IFM Quarterly - Autumn 2021

IFM

QUARTERLY

AUTUMN 2021

Growing LEAF Marque Our latest Independent Evaluation

LEAF Out & About!

All the latest research, updates & news around Integrated Farm Management www.leaf.eco

@LEAF_Farming

Soil & Earthworms with Jackie Stroud

LinkingEnvironmentAndFarming

Welcome to the

autumn issue of the

IFM

Quarterly!

A warm welcome f rom LEAF’s Chief Executive,

Caroline Drummond MBE

Last week saw the release of Part 2 of the National Food Strategy. It sets out 14 recommendations to achieve 4 very clear objectives: •

Escape the Junk Food Cycle and protect the NHS

•

Reduce diet-related inequality

•

Make the best use of our land

•

Create a long-term shift in our food culture

LEAF has a huge role to play in advancing some of the reports key recommendations – particularly around land use and creating a shift in our food culture. The report is clear in its support of more regenerative, agroecological practices. It is the roadmap to advance the adoption of such practices and developing the science and technologies required, that is needed. Our Network of Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres have a central part to play. By pioneering new sustainable farming approaches, backed up by robust science and, critically, reaching out to the wider farming community, that the changes needed will be delivered. Similarly, we know that any environmental improvements have to make good

"

business sense.

The debate in farming is no longer about whether we should be farming more sustainably but about ‘how’ we are going to make these transformations happen and how fast.

"

Read LEAF's full response to The National Food Strategy Part 2.

I hope you enjoy this issue of IFM Quarterly - please stay involved and in touch! We need your input and your voice, now more than ever.

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!

Hello, I’m Lucy Redmore. I’ve worked at LEAF since November 2017 after completing an MSc in Sustainable Crop Production. I am not from a farming background, but during my undergraduate Biology degree, I quickly realised that agriculture was the topic that encompassed all my interests, from plant sciences and sustainability, to the food system.

My role at LEAF has enabled me to work in an area that aligns with my skills and interests, and I enjoy the challenge of working for such a fast-paced and dynamic organisation. I’m part of the LEAF Marque Team, working with Jess Corsair and led by Jenny Clark. Together, we ensure the effective delivery of LEAF Marque certification. My focus is largely on the assurance aspects of the LEAF Marque System, involving Certification Body training and Oversight, normative document revision, assessing risks to assurance, and Claims & Labelling. I also provide technical support on the LEAF Marque Standard, including research to inform changes to audit protocols and the ongoing development of the Standard. For example, I have been busy researching the relevance of the Standard to protected cropping systems and business models including rented land and contract farming agreements, in preparation for the Draft LEAF Marque Standard v16.0 consultation later this year.

My work on Standard development and Assurance comes together in the work I do to ensure our compliance with ISEAL's Codes of Good Practice. We are independently assessed, and I am involved in the preparation for these assessments for the Standard Setting and Assurance Codes. ISEAL is a global membership organisation for sustainability Standards, and our status as Code Compliant Member is important for maintaining and demonstrating the robustness of the LEAF Marque System.

We are always keen for feedback on any aspect of the LEAF Marque System, so if you have queries or comments, please get in touch with me at lucy.redmore@leafuk.org

Contents Autumn 2021 6

Soils & Earthworms

10

LEAF Out & About!

14 16 18

With Jackie Stroud

A round-up of where we've been & what we've been up to

LEAF Network on the map The new LEAF Network map has launched on our website

LEAF Demonstration Farm Feature IPM with Mark Knight at Tangmere Airf ield Nurseries Ltd

Integrating Resources into IPM Strategies LEAF Farmers Integrate AHDB Resources into IPM Strategies as part of an IFM approach

20 22 24 28

Growing LEAF Marque Our latest independent evaluation results

Showcase - what's it all about?

All you need to know about the H2020 funded project

Project Updates An overview of LEAF's projects

News & Events Training opportunites, LEAF Online Farm Sunday & the latest news f rom LEAF

5

Soil & Earthworms Jackie Stroud Research Fellow/Senior Lecturer in Farming Systems at SRUC (LEAF Innovation Centre) jacqueline.stroud@sruc.ac.uk or @wormscience on Twitter

Earthworms are obviously involved in soil biological health, so I wondered why people aren’t already earthworm surveying. What’s stopping them? Worms are common, known for their roles in soil fertility, and associated with good soils management – what are the main obstacles?

