The study, published in Environmental Research, assessed the environmental impact of a pasture-based beef system using a wide range of factors, metrics, assessments and scenarios, including GWP* (Global Warming Potential), which accounts for the faster breakdown of methane over time.

The research supports the long-standing view that current Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) used to assess the environmental impact of foods are far too simplistic and fail to acknowledge distinct nuances within agricultural systems.

Current LCAs convert the impact of different greenhouse gases (GHGs) into CO₂ equivalents using the internationally agreed GWP100 (Global Warming Potential over 100 years), established at the 2015 Paris Agreement, of which the UK is legally bound.

Meanwhile, GWP*, which was developed and first made public in 2018 by scientists at the University of Oxford, is an alternative way of calculating the warming effect of methane, a GHG which is short-lived, dispersing in the atmosphere after 12 years, unlike CO₂ that has a half-life of 1,000 years.

AHDB’s Livestock Science and Environment director, Chris Gooderham, commented: “AHDB welcomes this acknowledgement of GWP* from the scientific community, and as an evidence-based organisation, we support emerging scientific debate and discussion to ensure the accurate measurement of our industry’s impact on the climate.

“Early analysis by our experts suggests that when applying the more accurate GWP*, the warming impact of methane emitted by UK livestock could be much less than currently reported, casting serious doubt on the current narrative that UK livestock are causing global warming.”

The development of GWP* has gained extensive academic interest, including from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which announced its intention to review the work in 2021, acknowledging that the current methodology in accounting for methane is incorrect.

This most recent study provides significant evidence supporting the adoption of GWP*, as it appears to better reflect the actual warming impact of methane on the climate, which could have a significant impact on future recommendations to policymakers and consumers.

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The study, published this week (13^th September) in Preventative Veterinary Medicine, explored how farmer behaviour in relation to vaccine uptake or other preventative measures impacts how effective responses are to livestock disease outbreaks, such as foot-and-mouth, bovine TB and BVD.

The research team interviewed 60 cattle farmers from around the UK, investigating farmers’ vaccination decisions in a fast-spreading epidemic, and concluded that behavioural differences should be taken into account when contingency planning or developing policy for future outbreaks.

In the study, prompt vaccination uptake was associated with high trust in the Government plans for disease control and having enough time and money to control the disease. This information was then incorporated into a mathematical model for the whole of the UK to reveal how having knowledge of farmer behaviour may impact disease outbreak predictions.

Through simulations and computer modelling, the researchers uncovered how ignoring the diversity in individual farmers’ disease management plans for livestock infections can hinder assessments of the likely national outcomes.

Therefore, the behavioural insight highlighted in this research could be extremely helpful in planning and administering national disease control strategies, enabling policymakers to determine the scale and cost of future livestock disease outbreaks more accurately.

Dr Naomi Prosser from the University of Nottingham, who co-authored the study, said: “Understanding the specific factors associated with different behavioural responses of farmers to disease outbreaks will allow improved design of disease control strategies by taking these factors and the expected behavioural differences into account.”

Co-author, Dr Ed Hill, from the Warwick Mathematics Institute, added: “These data allow differences in farmer disease-management behaviours to be included into models of livestock disease transmission, which can help to inform veterinary health decision making.”

“More work is now needed to understand how farmer’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs – and therefore their likely behaviour – will change over time,” Dr Hill continued. “We are also interested in understanding how behaviours are influenced by policy, advice and the actions of neighbouring farmers.”

The research, published in Preventative Veterinary Medicine, was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

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Emerging research by by UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science has shown multispecies swards can produce up to 25% more forage for livestock. Photo credit: Dr. Shona Baker

The study, which has been ongoing since 2019, is being conducted at UCD’s Lyons Farm on the Dublin-Kildare border under the supervision of Professor Tommy Boland, who is also president of the Agricultural Science Association (ASA).

Findings so far have revealed that animals grazed on multispecies pastures reach their target slaughter weight five to six weeks earlier than their counterparts grazing perennial ryegrass monoculture, resulting in 15% lower carbon footprint per kg of beef produced.

While the figures may seem startling at first, Professor Boland said results have been highly consistent across the three groups of cattle taken to slaughter in the duration of the study work.

When compared to typical swards sown on most Irish dairy and beef farms, multispecies swards were also found to be much more effective at feeding livestock, with some mixtures producing up to 25% more forage while requiring 60% less nitrogen fertiliser.

