmer of the Year Competition on the winner’s farm – Doug Christie of Durie Farms, Fife. Durie Farms is a mixed farm combining arable and cattle enterprises, organic and non-organic as well as woodland.

Liz Bowles (Left) CEO of Farm Carbon Toolkit welcoming people to the farm walk

Before we set out on the walk, Doug introduced his farm and explained some of the practices he has adopted which earned him the title of Carbon Farmer of the Year.

Fundamentals include the incorporation of conservation agriculture (minimum till cultivations and more complex arable rotations including peas and legumes within the rotation as standard) and the integration of extensively managed cattle within the whole farm. Central to this has been regular soil analysis with records going back to 2006. These records include soil organic matter which means that Doug is able to track soil carbon changes over time too. Unusually for the time, Doug also measured soil bulk density  which makes carbon stocks estimates more accurate. Alongside measuring soil carbon stocks, Doug also keeps enterprise fuel allocation records which has allowed him to have a much better understanding of hot spot areas. Through doing this he was able to identify the high fuel usage associated with housing cattle in the winter. This knowledge together with his adoption of holistic grazing practices has enabled him to keep cattle out longer,  with some groups of cattle e.g. in calf heifers now not being housed at all.

Our first stop on the farm walk was the large heap of brushwood next to the farm lane (a result of woodland management) and a question posed to the walkers as to how best to deal with this. Burning the pile would release a lot of carbon dioxide, but would that be less than chipping the pile and then burning it as a fuel? Or what about leaving it to break down naturally and possibly combine with farmyard manure and use as a soil amendment?  Now we are starting to look at these things through a number of lenses, these are the sort of questions farmers are increasingly grappling with.

The first field we entered was growing a cover crop, established in mid – late August after a cereal crop.

Doug Christie  (on the right, spade in hand) describing the cover crop

Doug now makes up his own cover crop mixes using farm saved seeds when possible. The cover crop had really motored on since early September and was providing pretty good canopy cover, in flower and up to waist height.  This cover crop will be holding nutrients in the soil, keeping living roots in place and improving soil structure through the varied rooting depths of the different plants in the cover crop.  Doug puts cover crops in place wherever possible and, for cereal harvesting, uses a stripper header leaving straw to rot down and provide food for earthworms. This was evident when inspecting a soil pit where the number of worms was high – worms everywhere. In fact this field which had been harvested with a stripper header, and had been undersown with a grass clover mix, with cattle having been mob grazed across it a few weeks earlier. The cattle had removed some of the straw and helped to break down the rest, and on the day of the farm walk it was clear that the grass clover sward was coming away nicely. Testament to the improving soil health at Durie Farms is the fact that Doug sold his subsoiler some years ago- surplus to requirements!

Doug shared with the group that he has not used insecticides since 2003 and is now working closely with the James Hutton Institute to carry out research on his farm. He has a fantastic site to investigate the impacts of this decision on insect life on the farm.

Arriving at the in calf heifers as we walked across the farm, it was clear they were wondering if it was time to make their move for the day. 

In calf heifers curious to know what we were talking about

Donald Christie, Doug’s son commented that since moving to holistic grazing and generally daily moves the cattle have become much more biddable, and in the move to outdoor wintering the challenge has been to make sure that this group do not carry too much weight as they approach calving. They receive no supplementary feeding when on grass.  One of the group commented that since adopting holistic grazing cattle health has improved and that the growth rate of outwintered animals surpassed that of housed cattle the following spring.

The group asked Doug what he is doing to reduce his reliance on artificial N fertilisers, one of the hot spots for arable farmers. Through improving soil health and bringing pulses and legumes into his cropping rotation Doug has reduced his reliance on granular urea by 30% since 2009. Yields have gone down but net margin is up. When choosing inputs such as fertiliser it is worth noting that different branded products, produced in different parts of the world, may have very different emissions factors. At Farm Carbon Toolkit, we offer Calculator users the ability to choose the product they have used so an accurate figure for emissions will be included.

