IFM
QUARTERLY WINTER 2021
LEAF Marque Standard (v16.0 Draft)
Public Consultation
LEAF’s Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change Project All the latest research, updates & news around Integrated Farm Management www.leaf.eco
@LEAF_Farming
Back on the road, SolACE farm visits
Variety Selection & IPM
LinkingEnvironmentAndFarming
Welcome to the
winter issue of the
IFM
Quarterly! Our growing Technical Team is made up of agricultural professionals with practical farming and research experience. Together, they are driving forward LEAF’s farmer-led, ‘science into practice’ approach through our LEAF Network, technical resources, and events. The LEAF Marque team are focused on strengthening the opportunities in the marketplace, to reward farmers for their environmental commitments. Each issue of the IFM Quarterly, you will be welcomed by a member of the Technical Team - so you can get to know the faces behind our new and updated team!
Dawn Teverson LEAF Technical Manager dawn.teverson@leaf.eco
Hello, I am delighted to be writing this welcome message in my new role as Technical Manager at LEAF. I joined in October and have had to hit the ground running and getting to grips with the sheer scale and reach of all of LEAF’s technical activities. It has been a pleasure to meet with a number of our members, farmers and researchers from our Innovation Centres and partners from our many European projects. I am excited to see many more of you on the months ahead. My previous role with the AHDB as Knowledge Exchange Manager (field vegetables) gave me a huge insight into the importance of farmer-to-farmer knowledge generation and exchange. The capacity of the LEAF Network to advance the “science into practice” approach is hugely inspiring. I started my career at the National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne (now Warwick Crop Centre) as a plant pathologist specialising in bacterial diseases of beans in East Africa. My background is almost entirely vegetable research and knowledge exchange based, but I did have a brief foray into livestock genetics and conservation at the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, so I am not entirely all about carrots, cauliflowers and cabbages! Having also worked closely with subsistence farmers in the southern highlands of Tanzania, it is clear to me that the problems faced by growers are similar the world over, especially given the changing climate, its impact on growing conditions and how farmers will need to adapt and innovate. I am delighted to have joined the LEAF Team at this exciting time – not only for the agricultural industry but also for LEAF which is at the forefront of driving more climate positive farming and food systems. We are an incredible force for good and I am greatly looking forward to playing my part in building on the successes of LEAF. Luckily for me, I am supported by a young, dynamic and growing LEAF Technical Team – Rebecca Davies, Will Sibly, Callum Bennett, Meghan Whatty and Lucy Hando. Many of you will already know that India Grant-Wood has moved to our Business Development team and we all wish her well in her new role. Finally, I do hope you enjoy this issue of IFM Quarterly and if there are any of our projects you would like to get involved with, please do let me know. I look forward to working with you all.
Contents Winter 2021 6 12 14 18
Back on the road... Farm visits for SolACE With Will Sibly, LEAF Technical Off icer
The Alliance: Countryside COP A round-up of where we've been & what we've been up to
LEAF's Nature-based Solutions project The new LEAF Network map has launched on our website
Integrating variety selection into pest management From Callum Bennett, LEAF Technical Off icer
22
Public Consultation - we want to hear from you
24
Agroforestry at Home Farm
25
LEAF Marque Standard v16.0 Draft
LEAF Farm Feature with David Rose & James Thompson
Project Updates An overview of LEAF's projects
28
Crop diversification projects
32
Events
A look at DiverIMPACTS & SEAMS
Upcoming events, training opportunities, & where to f ind some f ree advice and support
5
Back on the road... Farm visits for SolACE Will Sibly LEAF Technical Officer will.sibly@leafuk.org
LEAF has been a proud partner of the collaborative pan-European SolACE project (Solutions for improving Agroecosystem and Crop Efficiency for water and nutrient use), since its inception in 2017. Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and coordinated by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE), 24 partners across science and industry are developing and testing solutions for agroecosystems and crop efficiency for water and nutrient use. Potato and wheat (bread and durum) crops are the main focus.
The project was established in response to the more frequent occurrences of drought and high temperatures we are seeing across European and worldwide agriculture. SolACE aims to address this, specifically water and nutrient stress that these climate changes cause in crops. The project is doing this by trialling various novel technologies and management practices, including new genetic breeding techniques, designing computational models to predict agronomic outcomes from different scenarios and new genotypes. SolACE is contributing to a more sustainable future for farming, by confronting resource limitations, finding solutions to present and future issues, and developing cropping systems designed to cope under more extreme weathers. LEAF’s values and drive for climate-positive action are very much aligned with SolACE. As we progress with our 10-year strategy, being a partner in the project helps to build our connections, build impact and helps to deliver climate positive solutions to farming.