If applied to a typical 100-acre farm, this means farmers could grow an additional 100 tonnes of dry matter feed while spreading 4600kg less nitrogen over the course of a single production year, equating to substantial savings on input costs.

In fact, when taking into account the reduced need for concentrate feed during the finishing phase, the net margin per ha was almost 70% higher in the multispecies system compared to the perennial ryegrass system. This suggests farmers can maintain or increase their output levels, while reducing the environmental impact of livestock and increasing profitability.

While the work to date has focused on beef systems, similar findings have been recorded under dairy and sheep management.

“The research into multispecies swards is still in its infancy relative to some of our other sward types, but consistent positive findings show the potential it holds,” Professor Boland said.

“I am confident that when we grow multispecies swards and feed them to beef cattle and sheep, we improve animal performance, and we grow that feed from substantially lower levels of fertiliser inputs and as a result increase farm profitability.”

Professor Tommy Boland

Benefits and limitations

Multispecies swards contain a range of different plant species which have been selected to fulfil various roles or niches within the sward. The study at UCD’s Lyons Farm has focused on investigating three different sward types, which have been selected for various reasons.

“We have a monoculture ryegrass sward, reseeding 205kg of N fertiliser/ha/yr, we have a ryegrass and white clover sward, reseeding 90 kg of N fertiliser/ha/yr, and then our multispecies sward is a six-species sward that contains two grasses (premier ryegrass and timothy), two legumes (red and white clover), and two herbs (chicory and plantain),” Professor Boland explained.

“We have tried a number of different mixtures over the years, and it’s that six-species mixture which has provided us with the best results of the ones we have tried so far,” he added.

Currently, the swards are being direct drilled on study fields every two years, a strategy that has worked well for the climate and soil type of Lyons Farm, Professor Boland said.

A major benefit derived from the inclusion of legumes in the sward is increased nitrogen availability in the soil, as these plants have the ability to capture atmospheric nitrogen and offset the need for artificial fertilisers.

Cattle has performed better and reached finishing weight sooner when grazed on the multispecies sward. Photo credit Fionnuala Godwin

Additional benefits recorded on the multispecies swards include enhanced earthworm diversity and activity, increased water infiltration rates and enhanced invertebrate diversity. Swards containing multiple species were also more persistent under drought conditions and maintained growth for longer compared to monoculture swards.

“One big challenge with the multispecies sward is you have no herbicide option for weed control, so if you get a bad outbreak of weeds which has happened to some farmers around the country, then you have no herbicide option,” Professor Boland pointed out.

However, once the sward is well established, the infiltration of weeds was found to be much lower compared to a monoculture sward, likely because more species mean more competition for certain weeds, making for a more resilient system.

“There are many additional benefits and while we need to continue research into this area, the future direction must also include plans to support farmers who want to use these swards,” the professor said.

“Another tool in the toolbox for farmers”

While the approach is not going to be suitable for every farm, and research needs to continue to test these mixtures in different soil types and under different management and weather conditions, it does address many of the challenges facing modern agriculture.

“Farmers are very engaged with this new research and are very interested in seeing the benefits it can have for their farm,” Professor Boland said.

However, he added it will take some time for this new approach to flow through the system, as only around 7% of the grassland area in Ireland is reseeded annually, and the area currently under multispecies swards is quite small, although increasing at a steady rate.

The professor went on to highlight the vital importance of communicating research to farming groups and industry stakeholders to increase confidence in new approaches and the benefits these offer farm businesses.

“Farmers, when they’re investing in this, it has a business impact, but also, they need to be provided with the right management guidelines on how to establish and manage these swards,” he added.

The findings of the research will be presented at the annual Agricultural Science Association conference, taking place on 7^th September, with delegates attending from across the Irish agri-food industry, from policymakers to processors to primary producers.

“Ultimately, farmers are the bedrock and the building blocks of our agri-food industry, and really of society in general, and we at the Agricultural Science Association have been very conscious of including farmers in these conversations,” Professor Boland concluded.

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The project will also look at the possibility of displacing chickpea imports through domestic production, as the UK currently imports 60,000 tonnes of chickpeas a year for products such as stand-alone tins, pouches of cooked produce and packets of dried pulses, alongside use as ingredient in ready meals and bakery products.