The group also tackled the topic of cattle and methane, with an acknowledgement of how complex this topic is. The box below discusses the reasons for looking at a better mechanism for accounting for methane, one of the shortest lived greenhouse gases and one which is produced by ruminants as an intrinsic function of rumen function. 

What is becoming clearer is that how cattle are managed will have an impact on their overall impacts on our environment. Certainly Doug is minimising their negative impacts, through minimising their consumption of foods which could be eaten by humans directly, minimising their use of other sources of emissions such as fertiliser and fuel and making sure that their grazing activity has a positive impact on the soils they stand on and sequestering as much carbon as possible in their wake.

Accounting for methane: GWP* and GWP100
GWP (Global Warming Potential) is a measure of how much impact a gas will have on warming the atmosphere. The most common method to evaluate the effect of different greenhouse gases (GHGs) is by comparing them over a 100-year lifetime; this is known as GWP100. This is the internationally agreed metric chosen under the Paris Agreement and the primary tool for emission reduction targets globally. 

Using GWP, it’s possible to compare the impact of different GHGs by converting them to their carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) value. The latest research suggests that using GWP100, biogenic methane emissions are 27 times more powerful than CO2; and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are 273 times more powerful. However, unlike CO2 and N2O gases that last for hundreds of years in the atmosphere, methane only lasts for an average of 12 years after which most of it is broken down. This means that using GWP100, the impacts of methane could be considered overestimated in the long-term, and underestimated in the short term. 

In an aim to better account for methane, in 2016, a team of researchers proposed a new metric, known as GWP* that works over a 20 year period. Over a 20 year period, emitting a tonne of methane today has 80 times more temperature impact than carbon dioxide. However, the new metric is also designed to reflect the warming impact of ongoing emissions of methane in relation to the current levels of that gas in the atmosphere. The theory is that, over time, ongoing emissions are not adding warming to the atmosphere, but merely replacing old emissions that have degraded. Essentially, GWP* focuses on changes in emissions rather than absolute emissions. This accounting approach has been gathering support within UK agriculture sector, however it does also face some criticism (example).

As we turned for home, and the beckoning hot drinks and cakes, conversation turned to reducing the negative impacts of growing potatoes and the potential for woodland to sequester carbon into trees. On the topic of reducing the harms associated with growing potatoes there is a clear role for keeping living roots in the soil for as much of the year as possible, but to date no alternative has been found to the punishing soil management routine required to grow potatoes, although research is underway.

Liz explaining to the group how woodland is accounted for in the Farm Carbon Calculator

Doug has 50ha of woodland across the farm, with different areas having been in place from 10 -240 years. As his summary carbon footprint report shows, the woodland at Durie Farms alongside soil carbon sequestration offset the business GHG emissions last year. Of the total sequestration, woodland contributed around 50%. It is worth noting that the carbon sequestration associated with woodland depends on the growth rate of the tree. The Woodland Carbon Code has developed “look up tables” for this which the Farm Carbon Calculator  has incorporated into the sequestration area of the Calculator. For users, providing accurate information on the age of the trees as well as their varieties will enable a more accurate assessment of the scale of sequestration to be given. A rule of thumb is that most trees sequester only small amounts of carbon for the first decade or so of life. From the age of around 15 – 30 years carbon sequestration is at its maximum. After that age growth tends to slow down and with it carbon sequestration.

Doug is continually trying new ideas, with pasture cropping a new initiative he has ‘frustratingly’ tried this year. Doug’s long term membership of BASE UK  has supported him in his quest for adopting new and more sustainable farming practices. A quick look at the BASE UK website revealed a number  of fascinating events coming up in the next month including this one:

14/12/23 BASE-UK Member Nick Wall will present his review of the study tour recently taken by 15 members to visit Frederic Thomas and other BASE France members in November 2023 – it wasn’t all good food and drink – there was some learning involved! 

Back in the cattle yard (not in use yet) we finished with a round up of questions, answers and general discussion.

Thank you to our hosts, the Christie Family, for a memorable farm walk and great hospitality.