Farm visits across the UK Network LEAF has been working closely with fellow project partners and LEAF Innovation Centre, the Newcastle University (NU), for SolACE. Furthermore, we have worked with potato growers in the East and North-East of England, who have kindly set up experimental trials on their land twice in the last two years for the project. Four farms have undertaken trials, consisting of two conventional farm, one organic far, and NU’s farm, which is half organic and half conventional. Over the last three months, I have made a series of visits to all four farms. This was a great opportunity, in light of the tight restrictions that occurred last year, when we were unable to visit trial farms.
Nafferton Nafferton, one of two farms operated by NU, is a 498ha dairy and arable farm, 12 miles west of Newcastle, UK. For the last 21 years, half the farmland has been farmed conventionally, with the other half farmed organically. The primary objectives of Nafferton’s operation is to provide a: •
viable farming business
•
demonstrate facility for teaching purposes
•
research facility, especially in organic production
Best known for its work on farming systems led by the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group, this became obvious to me when visiting on a sunny afternoon in late-July. The farm is surrounded by and dotted with biodiversity areas – including wildflower margins adjacent to fields, cluster of diverse trees and a small wetland in on of its corner. A few hares were spotted too. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nes/about-us/facilities/agriculture/ SolACE trials at Nafferton were assessing the impacts on of two microbial inoculants (one commercial and one created by the SolACE consortium on potato crops, in conjunction with varying levels of soil nitrogen and phosphorus.
Gibside Community Farm Gibside Community Farm is an organic enterprise, growing its produce on a 5.8ha farmland a few miles southwest of Gateshead, UK. As a Soil Association certified social enterprise, supported by the National Trust team at Gibside in Rowland’s Gill, Tyne and Wear, the team grows and sell fruit and vegetables to all sections of the local community. http://gibsidecommunityfarm.co.uk/ about-us/ Surrounded by newly planted trees and plots of clover in the rotation Gibside was teaming with pollinators and wildlife on the morning I visited in late-July. Their trial focuses on the effects of a commercial microbial inoculant on growing heritage potato varieties. After speaking with farm manager, Michael Marston, I learnt that heritage varieties included were ‘Mayan Twilight’, originally bred from wild Peruvian varieties, and ‘Pink Fir Apple’, an old variety dating back to the 1850’s. More common varieties ‘Kestrel’ and ‘Cara’ were grown alongside in the trial as controls.
Lodge Farm – LF Papworth Ltd LF Papworth Ltd is one of the tow conventional trial farms, based in Northeast Norfolk, UK. As a family business specialising in contract farming of arable land, the team grow winter barley, spring barley, wheat, sugar beet, OSR, vining peas and dwarf beans, as well as potatoes for major, well-known brands. Furthermore, whilst caring for over 200ha of Environmentally Sensitive Areas, beef and lamb is produced for two sister businesses and sold at local company butchers. http://www.lfpapworth.co.uk/ Meeting with co-director, Tim Papworth, once in late-July and once in late-August to collect samples from trials, I was given valuable insight into the day-to-day operations in an important period of the year. Trials at LF Papworth Ltd consisted of measuring the effects of a commercial microbial inoculant on three potato varieties: Galante, Premiere and Rooster.
Thoresby The second conventional farm carrying out trials for the project, Thoresby, is situated in North Nottinghamshire. Farm Manager, Will Baker, met with me in mid-August when visiting to collect samples. Farming 3,400ha (2,700ha of arable and 700ha used for grazing), half the land sits on heavy Keuper Marl soil, with wheat, OSR, spring beans, rye and spring barley in the rotation. The other half sits on light, sandy soil with the same rotation, in addition to maize, sugar beet, carrots, onions and potatoes. https://www.thoresbyfarming.co.uk/ Irrigation and water are very important factors managed in this operation, in order to cope with dry summers. Visiting on a very warm day, this was evident when digging up samples – the soils were dry and light, indeed. Very similar to their peer in Norfolk, Thoresby trials assess the impact of the same commercial microbial inoculant on three different varieties: Saxon, Lanorma and Manhattan.
What's next? Following my visits and shipping of samples to the NU laboratory for analysis, once results are in, all four trail farmers, researchers at NU and myself will gather for a meeting in which results will be revealed, compared to 2019/2020 trial data and discussed.
The Alliance Countryside COP The new Agriculture & Land Use Alliance (The Alliance) have hosted the first ever Countryside COP this October, showcasing and inspiring net zero activity in rural communities and agri-food supply chains. Events brought together a range of individuals, organisations, researchers, and experts to demonstrate what we have achieved so far, and how we can do more to maximise our contribution to a net-zero future. The Alliance stated: “All of us have a part to play on the road to net zero, and we are stronger when working together. The Countryside COP is an opportunity for everyone with an interest in the countryside and rural economy to come together and speak out about the real and tangible outcomes of our journey to net zero. “This journey is complex, but there is no shortage of professionalism and knowledge within the rural community, and all who support food and farming. This is the time to utilise and invest in this expertise so we can help contribute to the government’s net-zero target, all while continuing to produce fantastic, affordable food for people at home and abroad. “This is a chance to really showcase the important role of UK agriculture and climatefriendly food production in reaching our national net-zero ambitions, and how we can all contribute to a positive future for our planet.”