The study, titled ‘Cicero – developing chickpea as a novel source of domestic UK protein’, has been awarded £500,000 in funding by Defra under the ‘Farming Futures R&D Fund: Sustainable farm-based protein’ competition, part of the Farming Innovation Programme managed by Innovate UK.

As a nitrogen-fixing legume, chickpea has the potential to reduce on-farm fertiliser use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with fertiliser production and application.

Moreover, current domestic legume production is primarily restricted to field beans and combinable peas, with a large proportion of these crops destined for animal feed. In contrast, chickpea is a commonly used food item but is rarely grown in the UK, largely due to a lack of varieties suitable for our climate and insufficient knowledge of the crop.

Project lead and NIAB’s Head of Breeding Dr Phil Howell explains the study will take a multi-faceted approach. Variety trials and agronomy testing will be carried out by NIAB and specialist seed company Premium Crops, ranging from small plots up to field-scale evaluation.

Whereas, end-use quality assessments will be undertaken by Norfolk-based grower Place UK, who has successfully grown chickpea crops to sell through its vertically-integrated food ingredients business.

“Whilst the two-year project timescale prohibits a full breeding cycle, new populations will be advanced rapidly through the glasshouse, with selections ready for their first field evaluation by spring 2025,” Dr Howell said.

“NIAB has already assembled a diverse collection of chickpea material, which will be evaluated in field nurseries over the project duration. These will be complemented by a unique population of novel induced variants developed together with biotechnology start-up Viridian Seeds.

“These new sources of diversity will all feed into a second cycle of new crosses to kickstart the development of UK-adapted material,” Dr Howell added.

He went on to point out that chickpeas represent the challenges the UK legume sector is facing, with manufacturers relying on imports to meet increasing demands of plant-based foods.

Although chickpeas can be grown in the UK, crop yield and quality have so far been inconsistent as current varieties are not well-adapted to commercial production.

“Ultimately, we need better varieties bred specifically for UK conditions, but we also need to improve our agronomy know-how to get the most out of varieties – now and in the future,” Dr Howell concluded.

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In the study, nearly three in five consumers whose household finances have worsened as a result of the crisis indicated they are going to spend less on eating out. However, despite financial constraints, shoppers are still looking to treat themselves, with 55% agreeing they would be willing to pay extra for better quality meat.

This is known as the ‘Lipstick Effect’, the theory that when faced with an economic crisis, consumers will be more willing to buy affordable treats and indulge in guilty pleasures, albeit less often.

Kim Heath, AHDB senior retail insight manager, said: “When treating OOH [out of home], we know consumers favour meat-based dishes such as lamb, steaks, and burgers, and what is evident in recent demand data is that some of these areas are actually seeing some positive trade up within retail, bucking the overall grocery and total meat, fish and poultry (MFP) trend.”

Within beef, steaks overall are seeing volume declines of -7.3%, driven by all steak cuts. However, a deeper delve into the data reveals that among the cheapest steak cut, rump (average price of £15.40 per kg versus total steaks at £16.37 per kg), the premium tier has grown by 0.2%, stealing 0.5% share of the rump category.

Moreover, some shoppers who have in the past purchased standard sirloin steaks and premium fillet steaks, both at higher cost, are now buying premium rump steaks instead. Therefore, among some consumers, buying premium steak cuts at the lower end of the price range are a way to save money while staying in the category.

Within pork, premium tier growth is seen in several areas, specifically shoulder roasting, chops, belly, and mince. Premium pork cuts may therefore offer an opportunity for those who feel the need to trade down protein to save money but still want to deliver a treaty meal opportunity.

Within beef, pork and lamb, a positive trend is seen for premium added-value offerings. In the sous vide category, the premium beef tier has seen volume growth of 17.9%, with pork up by 63.7% and lamb by 12.0%.

Meanwhile, a lamb premium tier growth of 37.4% is also seen for marinades, stealing just over 7% volume share of the lamb marinade category.

Ms Heath added: “While current financial difficulties favour the lower priced tiers, the ‘Lipstick Effect’ still provides opportunities for treating meals. Capitalising on these occasions is vital, with treaty red meat meal inspiration and reassurance around premium quality meat at point of purchase.”

The full research can be found here.

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Cultured meat, also known as cultivated, cell-based, or lab-grown meat, is a type of meat substitute which has attracted interest from investors because of its potential to have the same taste and texture as conventional meat, and thereby appeal to meat eaters.