The answer came back: <60 minutes method and dynamic interpretation support was needed. I continue to focus on removing the obstacles and to date our science-farming partnership has led to 31, 930 worms being studied. This month alone I’ve been helping people from NZ, Australia and the USA who want to know how we’ve had this unprecedented success. It has certainly been a learning curve!

Spring and Autumn worm sampling It is not a lecture, nor a marketing campaign – the aim is to stimulate small group discussions.

Scientists and farmers don’t normally interact much, but the seasonal survey creates opportunities to tackle questions as they arise. To leverage the knowledge of each other then we need to record our observations in the same way (same method, timepoint). It is impossible to be helpful when people know earthworms in terms of bird numbers when ploughing! Digging five holes per field is a small ask, considering that it puts us all on the same page.

The first event (#60minworms) was all about the method – moving away from meaningless worm counts - to checking for the three types of earthworms (earthworms are grouped by feeding and burrowing behaviours) and that worms are found in each soil pit (widespread). We collectively identified the need for midden counting, otherwise, deep burrowing earthworms (also called anecic worms) would go unreported. Middens are made by Lumbricus terrestris - they are not worm casts - but the piles of surface organic matter collected at night which overly their permanent vertical burrow. The burrows can extend over a metre deep – so this type of worm is not easily captured when digging holes! Their middens are easy to spot, and this year I’ve had reports that they are covering up to 30 % of the soil surface. These middened patches are biological hotspots - with fundamentally different carbon and nitrogen dynamics, water drainage and crop rooting patterns – the survey suggests these patches are present in 4 out of 5 arable fields. From my perspective, it was curious that 1 in 5 fields people found no evidence for the presence of this type of earthworm (or their middens). Unexplained absences have also been detected in no-tillage fields in the USA - which surprised the researchers because this type of worm is tillage sensitive (tillage disturbs their habitat and removes their surface food supply). Therefore, I reviewed the invertebrate pathology literature (spanning 1880 – 1990’s; before earthworm research was replaced by biotechnology) which revealed the vulnerability of these earthworms to castrating parasites – with high infection levels found in earthworms living in soils impacted by air pollution. I published this literature review because it is important to know parasites and pollution are a component of soil health.

Is soil health a commodity? Or is soil health supporting expert behaviours that maintain or enhance the life-sustaining components of the ecosystems that we are dependent upon?

To me, soil health is about fostering expertise through dynamic, locally adapted research. For example, the first event revealed a mutual interest in knowing more about deep burrowers, which empowered me to highlight the knowledge gaps in pollution-parasite dynamics. The second event (#30minworms) stimulated a lot of questions about pesticides – enabling me to do some interesting lab and field slug pellet and glyphosate research and resulted in good feedback which was useful to management decisions. The curious anecdote that earthworms eat slug eggs remains on the ‘to do’ list! The third event (#worldwormweek) addressed the perception that earthworm identification is difficult and unsupported – so I curated an online results portal to make it easier to share/compare results. People took part from all over the world – investing their time in digging 5 soil pits and sharing their observations – including worms living in delightfully exotic banana plantations and rice paddies.

Then I stopped It has been very tough trying to achieve peer acceptance. To better understand the hostility from soil scientists I asked thirty of them based in the UK and Europe: what is the obstacle? There is 100 years of research on earthworms, they are known ecosystem engineers, people freely invest their time in laborious surveys which are revealing information gaps – what is the barrier to developing science-farming partnerships? The obstacle is simply negative perceptions about farmland data quality and its usefulness to science.

As the saying goes, you only really understand something when you try to change it

Science management is a ‘publish or

People are more proficient at earthworm

perish’ culture, so concerns about data

identification, we are leveraging the

quality means the data outputs are

knowledge of each other and building the

unpublishable. However, the scientists

capacity for co-ordinated actions in soil

revealed just one change is needed for

biological health. There is decent scientific

peer acceptance: a photograph of the

support now, for example, the dry spring has

earthworms. Most scientists would be

been largely unsuitable for reliable surveys,

confident in farmland data quality with

so the collective decision is that we should

photo verification, an obstacle which

survey within three weeks of a 25 mm/day

we can easily resolve together using the

rainfall event in the Spring and Autumn, so

smartphones in our pockets.

I’ll be updating the sampling booklet.

Earthworm biology and ecology Earthworm species that are found in farmlands have a lifespan of a few years to over a decade.

Earthworm activities have a broad influence on agro-ecosystems including water, gas and root movement in soils, predator populations, nutrient cycling, disease persistence, plant productivity, pollution transfer and parasite transmission. This is why they have been called ecosystem engineers.