Who is the Agriculture & Land Use Alliance? The Agriculture & Land Use Alliance is the new name for the Greenhouse Gas Action Plan (GHGAP). The Alliance brings together all interested organisations and individuals across the UK agricultural industry to collaborate under one umbrella and speak with one voice. Together, they aim to act now to maximise the contribution of agriculture and land use to a net-zero economy. With land use so integral to net-zero goals, the Agriculture & Land Use Alliance offers a sensible, practical voice on the farming of land for all purposes. Organisations in The Alliance include: ADAS
Country Land & Business Association (CLA)
Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA)
Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF)
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
NIAB
Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC)
National Farmers Union (NFU)
LEAF hosted two events as part of Countryside COP... Two leading research centres join the LEAF Network as centres of excellence for sustainable farming
Nature-based solutions to climate change event
In October, Agrii's Throws Farm Technology
and advisors who are involved in our
Centre and Newcastle University Farms were
Nature-based Solutions to Climate
launched as LEAF Innovation Centres. Their
Change project. We discussed various
respective expertise in variety selection,
forms of grassland in farming and
and soil and carbon sequestration will be
integrated, multiple approaches
invaluable for working towards climate
to more sustainable farming,
positive farming as part of LEAF’s 10-year
including selecting and optimising
strategy. They join 12 other LEAF Innovation
cover cropping for multifunctional
Centres, which, together with the LEAF
outcomes, soil testing methods and
Demonstration Farms, form the LEAF
using organic inputs to benefit soils.
Network. LEAF Innovation Centres are
Additionally, a farm walk from the
research organisations whose work supports
hosts, Courteenhall Farms, inspired all
the research, evidence, development, and
with the many exciting things going
promotion of Integrated Farm Management.
on to mitigate climate change. Will
They investigate and communicate practices
Sibly, Technical Officer, said about the
which underpin the continual improvement
event, “I very much enjoyed the event
of the Integrated Farm Management
and seeing people at a wonderful
approach to help deliver more sustainable
venue, with top speakers and a
food and farming.
fascinating farm walk.”
This event brought together farmers
13
LEAF's 'Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change' project
This exciting and collaborative project is aiming to address the most important question for the farming industry: how can farming uphold our natural environment whilst maintaining resilience? How can we farm in a way that enhances nature and maximises ecosystem services to the best of their ability, and provide
What is meant by
all the climate-positive things that come with that, sequester carbon, reduce GHG emissions, enrich biodiversity and use resources more efficiently - whilst ensuring stable production and
human challenge, such as climate change
profitability for businesses?
Nature-based Solutions? International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) definition of Nature-based Solutions: “Actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits.” Put simply, Nature-based Solutions seek to maximize the ability of nature to provide ecosystem services that help to solve a adaptation, disaster-risk reduction or, in this case, food production. Nature-based Solutions enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, provide management strategies for resources, and can deliver a triple benefit when deployed properly, supporting agricultural production and resilience, mitigating climate change, and enhancing nature and biodiversity.
To do that, supported by The Linder Foundation, we have brought together 10 farms from across England to address this question and spark long-term, climate positive change. All farmers have been brilliantly engaged and came into the project with a positive outlook. There have been several great discussions with and between farmers throughout so far, which has been a great pleasure to take part in.
Nature-based Solutions encompass a range of practices that in many cases have been honed by Indigenous stewards or known to advocates of “conservation agriculture,” but remain underutilized in mainstream agriculture — for example, integrating native flora into cattle pastures or restoring habitats crucial to watershed health. While approaches like these are gaining widespread attention from diverse industries and actors, some key obstacles have stalled efforts to bring them to scale at the pace needed to protect biodiversity
co n ti nu ed o n n ext page >
and mitigate further climate impacts.