Whether lab-grown meat will reach consumers or not is still being debated in most countries around the world. The product has been cleared for human consumption in the US, while the government in Italy has proposed to ban it from supermarket shelves.

As part of a UKRI-funded project, a team of farmers, researchers, and start-ups has identified the types of farm which are most likely to be affected by the technology and are now looking for farmers who might be interested in playing a funded role in helping to identify the winners and losers.

The two-year study, titled Cultured Meat & Farmers, aims to gather evidence on what farmers really think of cultured meat and how it could affect UK farm businesses. The findings from the study will then be used to advise policy makers when it comes to future legislation.

Professor Tom MacMillan, Elizabeth Creak chair in Rural Policy & Strategy at the RAU, said it is critical the impact on UK agriculture is considered when making decisions around cultured meat in the UK.

“Right now, we just don’t know who will be affected or how. This project intends to map out who the winners and the losers might be and gives farmers an opportunity to have their voice heard in the debate.”

The team involved in the project has already held focus group sessions with famers across the UK, where concerns were raised not only about how the technology could displace livestock farming, with the risk that carcase imbalances could amplify this effect, but also about its wider effects on nutrition, health, and corporate power in the food industry.

Possible opportunities were also discussed, ranging from strengthening the proposition for grass-fed meat, to supplying high-value inputs or even the possibility of producing cultured meat on-farm.

Part of the project team is Cellular Agriculture CEO Illtud Dunsford, who is interested in establishing a cultured meat business on his own farm. He believes there are benefits to be had by farmers from producing cultured meat should the product be approved for consumption in the UK.

He said: “Cultured meat presents opportunities that many farmers might not be aware of, growing it requires a starting population of cells and feedstocks to produce scaffold and the nutrient rich media to feed the cells, all of which could potentially be sourced from farms.”

The next phase of the project will involve working with farmers who are most likely to be affected by the new technology. Dr Lisa Morgans, Senior Lecturer in Animal Health & Welfare at the RAU, encouraged producers to take part.

“Any farmers who partner with us will be recompensed for their time and the findings could provide valuable business insights that could help them adapt or innovate in response to this and other emerging issues,” she said.

Those interested in taking part in the project can email Dr Morgans at Lisa.Morgans@rau.ac.uk for more information.

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Funded by Defra’s climate service on food, farming and the natural environment, the aim of the research was to highlight low-cost, high-impact measures that can be easily implemented by farmers to prepare for future drought and extreme heat while strengthening the UK’s food security.

The findings of the research will also be considered by the government as it improves the resilience of the agricultural sector within the National Adaptation Programme.

ADAS Climate and Sustainability director Charles Ffoulkes said: “The work builds on ADAS research in 2008, which identified 124 adaptation options to build resilience across a range of climate hazards, including hot and cold events, droughts, floods and storms, across a range of agricultural sectors.

“This new research in partnership with the Met Office examines adaptation within the context of drought and water scarcity, extreme heat and heat stress and wildfires.

“In this study, we have highlighted adaptation measures that have a high impact, are easy to implement and come at only a low or moderate upfront cost – the ‘quick wins’ to help agriculture adapt to our changing climate.”

The actions put forward by ADAS are based on its review of recent scientific literature and assessment of the impacts of higher temperatures and reduced rainfall on food production. The list of adaptation measures was then scored against cost, impact and ease of implementation criteria to prioritise those that could be easily taken up by the farming community.

Short-term actions identified by the research include avoiding harvesting during the hottest parts of the day to reduce the risk of harvester fires, sheltering livestock indoors to avoid heat stress and transporting animals at night when temperatures are cooler.

Whereas, longer-term opportunities included moving to deeper rooting forage species to maintain grazing, changing crop varieties or livestock breeds to those with increased resilience, and investing in better ventilation systems within horticultural and livestock buildings.

“These results could be used to create clear messaging that helps farming by highlighting the adaptation measures available to overcome the impacts of climate change,” Mr Ffoulkes said. “This needs to initially focus on those that are easy to implement, how low the costs are and how high the impact can be.”

Tom Crocker, science manager of the Met Office Climate Security team, said the findings provide valuable insights to Defra policy makers and offer practical solutions for government, industry and farm businesses.

“This can be used to inform decisions that support agricultural policy. Adapting to the impacts of more frequent extreme heat and drought during the summer months is vital for the livelihoods of farmers and for the country’s ability to produce food,” he concluded.