Differences in earthworm communities associated with tillage intensity was first documented in the 1930’s (absence of ‘red’ worms) but it wasn’t until the 1970’s when earthworms were grouped by their feeding and burrowing behaviours. There are three groups: epigeic earthworms which are surface dwelling, plant-litter feeding earthworms; endogeic earthworms which are topsoil burrowing, soil-feeding earthworms, and anecic earthworms, which live in deep vertical burrows, and drag plantlitter at the soil surface to plug the top of their burrow (midden).

Conventional tillage e.g. ploughing/powerharrowing is detrimental to the plant litter-feeding epigeic and anecic earthworm populations. This is because it disrupts their habitat and food supply.

In contrast, tillage can increase topsoil dwelling endogeic earthworm numbers by increasing their food supply through soil mixing. This is why worm numbers are a confusing metric – because it provides no information as to the types of earthworm present, that is, if the system is functionally intact.

Invitation to survey earthworms this Autumn We need a photographic template, so there is an upcoming competition for young farmers with creative flair to design the digital photography templates for us all to use (and win soils books in the process).

Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.

LEAF Out & About!

With lockdown easing, it has been an absolute joy to be out and about again over the last few weeks, talking to members face to face, catching up with Demonstration Farmers and friends across the industry. The LEAF flags could be seen flying high at Groundswell and Cereals after such a long hiatus.

Here’s a round up…

Groundswell Agriculture 2021 The highlight of the event was LEAF’s panel discussion on Wednesday evening, exploring our 30-year journey developing and demonstrating Integrated Farm Management and how this aligns with regenerative agriculture. Our CEO, Caroline Drummond, spoke alongside LEAF Demonstration Farmer Ian Waller, Alastair Leake from GWCT, Resilient and Ready project farmer Andy Bason and LEAF Marque Assurance Manager, Jenny Clark, on our ambitions over the next 10 years. The wealth of experience, drive for continuous improvement and consideration of future opportunities covered in this discussion highlights just how valuable the work of LEAF farmers is in demonstrating and developing IFM as we embark on a new era for agriculture outside the EU as well as in tackling the climate crisis. We were also delighted to unveil our new video powerfully illustrating IFM as a successful regeneration approach. If you haven’t already seen it, do take a look and huge thanks to all the farmers who were involved in its creation – we hope you are as proud of it as we are!

If you missed us, you can watch our panel discussion here

Watch the 'IFM supports Regenerative Agriculture' video here:

11

Cereals Following on from an invigorating and inspiring few days at Groundswell, LEAF travelled to Lincoln for the Cereals Event. A big thank you to AHDB for hosting us in their Collaborators tent, alongside Nuffield Scholars and Agricology.

The two-day event began with a panel discussion on the triple bottom line, chaired

by Caroline Drummond, exploring the importance of learning from best practice, through demonstration and knowledge exchange. Our biggest take away from the session was that “positive people make things happen” … Our network of Demonstration Farmers, Innovation Centres and LEAF Members are all working towards making positive change happen - for farming, food systems, and the planet.

So many of you dropped in to see us and it was great to speak to many interested parties about the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review, our online self-assessment management tool.

Integrated Pest Management was certainly a hot topic over the two days, with many conversations taking place both formally and informally. See our article on AHDBs resources available to support the implementation of IPM as part of an IFM system and do take a look at our technical handbook – Simply Sustainable Integrated Pest Management.

Farmer Time Drinks Receptions Another highlight of the last few weeks has been meeting up with many farmers involved in Farmer Time. We held two drinks receptions – the first at Cereals, kindly sponsored by Strutt and Parker and also at The Great Yorkshire Show, with thanks to Future Farmers of Yorkshire.

They gave us a great opportunity to hear their experiences of their classroom link ups and their enthusiasm for Farmer Time was truly inspiring!

LEAF Open Farm Sunday 2021 Finally, farmers and industry organisations came together on the 27th June for LEAF Open Farm Sunday. Over 100 farms welcomed thousands of people onto farms for socially distanced walks and talks and we were delighted to welcome Defra Farming Minister, Victoria Prentis who toured LEAF Marque certified Rectory Farm in Oxfordshire with Imogen Stanley.

Watch the LOFS21 highlights video here!

It has been a brilliant few months with such a tangible, optimistic buzz in the air. Technology, innovation & collaboration at its very best and made extra special by being able to catch up with new and old friends in person.

Photo: Kypie Farm for LOFS

13

The LEAF Network on the map!