15
The project began with participating farmers carrying out and completing a carbon foot printing tool in order to form a baseline to work from. We chose the tool designed by SRUC, Agrecalc, which 0 calculates emissions at the whole farm, and per enterprise levels, as well as breaking down results into the three GHG gases. The team at Agrecalc have been working closely with all carbon reports completed by the farmers. We held a workshop in June to which all farmers, Agrecalc, LEAF and advisers in the project attended where we and compared results from their carbon reports. Following on from this and industry advisers meeting with each farmer they identified their own, site- and business-specific objectives. We had a very good range in areas and expertise in advisers from the industry, including resource and energy efficiencies for more sustainable systems, enriching biodiversity and restoring habitats, novel methods that assesses soil biology (in agroforestry-based systems for this project), and regenerative methods to improve soils for arable crops. The farmers are currently building on their ideas developed with advisers, from completing their farm carbon calculator and discussions with each other and the LEAF team. We were delighted to hold a LEAF Surgery focusing on the project at where we heard from some of the project farmers, members from Agrecalc and one of the project advisers. Case studies on all ten farmers are currently being developed which will outline their journey through the project, which will be available early next year.
17
Integrating variety selection into Pest Management Callum Bennett LEAF Technical Officer callum.bennett@leafuk.org
One major factor affecting the yield and quality potential
Variety selection can impact a wide range of crop traits, including pest and disease resistance or tolerance, crop quality and resilience to adverse weather conditions such as frost, waterlogging and
of crops in countries
drought. This approach to solving or mitigating
across the globe and the
some of the perennial weather and market
livelihoods of farmers
challenges faced by agriculture is increasingly relevant in the modern era as issues such as
and growers is the
climate change, resistance to plant protection
selection of varieties
products (PPPs) and a rising global population all
appropriate to both the growing site and the end market.
add pressure to systems working to finely balanced margins. The continual development of new crop varieties with improved traits adds to the options available but can also complicate the decisionmaking process through a payoff of strengths and weaknesses in selection.
The well-informed selection of crop
However, the aim of variety selection within
varieties for optimum crop health is a
an IPM framework is not simply to select a
key element of the ‘prevent’ stage of a
variety for a single trait, but to be “informed
successful Integrated Pest Management
by historical data, forecasts, research and
(IPM) strategy, the development of
information from trained advisors [that]
which is a critical challenge for farmers
can enable you to grow a crop that will
worldwide. The scale of this challenge is
be more tolerant to pest damage” (LEAF
made clear by estimates from the Food
Simply Sustainable guide to Integrated Pest
and Agricultural Organization of the
Management). Therefore, variety selection is
United Nations (the FAO) that 20-40%
a continuous process to be based upon the
of global crop production is lost to pests
most up to date data and advice available in
annually, with an annual cost of around
order to maximise its effectiveness within an
$220 billion to the global economy due to
IFM framework, which also takes into account
plant diseases (full details available here).
market requirements.
Within the IPM framework, one of the clearest benefits of selecting appropriate crop varieties is that it can potentially lead to reduced requirements for the application of plant protection products (PPPs). This is because crop varieties, whether they are newly developed or pre-existing, have highly differing levels of resistance to or tolerance of crop pests. Reducing PPP requirements leads to benefits including decreased costs, reduced impact on non-target organisms (including those in the soil biota) and less likelihood of resistance emerging in pest populations, meaning that when pesticides are applied as a last resort, they remain effective.
A continually evolving range of decision support tools for variety selection exist worldwide. LEAF’s project work has included development of new approaches with the potential to improve variety selection. For example, the DIVERSify project developed the CropMIXER tool. CropMIXER is web-based search tool which allows farmers to access trial data detailing yields, nutrient inputs and environmental data according to the region, season, crop and farming system. This allows increased opportunities for the selection of crop varieties, crop combinations and management strategies to be informed by trials conducted across a wide range of projects (for more information see here). Another highly useful tool for variety selection
The use of crop varieties selected with
are the AHDB Recommended Lists for cereals
IPM in mind can also have other benefits,
and oilseeds, which give details on the yield,
such as reduced wastage. A recent study
market options and grain quality for a range of
by academics from the Polish Academy of
different varieties. The lists also make regionally
Sciences and National Research Institute
tailored recommendations for varieties and are
of Poland found that different varieties
updated yearly based on data from hundreds
of Winter Wheat differed greatly in their
of rigorous UK trials.
vulnerability to Fusarium head blight, resulting in significant differences in the
1). https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/9/1690
quality of the end product, and reducing the risk of mycotoxins in the grain (1).
co nt i nu e d o n n ex t page >
19
Localised methods less reliant upon
An especially pertinent issue for UK
technology also remain effective, serving
growers drilling the second crop of winter
many farmers worldwide extremely well.
cereals is likely to be concerns over Barley
Past research by academics from Bioversity
yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). BYDV is the
International and ICRISAT (International Crops
most economically important virus in UK
Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics) found
cereals, and can be highly destructive,
that farmers in Syria could reliably identify the
with severe infections causing losses of up
highest yielding barley lines from a choice
to 50% in winter barley crops. Following
of over 200 (2). This was based upon visual
the prohibition of the outdoor use of
observations and the farmers’ knowledge
neonicotinoid seed treatments, BYDV
of the crops and the environment, with
tolerant/resistant cereals are a potentially
findings from this study showing that crop
key element of future IPM strategies
selections made by local farmers yielded as
aiming to avoid yield losses due to BYDV.