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Lesley Nicholas, owner of Girt Down Farm in Devon.

Although 80% of farm holders are men, agritourism and the outdoor accommodation sector appears to offer equal opportunities for both men and women. Dr Maura Farrell, leading researcher of a recent study in Ireland, believes women have played a key role in driving growth in the agrotiurism sector.

“Women are willing to go beyond the tradition and engage in diversification, giving rise to this idea of a progressive feminism within agriculture for women,” she remarked.

With farmers facing reductions in subsidies, increasing costs and unpredictable weather throughout the year, agritourism is becoming a popular form of diversification on farms.

According to new data from UK-based holiday booking website Pitchup.com, women own more than half of the campsites listed on the platform, which is among the highest figures across Europe. Women make up just 26% of campsite owners on the site in Germany, 28% in Spain, 36% in Italy and 41% in France.

Brodie Farrow, brand marketing manager at Pitchup, commented: “The feedback we’ve heard from site owners in the UK is that our sector provides enjoyable and often lucrative careers for women, so we’re glad to see that the results reflect this.

“In fact, our top earning campsite so far this year is owned by a woman, with sales topping £160,000. Pitchup itself is made up of 60% women, many in senior leadership roles, which we are very proud of.”

Harriet Cunningham, owner of Benville Manor Camping, pictured with her daughter.

One such woman taking the lead in campsite ownership is Harriet Cunningham, owner of Benville Manor Camping, which she runs with her daughter. The diversification project started during Covid when people couldn’t holiday abroad, leading to the family turning a wildflower meadow into the perfect camping site.

“Everyone got involved – it was a multi-generational family project,” Ms Cunningham recalled.

“It was extraordinary really how many people turned up unprepared. A lot of young families came from Bristol for their first ever camping trip, in order to escape the city. In the beginning we lent out a lot of wellies, jumpers and extra pairs of socks! Once people got the hang of it, it was lovely to see how everyone embraced being out in the wild.

“I think it’s a great industry to work in as a woman. It’s not easy – you have to clean a lot of toilets and clear up a lot of rubbish – but it’s very sociable and so rewarding seeing how much people enjoy the experience you’ve created,” she added.

Lesley Nicholas, owner of Girt Down Farm in Devon, also turned to camping as a way to create an additional income stream during the pandemic.

“I first came across Pitchup in the summer of 2020. With the pandemic meaning no one could go abroad, I knew there were problems getting accommodation locally. Always looking for ways to diversify, I thought a campsite could work for us.

“I decided to fill in an application, having told my husband I was doing so (who wasn’t too keen on losing a farming field!). After adding some pictures, I was advised that it would be live on the website by tea time.”

Having no expectations going into the project, Ms Nicholas was surprised by the response she got from Pitchup.com users.

“I thought I would be lucky to get 5 or 6 bookings a week, little did I know by the time I went to bed that evening I had 30 bookings with the first arriving in the morning!

“We have been open for 3 summers now and have enjoyed it immensely.”

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Group 3 winter wheat Bamford outyielded LG Astronomer, despite early N sampling tests recording the Astronomer crop as containing a higher amount of N.

Independent seed breeder Elsoms Seeds, in collaboration with German seed breeder Saaten Union, launched a series of trials in 2020 looking at N efficiency in all their candidate varieties and near market lines, Elsoms technical manager George Goodwin confirmed.

“Elsom’s company ambition is ‘Grow more from less’ and the best way to achieve that is to observe how varieties react to Nitrogen in response to differing timings and volumes,” he said.

According to Mr Goodwin, the trials aimed to identify how far N inputs could be reduced without having a drastic effect on yield or quality. Other than determining which varieties are the most N efficient, the findings also revealed the reasons for this increased efficiency, enabling the team to isolate specific genetic traits for future cross breeding.

“The key benefit to our growers is that we can then offer them specific husbandry advice when the variety becomes commercialised, saving them money on the cost of N and potentially time, if we can reduce the number of N applications from 3 to 2 on certain varieties,” he added.

Having run the trials across two sites over the last three years, Saaten Union UK cereal product manager Andrew Creasy believes the data set will enable arable farmers to increase crop productivity while reducing artificial inputs.

“Over the last 3 years, we’ve annually assessed 10 different winter wheat varieties including 3 controls, across 4 different Nitrogen regimes. The rates we looked at were zero N, 85kg of N – early applied, 150kg of N applied in 2 splits, and finally 200kg of N applied in 3 splits of 50, 100 and then 50kg.