LEAF’s Network of Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres, is an integral facilitator of sustainable farming knowledge generation and exchange, representing some of the country’s most forward thinking farmers and world renowned research centres. Together they are , leading the way in the innovation and demonstration of IFM practices across multiple sectors and landscapes. As part of the ongoing development of the Network, we are building on existing platforms and creating new tools to enable greater engagement and collaboration between and within research and practice. One of these tools is a new interactive digital map of the LEAF Network which includes an inventory of the resources and particular IFM strengths of Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres. It has already identified overlaps between farmer interests and current research, reinvigorated relationships with our Innovation Centres and highlighted early adoption of sustainable practices that align with regenerative agriculture, circular systems and climate positive farming.

This accessible online map will allow easier identification of the capabilities, specific interests, current projects and sources of knowledge available within the LEAF Network, highlighting existing innovationand capacity within UK agriculture and help identify opportunities for collaboration.

The Network Newsletter and Network Meetings also now occur quarterly and invite meaningful correspondence and discussion between the research and development needs of the Network and the demonstration of solutions. Generating partnerships and cross-sector knowledge exchange among research establishments and working farms is key for facilitating the advancement of sustainable farming practices and will be invaluable for helping drive LEAF’s 10 Year Strategy forward.

Take a look at the LEAF Network map here

15

LEAF Demonstration Farm Feature Integrated Pest Management at Tangmere Airfield Nurseries Ltd

with Mark Knight LEAF Demonstration Farm and LEAF Marque certified business, Tangmere Airfield Nurseries is a family business based in West Sussex.

They are one of Europe’s largest, sweet pepper nurseries growing to the LEAF Marque Standard.

You often use the

We grow our peppers hydroponically in a climate-controlled

phrase "guardians

glasshouse system that covers a total area of 30 hectares. We use IPM

of the greenshouse" to optimise biological pest control, our strategies include both general - why IPM?

and ‘spot’ applications, viewing plant protection products as a final option and localised treatment. Monitoring and the use of beneficial bugs are essential in Tangmere’s IPM programme. Another strategy is to introduce beneficials in areas of our glass that have a history of a certain pest, so they are ready when the pest arrives.

How does

As a grower, I need to know the pests in the crops and

IPM work in

where they are – the earlier a pest is spotted, the less

action?

damage is done and the better the outcome. Staff are trained as ‘scouts’ to identify pests, make introductions and continuously monitor the crop for potential threats.

Once a pest is found, the area is observed for the level of infestation, and this evaluation decides the action that needs to be taken.

We introduce the pest [red spider mite (Tetryanychus urticae)] and beneficial insect Phytoseiulus persimilis to the crop very early in the season, which means the pest cannot develop that fast. We then monitor the pest levels and make corrective application of beneficials, until we reach a point where there is a natural balance throughout the crop – the beneficials will not eradicate all the pests (they need something to feed on!) and the numbers are held at an acceptable level.

Regular monitoring is carried out to keep the pest at economically viable levels, ensuring that when it does enter the crop at significant numbers, it can be effectively managed by the beneficial species already present.

What other

Time of year and plant size also play an important factor

factors come in acceptable pest levels, so after checking an area we into play?

decide to either do nothing, if beneficials are present in sufficient number, or introduce beneficials to the area or crop. Spot spraying can also be used as a final option to stop further crop damage.

What's

We are continually fine tuning our IPM system. As with

the future

all aspects of our production, we continue to support

outlook?

research and development, trialling new beneficial bugs and technologies in order to implement sustainable and resilient practices that work to protect our peppers against pests.

For more information about Tangmere and how they use IPM strategies within IFM, download our technical guide – Simply Sustainable Integrated Pest Management and do have a listen to this podcast where Lucy Bates, LEAF Technical Manager, talks about the history of IPM and its relevance to the current agricultural landscape.

17

LEAF Farmers Integrate AHDB Resources into IPM Strategies as part of an IFM approach Lucy Bates Technical Manager lucy.bates@leafuk.org

As the new normal of integrating

Just a few examples of where the LEAF Demonstration Farms (LDF) value the input from AHDB can be found in the LEAF video library. Under the remit of Prevent, our newest LDF, agronomist James Loder

a broad range of strategies into

Symonds of Nonington Farms in Kent

crop health and protection routines

talks about combining variety selection

really gets going, LEAF brings to the table the experience of farmers

using the AHDB Recommended Lists with cultural strategies and precision nutrition supported by RB209 for healthy

who have been trading on IPM

establishment and disease prevention in

as an integral part of Integrated

cereals and oilseeds at our IPM in Arable

Farm Management (IFM) for years, and in many cases decades. The research and resources provided

by AHDB continue to support LEAF

Virtual Field Day last summer.