A day in the life of… Sam Smith – General Manager

Posted on September 16, 2023 by - Insights

I’m the General Manager at the Farm Carbon Toolkit (FCT), a role that oversees our operations. This includes finances, human resources, and communications – and working to make sure we have good systems and processes in place so that people have what they need to succeed in their work. 

As much as I can, I also support the development of our strategy and new projects – managing some existing ones too, related to our Farm Carbon Calculator.

On the side, I am completing a Nuffield Farming Scholarship which I was so grateful to receive in 2020, the year Covid turned our lives upside down. That year, my wife and I also moved to Edinburgh and had a baby daughter, which has been the most joyful, life-changing experience. Although it hasn’t been particularly compatible with doing a travel scholarship, somehow, last week, I finished the Executive Summary (here if you are interested) and I’m now getting ready to present at the annual Nuffield conference in November. 

I’m feeling nervous about this presentation, especially as I’m not a farmer and my operations-heavy role in recent years has left me feeling a bit disconnected from the trends. Yet, I can only do my best. In August, I had some incredible travels in the USA and last Summer, across Europe – engaging with many brilliant farmers and food businesses. I’m very grateful for the support and flexibility from colleagues as I have undertaken this. 

I fell into this role slightly by accident. My past roles have mostly not been operational, but I developed some of these skills when managing Sutton Community Farm, a small community business on the edges of London. After this role, feeling curious about the bigger food system, I worked at Forum for the Future, engaging with various major food brands and retailers. FCT is a happy medium, a challenging role that combines various skills and experiences from the past, with a passion for sustainable farming, within an organisation that’s hands-on and practical in their approach. I love our purpose, values and approach. But most of all, I’m in awe of my colleagues’ knowledge and experience in sustainable farming. I learn so much from being around them and it’s my wish to be able to join them out in the field more. 

Photos from recent travels in the USA. Above: Hickory Nut Gap Farm in North Carolina. Top image: Sam volunteering at Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York.

I relentlessly think about how we can improve our workplace so that people have what they need and don’t get bogged down in bad or frustrating systems. I’m keen that we also cultivate healthy working practices and live up to our shared values. This can be more challenging as a remote organisation, requiring extra effort to keep in touch and care for each other. 

It’s been quite an adventure these last few years. We’re growing steadily and working to expand our systems to fit this growth. Even though FCT is over 10 years old, it wasn’t until the end of 2020 when things started to really take off. When I started in August 2020, our only other staff member was Becky Willson on secondment from Duchy College, alongside much voluntary effort from Directors. Today, we have 14 staff with 3 more about to start. I’m so proud of this journey and feel very excited to see where things go from here. 

Read more about Sam and the rest of the team here.

Risky Crops

Posted on September 15, 2023 by - Insights

Certain crops (potatoes, sugar beet, maize, field vegetables) within a wider arable rotation pose increased risk of soil loss or degradation. Often described as ‘risky’ these crops may require additional management to ensure that field conditions are favourable and that there is no long-term disruption to soil functionality or structure. 

Aside from the impact upon soil, ‘risky crops’ are often those which have a potentially higher financial burden through the obstacles of production. Rising input costs, labour shortages and ever increasing inflation presents additional challenges to high-risk, high-reward crops. These two elements (soil management and economics) are additionally impacted through the changing climate with record temperatures and rainfall events.

Root crops, maize and field vegetables are often at high risk for soil degradation. The likely drastic requirements for cultivation during seedbed preparation is a vast source of emissions through direct carbon losses from soil alongside the burning of fossil fuels from machinery. Cultivating soils and the subsequent disturbance allows for greater oxidation of the soil profile, therefore promoting the fast metabolism of aerobic species of microorganisms which utilise the ‘active’ pool of soil organic matter for respiration, consequently releasing CO2 as a by-product. Furthermore, cultivation of soil which reduces the stability of the soil structure can also be at risk of direct losses of carbon bound to soil aggregates through processes such as erosion either through wind-blow, run-off or direct soil loss.  Therefore, depending upon a number of factors such as previous cropping, soil type, intensity of cultivation and moisture content, cultivated soil will lose soil organic matter at differing rates. Where land is under continual cultivation, as is much of UK arable land, reducing the frequency, depth and intensity of cultivations will reduce this soil carbon loss alongside providing alternative carbon sources as feedstock for microorganisms when cultivation is required. 