“Trials were replicated twice each year, on heavy soils at our Cowlinge trial site, and then on lighter soils at our site near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk to give us the widest performance comparison across different soil types,” he added.

While the research is still ongoing, Mr Creasy revealed several important discoveries that have already been made.

“One significant result is that of the varieties we’ve trialled, many with French and German parentage, have yielded better when 150kg of N is applied early in the season in 2 splits, than under the longer 3-phase approach of applying 200kg of N.

“Given the recent predominance of dry spring and summer weather it’s clear that much of the late applied N is not getting into the plants due to a lack of soil moisture. However, there’s also enough evidence in the data to suggest that the varieties with German and French parentage perform much better when N is front loaded, regardless of weather conditions – given that not every year has been consistently dry between 2020 and 2022.

“The 2021 N efficiency trials also gave us a revealing insight into optimising yields from the Group 2 milling wheat Mayflower. When 85kg of N was applied early, Mayflower outyielded competitor variety KWS Extase and when both varieties received 150kg of N, applied early across 2 splits, there was no difference in yield between the 2 varieties,” he explained.

Alongside Mayflower, other varieties have also demonstrated positive effects, Mr Creasy added.

“In the 2022 trial, the Group 3 wheat Bamford outyielded LG Astronomer, despite early N sampling tests recording Astronomer as containing a higher amount of N than Bamford at the early flag leaf growth stage.

“This demonstrated that Bamford was able to make better use of its N than Astronomer in the same growing conditions, and across all input regimes, in 2 different sites,” he remarked.

The performance of Bamford and LG Astronomer in the 2022 trials is illustrated in the graph below:

Graph comparing Bamford and Astronomer yield based on 2022 trials.

Commenting on the results, Mr Creasy said: “Taking varieties out of their comfort zone to find their optimum level of N for yield and quality is a significant step forward when looking to develop new varieties that are able to express the same use efficiency characteristics.

“Our future objective will be to pass this key husbandry advice onto agronomists and growers to support them in their variety decision making process,” he concluded.

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The meeting, featuring inspiring presentations from speakers involved in farmer-led research, aimed to find solutions to the ongoing fertiliser crisis that continues to impose considerable strain on the agricultural sector.

Jerry Alford, senior farming advisor at the Soil Association, opened the session by introducing the Innovative Farmers network and its role in creating more on-farm fertility production to reduce the scale of fertiliser inputs.

Putting the soil before the product can go a long way

Offering a unique perspective on the issue at hand, market gardener Amelia Lake provided delegates with detailed insight into the operations of her small but mighty Real Food Garden business in Cornwall.

From humble beginnings starting out with less than two acres of land, Ms Lake’s market garden grew into a thriving business selling produce via an on-site farm shop and veg box scheme. Between June and January each year, an impressive 55-60 veg boxes are produced per week, which is made possible by the smarter utilisation of available space.

Ms Lake explained that, by taking a restorative and holistic approach to soil health, she and her partner Chloe have been able to build resilience in the soil over time and increase what the ground is able to give.

Almost from the beginning, the team of two have been involved with The Soil Carbon project, now known as Farm Net Zero, which works in collaboration with the Farm Carbon Toolkit. As a result, they have been better able to assess and monitor the soil, which has helped to demonstrate the viability of their approach.

“Through our carbon calculator, we know we’re locking in 31 tons of carbon every year, and the soil is sequestering 19 tonnes of that,” Ms Lake said. She added that there has also been a 1.1% increase in soil organic matter per annum, which is about ten times the average rate.

Nutrient density of the fresh produce is also being measured using a spectrometer and compared to organic products on retailer shelves. Ms Lake found the nutrient density of her produce to be consistently higher, which she attributes to the healthy soil foodweb at the garden.

“Instead of thinking about the product, we’re thinking about the soil,” she pointed out, saying the approach has been highly productive for the business so far.

With regards to increasing soil fertility, Ms Lake and her partner are conducting a two-year fertility building programme on designated areas, which involves rotating brassicas with non-brassica crops. The aim is to ultimately build organic matter and resilience in the soil through plant root growth as opposed to using compost.

Ms Lake also addressed tackling food waste at the Real Food Garden, saying she managed to close the loop on food waste by cultivating crop residue back into the soil and using chickens, sheep and pigs to turn it into manure.