much, and in one case significantly more,
Research has been ongoing to identify
than those selected by a breeder. The ability
genes (often from local varieties and
of farmers to evaluate data to inform variety
wild relatives) that can then be bred into
selection for optimum crop performance
commercial cereal varieties to provide
has been important throughout history and
tolerance/resistance to BYDV. This has led
has led to the breeding of large numbers of
to the breeding of BYDV tolerant varieties
crop varieties. However, in the modern era, in
of winter barley like KWS Amistar and
many cases this wide range of local varieties
Rafaela and the winter wheat variety RGT
have been swapped for genetically uniform,
Wolverine. These varieties may form a
high-yielding varieties. This has created a
key element of future IPM strategies in
vulnerability to the loss of genetic resources
cereal crops in the UK, especially when
that may need to be called upon to address
combined with other practices for BYDV
future pest and disease challenges.
management such as encouraging
The conservation of varieties through seedbank storage, supported by regular growing out, is vital to plant breeding, where antiquated lines or wild relatives of crop
natural enemies, managing ‘green bridges’ and using minimum/no-till strategies (for more information on BYDV management read here).
species can be key sources of genetic traits that can be bred into new varieties to offer protection against novel pests and diseases. For example, genes from the wild potato Solanum demissum were bred into modern potato varieties to give them resistance to late blight following the Irish potato famine. To find out more, check out the work of LEAF Innovation Centres: NIAB EMR who have carried out a large range of research on increasing the disease and pest resistance of fruit crops, and the James Hutton Institute at the International Barley Hub.
2).https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/226264671_A_methodological_study_on_ participatory_barley_breeding_I_Selection_phase 3).https://www.pnas.org/content/116/10/4194
Variety selection as a means of combatting the effects of climate change: Climate shifts The informed selection of crop varieties is extremely important, and it may continue to become even more important in the future as the impacts of climate change become more apparent. For example, recent research has found that as the climate changes, farmers will have to adjust their crop varieties over time in order to minimise climate risk (3). The study also found that by using crowdsourced data from thousands of farmers, insight can be generated into variety adaptation, recommending adapted varieties, and helping smallholder farmers to respond to climate change.
Pests Research has also found that the combination of climate change and global food supply chains are leading to the spread of crop diseases and pests beyond their traditional ranges. An example of this is the spread of the Colorado potato beetle, an extremely important pest of potato crops. Global warming appears to have allowed the spread of this pest further north into Finland and Norway, where cold winters would previously have prevented its spread (more information available here). Variety selection and crop breeding may therefore become increasingly important in the future, in order to help to control
Using a diversity of crops (such as a combination of local varieties and modern varieties) can also have benefits for food and income security. This is because it improves agricultural biodiversity, and reduces the risk that all (or the majority) of the crops in a farm, region or country are lost due to a lack of resistance to a disease, climatic change, pest outbreak or other harmful event (more information is available here). To summarise, variety selection and crop breeding are incredibly powerful and useful tools that can have a range of benefits within an IPM framework. To find out more about IPM, read the LEAF’s Simply Sustainable Integrated Pest Management guide. LEAF also advance IPM knowledge and awareness through our LEAF Network and our involvement in a range of projects including IPMWorks, DiverIMPACTS and SEAMS. Further reading: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1187738/icode/ https://www.idrc.ca/en/research-in-action/facts-figuresfood-and-biodiversity
the impact of pest species moving to new areas.
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We want to hear from you!
Public consultation on the LEAF Marque Standard v16.0 Draft – open now Every few years we review the LEAF Marque Standard to ensure it remains relevant. As industry practices and scientific understanding evolve over time, so our Stanard needs to evolve too. The review and revision to the LEAF Marque Standard is consistent with ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice. The public consultation on the LEAF Marque Standard v16.0 Draft is now open and closes on 17th January 2022. We value the opinions of farmers, growers, academics, fellow NGO’s, members of the public and other stakeholders. Your views matter to us and we would be very grateful to receive your comments. Please click here to submit your feedback. We are also running three webinars to explain the main changes, and to provide an opportunity for feedback. Please register to attend by clicking the links below: Carbon & Plastics: Industry Questions and Farmer-Based Solutions – 24th November 2:30pm (GMT) Water, Collaborative Action, and Landscape Scale Changes – 16th December 2:30pm (GMT) Standard Relevance: Writing a Standard for a global and varied industry – 10th January 10:30am (GMT)
We look forward to hearing from you! 23
LEAF Farm Feature Agroforestry at Home Farm, Nottingham with David Rose & James Thompson Can you give us a brief
Home Farm is a 182ha mixed farm. We keep 5 longhorns, and 200
overview of your farm?
sheep – 30 of which are Pedigree Shropshire’s, alongside forage, combinables and fruit.