Changing the crop establishment system to reduce the frequency and intensity of cultivations will provide an immediate reduction in farm greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing organic carbon within the soil requires the building of soil organic matter through methods such as diversifying crop rotation, reducing tillage (frequency and depth) and utilising cover cropping to maintain a living root. 

Long-term rotational planning can increase the resilience of soil, using previous and subsequent cropping and management choices to minimise the impact of risky crops. To reduce the ‘risk’ of risky crops soil protection is central. Ensuring that soils are covered throughout the rotation and contain a living root for as high proportion as possible helps guard the soil from physical degradation from climatic events. Therefore, consider growing a cover crop before spring planting to scavenge nutrients over the winter period and condition soils, alongside aiming to re-plant a cover as soon as the risky crop is harvested to avoid long over-winter periods of soil erosion. Maximising the inherent soil structure and functionality throughout the rotation creates a more resilient baseline where the stresses of high cultivation, inputs and exposure to the elements occurs in high risk crops.

In grassland systems herbal leys, diverse swards and a rotational or mob grazing platform provides an excellent starting point for soils before a high-risk crop or to repair potential damage. Likewise a diverse arable rotation which incorporates cover, inter, companion or catch-cropping to protect the soil surface and provide additional rooting architecture will be a huge benefit; tired land, used to high input use, heavy cultivation and monoculture systems will be less resilient to stress (environmental, mechanical etc) than a healthy vibrant soil. 

A healthy soil is likely to provide better economic returns – with processes such as fertility, water infiltration, gas exchange, rooting capacity and nutrient availability all benefited by a well structured, high quality soil. Soil organic matter can often indicate the health of a functional mineral soil, with the higher the percentage content normally suggesting the best quality. Understanding how soil organic matter can be lost during high risk cropping processes (discussed earlier) can help to mitigate and safeguard it within the rotation. Losing soil organic matter continuously depletes the soil fertility and consequently the likely economic potential of that land. 

This blog was written by Emma Adams, one of our Farm Carbon and Soils Advisors, to read about our team head here.

More information:

For further information on species selection of cover crops and the results of the Farm Net Zero trails please see the resources below:

Farming Focus podcast – Becky Willson and Mike Roberts

Posted on August 29, 2023 by - Farm Net Zero, News

Our very own Becky Willson features on the Cornish Mutual podcast Farming Focus.

‘Farming Focus’ – the new farming podcast for Cornish Mutual Members and the wider farming community was recently launched.

Farming Focus aims to bring its listeners the latest on what really matters to farmers. Featuring industry experts and farming professionals, it expects to kickstart conversations across the South West and give farmers the knowledge and solutions to face today’s demands in agriculture.

The first 10-episode series of the fortnightly podcast will focus on resilience with host and Cornish Farmer Peter Green chatting to guests about how South West farming businesses can be resilient for the future. They’ll explore everything from soil to rural crime, policy to future markets and farm safety to animal disease. 

Becky Willson features in episode 6 – How can South West farmers reduce emissions and be more climate resilient?

Continuing their series on resilience, this episode looks at climate resilience. Becky explains why farmers are in the unique position of being able to reduce emissions while increasing carbon capture with Wadebridge farmer Mike Roberts explaining the gains he’s seeing from the changes he’s made. Mike Roberts is one of the Farm Net Zero demo farmers, find out more here.

Mike went from using over three artic loads of fertiliser a year to none in his pursuit of climate resilience. Hear how he’s done it in Episode 6 where he discusses the practical ways farmers can ‘stack up the gains’ to achieve resilience and balance.

To listen:

You can listen to all episodes here