Moreover, the garden has been using green waste compost (GWC) since its launch, which is high in carbon and a valuable food source for the food web. Not only does it enhance soil structure and fertility, but also improves soil pH which has been really valuable, Ms Lake explained.

However, GWC also has its downsides, in that it comes from off-farm and the labour to spread it is really significant for the business. Therefore, to make sure every kg of material is paying its weight, Ms Lake enrolled in a field lab led by Innovative Farmers and Farm Net Zero to find out if there is a way to increase biological activity in the compost.

The trial involves comparing GWC inoculated with hedge soil, home-made compost and wood chip material with an uninoculated control and looking at differences in crop yield and quality. Ms Lake said the aim is to develop a better compost in the same volume, or in other words, to use less of the same material with better results.

The results of the field lab will be released following the 2023 growing season.

Untangling controversies around sheep and red clover

Gillian Preece, livestock farmer and senior agri consultant for ADAS, shared details of an Innovative Farmers project conducted to debunk a long-standing myth in the industry relating to mating breeding ewes on fields containing red clover (RC).

According to Ms Preece, the current recommendation is not to mate sheep on RC due to the legume’s phytoestrogen content. However, anecdotal evidence has so far indicated the practice shouldn’t cause issues, which goes directly against industry guidelines.

In the hope of uncovering the true facts and potentially remove barriers to sheep farmers rearing on RC, Ms Preece applied and got accepted to do an Innovative Farmers project investigating fertility issues in ewes relating to RC.

The trial involved four farms across the West Midlands and into Wales that have existing herbal leys containing RC and sheep of the same age, breed and history. Three weeks prior to tupping time, the flocks were each split into two groups, with one mating on sward containing RC and the other on non-RC.

Sward assessments revealed quite a large variation in RC content between the four farms. Ms Preece explained that the farmers have all planted herbal leys to comply with Countryside Stewardship guidelines, which require a minimum of 10% RC content. However, because they are in different years of establishment, the RC content of swards was uneven.

The results of the trial revealed no negative effects on ewe fertility when grazing swards containing an average of 18% RC (by fresh weight). Scanning results showed a 170% average scanning percentage in ewes on a grass-only diet versus 181% in ewes on RC. There was also no significant difference in barren rate between the two groups, Ms Preece added.

While the results indicate farmers can have confidence mating sheep on RC, Ms Preece pointed out the evidence is still insufficient to cause a change of attitude in the industry as the trial was conducted on only four farms and wasn’t fully controlled.

Therefore, she highlighted the need for further investigation so farmers and in particular vets, feed advisors and seed reps can have more confidence in the results.

Putting the trial into perspective, Ms Preece said: “There’s an increasing focus on the use of legumes within grassland systems to reduce nitrogen use and also to capitalise on environmental stewardship opportunities.

“We need to see more legumes be grown so we can ultimately reduce that reliance on artificial nitrogen within red meat production.”

Working towards improved nutrient cycling through better soil health

Next up, Matthew Izod, who farms a 500-acre conventional arable farm with his father just outside Chipping Norton, talked delegates through a couple of Innovative Farmers trials he has been involved in and the lessons learned so far.

The first trial, sponsored by Thames Water, is looking at the effects of a no-till & cover crop system on soil nutrient availability over a five-year period. While improvement has been negligible so far, Mr Izod noted the system takes a bit of time to work and is eager to see the results at the end of the trial.

The second project backed by AHDB tested the effects of a living mulch clover understory on the 2021 cropping season. According to Mr Izod, the clover established really well and acted as an effective weed deterrent for the cash crop as well as improving soil structure and providing ground cover after harvest.

Unfortunately, the mulch caused a major yield penalty, and so improved methods are needed to control it in the next trial, Mr Izod concluded.

Like many farmers, Mr Izod has been working to reduce the amount of fertiliser applied due to the major cost it incurs. Instead of the usual 200-250kg product/ha a year, the farm now uses 160 kg of product/ha with a reduced rate of liquid nitrogen. To increase the efficiency of fertiliser, Mr Izod also adds some Boost to the mix, which is a carbon and molasses-based fertiliser improver.

Tissue sampling is also carried out throughout the season to assess the nutritional needs of the crop. In addition, Mr Izod tested the soil for nutrient availability, which led to some profound realisations.