What have you
We farm with trees. Community and the environment have always
implemented on farm? been at the heart of our work at Home Farm. We introduced an agroforest some years ago and are also part of a farming cooperative called Farmeco, comprised of local arable farmers making up around 600 hectares. Farmeco has developed over time and now hosts school visits, open days, and community events. Why have you
It just made sense. Economically - diversification to support farming,
introduced
environmentally - we are now feeding the soil whereas before we were
Agroforestry?
feeding the plants, and socially - we wanted to give the community ownership in a farming system.
How did you do it?
It was made possible through my Nuffield Scholarship, working with the Woodland Trust, and collaboration with our community. The most important part of establishing the agroforest was research. We have a dedicated team researching and testing different practices. None of it would have been possible without the team behind it!
What advice would you I would first ask the question “why are you doing it?" "do you have a give to other farmers
clear plan?”. If so, then ask for as much advice, and speak to as many
wanting to introduce
people as possible. If you don’t have a clear and researched plan, then
Agroforestry?
my advice would be to go and build one!
Projject Up pdates LEAF is involved in a range of projects with our farmers, industry partners, and researchers across Europe. This work adds further depth and understanding to our core activities as we continue to drive more sustainable farming. We will be providing regular updates on our projects in the IFM Quarterly, members E-news and at our events, if you would like to know more or would like to be involved in our work please contact rebecca.davis@leafuk.org who can put you in touch with the relevant person.
25 Photo: Bangor Univerity - Dan Struthers
Envision
Horizon 2020: Agri Capture CO₂ European Regenerative Agriculture Community (ERAC) Launch Are you a farmer wanting to learn more about the potential of regenerative agriculture in
LEAF Marque has just started development of a trial audit process to evaluate the role of data observation in the certification process, by testing the services provided by the ENVISION platform. We will also be looking for feedback and engagement from farmers in the upcoming months.
climate-proof farming? An expert researching regenerative farming? Are you involved in a project or network on regenerative agriculture? Join the AgriCaptureCO2 project team for the online launch of a new European Regenerative Agriculture Community
Showcase LEAF and the University of Reading are working with a group of farmers in this H2020 project to develop novel ideas that benefit both farmers and wildlife. As
22th November 13.30 GMT
a result, a winter cover crop experiment
Find out more and book your place here
will be carried out that will vary cover crop rooting depth. Deeper rooting cover crop species are expected to help reduce
IPM Works
nitrogen leaching in addition to increasing
Last month we attended the
to extreme weather. Benefits for soil
IPMWORKS annual meeting, which was the first annual meeting of the project and was a great success. It was a brilliant opportunity to share our experiences with fellow partners of the project. LEAF were interviewed in order to share our experiences within the IPMWORKS project, specifically looking at how we operate as a network and communicate messages relating to Integrated Pest Management.
organic matter and crop resilience biodiversity, yield and cost-effectiveness will also be measured. The intervention will be implemented in next year’s crop cycle.
LEAF is working with AHDB to deliver the Farm Business Review (FBR) service, funded by Defra’s Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF). The service will offer farmers in England access to a combination of tools, expert advice and peer support to help businesses prepare for the biggest agriculture policy shift in a generation, the reduction of BPS payments. We are working with the AHDB to offer consultancy support for farms that have cereals and oilseed within their system. Developed specifically for producers who are most affected by the move away from direct payments, the online AHDB Farm Business Review tool includes the following elements: •
BPS Impact Calculator: How will BPS reductions impact your business?
•
Business Resilience Calculator: Is there resilience within your business for the future?
•
KPI Express Calculator: What are your businesses strengths and weaknesses?
As an organisation that works to inspire and enable sustainable farming that is prosperous, enriches the environment and engages local communities, LEAF encourages you to sign up for the FBR service to not only enable you to receive a half days consultancy but also access to meetings with like-minded farmers, that we will run this winter virtually. If you wish to take part or would like more information, please email rebecca.davis@leaf.eco
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Our work on crop diversification projects DiverIMPACTS DiverIMPACTS (Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains towards Sustainability) is a Europe-wide project with a focus on investigating the potential for diversifying cropping systems in order to improve the delivery of ecosystem services and increase productivity. The crop diversification
The potential benefits of crop diversification strategies include improved soil nutrient concentrations and fertility, increased biodiversity, reductions in soil erosion and compaction and reduced pest and disease incidence (linking in with Integrated Pest Management strategies). However, there are also challenges associated with intercropping and other crop diversification strategies. DiverIMPACTS aims to find solutions to these challenges and seek new
strategies investigated within DiverIMPACTS
opportunities for crop diversification
include intercropping, multiple cropping
through 25 case studies and 10
and increasing the diversity and length of
field experiments gathering data
crop rotations. All of these strategies have the
and promoting crop diversification
common theme of attempting to move away
throughout Europe.
from highly simplified cropping systems such
DiverIMPACTS is the sister project to the
as monocultures. DiverIMPACTS is led by INRAE
recently completed DIVERSify project,
(the French National Research Institute for
which LEAF was also heavily involved in,
Agriculture, Food and the Environment) and
and which led to the development of
involves collaboration between 34 partners
several useful intercropping tools such as
from 11 countries. The project is funded by
CropMIXER and DIVERSiplotter, as well
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and
as generating a wealth of new insight
innovation programme.
into intercropping practices.
The aims of DiverIMPACTS are to:
LEAF, in collaboration with FIBL, has been heavily
Assess performances of crop
project outcomes. This includes a large array of
diversification through rotation, intercropping and multiple cropping.
involved in the communication of the DiverIMPACTS practice abstracts (short scientific reports) on an exciting range of topics available here. The findings made within DiverIMPACTS are also helping us to
Provide rural areas actors
continue to learn and provide the best possible
with those key enablers and
resources and advice within our services, such as the
innovations that would remove
resources and guidelines available within the LEAF
existing barriers and ensure
Sustainable Farming Review. WE have also been
actual uptake of benefits of crop
involved with the development of policy briefs based
diversification at farm, value
upon findings from DiverIMPACTS, which aim to play
chain and territory levels.
a key role in driving sustainable farming policy across
Make recommendations to policymakers to facilitate the coordination of all relevant actors within the value chain.
More about DIVERSify: DIVERSify began in 2017 and ended earlier this year in April. The project was led by the James Hutton Institute (a LEAF Innovation Centre in Scotland) and consisted of an international consortium of scientists, farmers, advisors, breeders and other organisations. The main research focus of the project was understand how to optimise the performance of crop species mixtures through:
Europe in the coming years. LEAF, alongside FiBL has also led the task of reporting on the success stories of crop diversification across Europe. LEAF Demonstration farmer, Duncan Farrington was chosen as a success story for the scheme due to his success in the use of combined rotations, cover crops and companion cropping. Duncan approached crop diversification by broadening the crop rotation on his farm by removing the 2nd wheat from his rotation and introducing spring barley, more legumes and cover and catch crops. The successes of this approach included reduced weed and disease pressure, improved crop and soil nutrition and improved soil structure without disturbing the soi through heavy cultivation, as well as improving the environmental and economic sustainability of his farm. To find out more, watch here and read the success stories of other European farmers involved in DiverIMPACTS here. We have also produced a a number of videos for the
•
Improving yield stability
•
Reducing losses to weeds,
communicate findings from the project, which you
pests and diseases
can find here. Over the coming months we will be
Enhancing resilience to
working on over 30 practice abstracts and analysing
environmental change
survey results from members of the LEAF Network to
•
A summary of the project findings are available here.
DiverIMPACTS YouTube channel, helping to further
understand how to design communication strategies in order to make them relevant to consumers.
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Our work on crop diversification projects continued...
SEAMS SEAMS (Sustainability in Education and Agriculture using Mixtures) aims to develop, promote and implement crop species mixtures as a sustainable crop production system for Scotland. The project has six core sites and 17 network sites that are run by local farmers and is an Esmee Fairbairn Foundation funded project coordinated by the James Hutton Institute. Other project partners are the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, NFU Scotland and Scottish Agronomy. These sites run trials with crop species mixtures, as well as running events to facilitate knowledge exchange on food production, agriecology and environmental sustainability. The project focuses on getting a range of stakeholders involved, and hosts activities for a range of different groups. Farmers are clearly a highly important group and are encouraged to visit core sites, which act as a hub for discussions for farmers from the local area. If farmers are interested in getting involved with intercropping trials and becoming a network site, the crop mixtures grown are not prescriptive and farmers are encouraged to choose and grow crops that would interest or benefit them. The project has also been extremely keen to involve local schools with their project, with seed mixes being sent to local schools, webinars organised students engaging in citizen science activities Policy makers, food buyers and producers also help to spread awareness of the benefits of crop mixtures and their role within future policy as well as increase the demand for local products derived from crop mixtures.