The results returned from the lab revealed that the amount of total nutrients present in the top layers of the soil (specifically potash, phosphorus and sulphur) is 20 to 200 times higher than the amount available to crops.

Therefore, instead of buying I artificial products, farmers need to focus on building fertility in the soil and making those nutrients available to the crop, Mr Izod pointed out. He added that nutrient cycling in the soil can be improved via the use of cover crops, especially legumes, as well as different drilling and cultivation strategies.

Improving rotation and integrating livestock on cover crops will be part of the solution, Mr Izod continued, saying they now cover 100% of the farm during winter. Sheep has been brought on farm in recent years to graze the cover crops and build soil fertility, and Mr Izod is looking to expand the size of his exiting flock.

Looking into the future, he said the ultimate goal is to have “a system where the livestock is working for me and the crops are working side-by-side.” Lastly, he reminded farmers while there is no quick fix to the fertiliser crisis, small changes can make a big difference.

The benefits of diverse forage crops for livestock and soil health

Last but not least, Sarah Whaley from the Farming Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) shared some fascinating findings from an ongoing Innovative Farmers field lab. In the role of project coordinator, she has been working closely with the four participating farmers in Devon and Somerset, as well as soil scientists and ecologists involved in the project.

Outlining the background to the trial, Ms Whaley said many farmers are dissatisfied with the current system of mono-culture forage crops for outwintering livestock as they provide minimal benefit to the soil and can actually deplete its health and cause structural issues like compaction.

Moreover, mono crops can be more susceptible to pests and diseases, requiring higher levels of chemical and fertiliser input. In addition, forage crops like kale provide insufficient fibre for sustaining livestock throughout winter, and farmers will need to supplementary feed hay which can be destructive to fields and adds to farmer workload.

A closer look to the 16-species mix on a trial field.

Ms Whaley pointed out that, although mono-culture winter brassicas produce reasonably reliable and low-cost forage, they under-deliver for soil health, water and the wider environment, animal welfare, public perception and farmer wellbeing. Therefore, the aim of the field lab has been to find and validate a diverse species mix solution as an alternative to winter grazing kale.

The trial was set up in May 2022 on two organic and two conventional farms in the South West. Each farm was required to drill 4 ha of a 16-species seed mix next to 4 ha of their usual winter forage crop.

The farmers selected for various traits in the seed mix, such as for soil benefit, winter hardiness, ecological benefit and birdseed. The full list of crops included in the diverse mix can be found on the Innovative Farmers website.

Cattle were weighed and body condition scored before the trial and have been monitored closely since the start of winter grazing in early November 2022. Soil sampling and testing was also performed before the trial and VESS scoring, earthworm counts, and rhizosheath development monitoring have also been carried out at regular intervals.

According to Ms Whaley, observations so far have shown significant improvements in soil health and biodiversity on diverse mix fields compared to kale.

The greater root biomass of the diverse mix has produced a much-improved soil structure on trial fields, with soil pit tests revealing an ideal chocolate cake-like texture. In contrast, the ground was much more compacted on the kale side and also had poor drainage, causing issues with water runoff and erosion.

In terms of biodiversity, the diverse mix attracted a greater number of invertebrates including pollinator species, while diversity in the kale crop was largely limited to cabbage butterflies.

Livestock has been doing well on both sides so far, but have appeared more content on the diverse mix fields, Ms Whaley said. She added the ground appears to be holding up better under the mixed plot, which helps keep the animals out of the mud and working less hard.

Even though the multispecies mix has largely been grazed down on triallist Richard Stanbury’s farm, the first signs of regrowth are already evident.

While all farms have moved through their mixed species plots faster than kale and had to provide supplementary hay, regrowth is already happening on mixed fields and farmers are hoping for a spring bite. Time will tell if the seed mix also offers economic benefits alongside soil health and biodiversity improvement, and Ms Whaley said there is still a lot to learn.

With regards to the fertiliser crisis, Ms Whaley suggested farmers should think of it as an opportunity rather than a hindrance.

“If I said, ‘what is the fertiliser crisis,’ many people would say ‘well, it’s the cost of fertiliser,’ but actually, the crisis is we’re using far too much of it. So, it’s our addiction to fertiliser that is the crisis,” she said.

Ms Whaley believes the solution starts with the soil and farmers working together with nature rather than against it: “We need to look at our farms in a much more holistic way and stop micro-managing every little aspect of a biological living system,” she concluded.

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