LEAF has been heavily involved with this outreach, coordinating a workshop targeted at key food producers and crop buyers. It brought together a variety of stakeholders including Hodmedods and Arbikie Pea Gin. We explored the challenges involved uncertainties around the market for intercrop products, which past feedback had suggested is an important concern for farmers considering the use of intercropping. With this feedback we hope to improve the understanding of how to increase the demand from food producers for the products from intercropping. SEAMS are also keen to encourage open science collaboration, and plan to make use of the previously mentioned DIVERSiplotter platform, which was developed during the DIVERSify project. They also plan to make use of a platform called Germinate, which is a global repository of data from a wide range of crops. Germinate offers easily accessible graphical data outputs, allowing for crop data from regions to be quickly and clearly visualised. This would allow anyone to access the data gathered during the project, meaning that farmers, policy makers and any other interested parties could investigate how specific crop varieties and techniques have performed in their region. This sharing of data aims to encourage future collaboration and knowledge sharing and allow farmers to upload their own data to the database in order to benchmark their performance. To find out more about the barriers and enablers of intercropping and enhanced crop diversification, we produced a paper produced here. Also, take a listen to our podcast where we talk with researchers from the SEAMS and DIVERSify projects about the benefits of intercropping. Over the coming months we will be sharing the feedback from our October workshop so do keep a look out!
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upcoming
Events: LEAF Surgery COP26: On Reflection Carl Edwards, Director, Education and Public Engagement and Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday Manager, will join Caroline Drummond, LEAF CEO, to reflect on their time at COP26, share the highlights and discuss the implications for our sector moving forward.
19th November 10.00 – 10.45am (GMT) We are not using pre-registration for this surgery: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/97430292165?pwd=U21 4SEgwZHdlQ1d1aFVoSDVRWFhhdz09
Meeting ID: 974 3029 2165 Passcode: 830724
Regional Ash Dieback Workshops ‘Knowledge to Action’ is a research project run by Forest Research, University of Exeter, Fera and LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) on understanding ash dieback management and control for farmers. We are holding regional farmer focused workshops, to discuss the management of ash dieback with farmers and landowners in the southeast region. Hampshire: 6th December 09:30 – 13:00 at Sparsholt Conference and events, Sparsholt, Winchester, SO21 2NF
Kent: 6th December 16:30 – 20:00 at Hamlet Larkfield Priory Hotel, 802, London Road, Larkfield, Kent ME20 6HJ
Suffolk: 7th December 13:30 – 16:30 at The Grange Country House Hotel, Barton Road, Thurston, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP31 3PQ
To book a place please email martyn.buttle@leaf.eco by 29th November 2021
training: CEVAS (Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme) CEVAS is aimed at farmers, farm staff, care farmers, volunteers, advisers, carers and teachers/teaching assistants who want to know more about the practicalities involved in hosting visits, how to incorporate food and farming into the school curriculum, and how to communicate effectively with teachers and pupils.
Find out more & book here
LEAF Open Farm Sunday Thank you to everyone who hosted, watched, engaged and asked questions on LEAF Online Farm Sunday in September. You can relive all the action on the LEAF Open Farm Sunday Facebook page! Next year’s live LEAF Open Farm Sunday takes place on Sunday 12th June 2022 – look forward to seeing you, together let’s showcase British farming!
Find out more here.
Free advice and support for farmers: Low Carbon Agriculture Show
AHDB Farm Business Review
LEAF is supporting the Low Carbon
LEAF are supporting AHDB in delivering the
Agriculture show, the new event
Farm Business Review to help your business
showcasing opportunities in low carbon
prepare for the biggest agriculture policy shift in
energy, technological advances and
a generation. Using the tool, you can:
Environmental Land Management (ELM).
•
Access tools and resources, tailored to you
It is taking place on the 8-9 March 2022 at
•
Keep a record of how your business is
the NAEC, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.
performing •
Find out more here
Connect with a consultant for free advice and support
To register your interest, or for more information, please contact rebecca.davis@leaf.eco
past event catch up: LEAF Innovation Centres A very warm welcome to Agrii’s Throws Farm Technology Centre and Newcastle University Farms who have become the
Nutrient management planning with Tried and Tested Good nutrient management is key to delivering more sustainable and profitable farming. Tried and Tested have produced a tool kit of free resources and guidance aimed to help farmers improve nutrient management planning. All resources can be ordered as a hard copy or downloaded via the Tried and Tried tools page.
latest two Innovation Centres to join the LEAF Network. These world class institutions, bring with them a wealth of expertise and will greatly add to our capabilities in the livestock and arable sectors. More sustainable, nature-based and agroecological approaches to farming are key to addressing the climate crisis. If you missed the online launch event you can catch up here.
We are currently developing the next in our Simply Sustainable technical guides and we need your help! We're looking for innovative solutions to reducing plastic use and waste on farm please email lucy.hando@leaf.eco to share your experiences. 33
If you are interested in any of the projects, or have any feedback on IFM Quarterly, then please get in touch with rebecca.davis@leaf.eco
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