Looking towards the Detect aspect of IPM, Dawn Teverson shares insights from the AHDB Pest Bulletin at our IPM in Field Veg Virtual Field Day, alongside LEAF Marque

farmers in continuous improvement

growers Riviera Produce in Cornwall and

and implementation of evolving

LDF Simon Day in Suffolk. The value of this

best practice across the wide range

provision to growers I speak to across the LEAF Network is widely acknowledged,

of farm sizes and sectors that they

sometimes described as ‘having another

represent.

pair of eyes in the team’.

Photo: University of Reading - Richard Casebow

Control comes in many guises, and some of the biological options that have been pioneered successfully in protected horticulture are championed by LDF Mark Knight of Tangmere Nurseries, West Sussex. His experience acts as a case study in the latest addition to our Simply Sustainable series, Simply Sustainable IPM which signposts to AHDB guidance including their Encyclopedia of Pests & Natural Enemies, and decision support tools such as the BYDV management tool.

Evaluation of crop health and protection strategies is a key control point for LEAF Marque Certification, where an annually reviewed Crop Health and Protection Plan that references all areas of IPM is mandatory. There is no one template for this, above all looking to utilise existing supply chain requirements and avoid burdensome duplication of paperwork, but the newly developed benchmarkable Voluntary Initiative IPM Plan is a great solution for many LEAF Marque certified businesses.

Overall, the growing importance of diversity in approach to crop health is reflected in the range of resources that farmers and growers are turning to. With 45% of UK fruit and veg being grown by LEAF Marque certified businesses, of which 45% are carrying out best practice in all areas of IPM (LEAF Global Impacts Report 2021), there is an ongoing imperative to work together to inform and support continuous improvement, application and uptake of IPM in this exciting new era. As part of the Horizon2020 IPMWorks project, LEAF is one of 31 partners across 16 European countries working with new and existing networks, including the AHDB Monitor Farms, to demonstrate that IPM indeed works.

For more info on LEAF’s work in this area, crossovers with AHDB initiatives or details of LEAF Marque Certification, please don’t hesitate to get in touch 19

Growing LEAF Marque

Why?

The Study

Gaining insight into the impact

This evaluation study was carried

of LEAF Marque to the uptake of

out by Mike Reed Associates from

more sustainable farming is crucial

November 2020 to March 2021. The

for continuous improvement. That

objective of the study was to evaluate

is why we invest in monitoring

how LEAF Marque supports the

and evaluation. We regularly

‘enabling environment’ for LEAF’s

commission independent

broader work.

impact evaluations that provide

The Methodology

vital insights into the impact of our work and how we need to

Methodology included semi-structured

continually respond, improve

interviews with farmers, suppliers,

and adapt. Last month, we

retailers, brands, government agencies,

announced the results of our latest

consultants and members of the

independent study – below you

farming media. Interviews with LEAF

can find a summary of the key

staff and ISEAL members, literature

highlights and next steps.

review and a workshop with LEAF staff.

The Results LEAF Marque goes beyond purely being a certification system, by growing:

↑ LEAF's Voice ↑ Recognition ↑ Awareness ↑ Rewards ↑ Value ↑ Impact ↑ Retailer reputation ↑ The LEAF Community ↑ Credibility

To find out more about the LEAF Marque independent evaluation, click here

Our Learnings

Our Response

↑ Grow recognition of the LEAF Marque logo and what it means

We welcome the outcomes of the evaluation. The

↑ Grow carbon reduction offer ↑ Grow market opportunities

findings indicate that every aspect of our work is supported, in one or more ways, but the existence of LEAF Marque and the credibility, tools and income that it provides.

Jennifer Clark

↑ Grow the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review offer ↑ Grow harmonised metrics

"

↑ Grow benchmarking with other standards

LEAF Assurance Manager

LEAF Marque certification is grounded in rigour

and transparency; it is data driven and research led. Gaining insight into its impact is crucial for continuous improvement. Just as farms don’t stop improving once they become certified, so we are also continually improving to keep up with global best practice. We are committed to listening and

↑ Grow reach – sector, region, country

adapting. This evaluation reinforces our view that every aspect of LEAF’s broader work is supported

by LEAF Marque. It offers credibility, income and technical tools for farmers, supply chain actors and regulators. Overwhelmingly, its message is one of transformation and positive change. By working with farmers to reward and incentivise change, and with retailers and consumers to ensure a market for environmentally sustainable food, we are uniquely positioned to link landscape health with people’s

"

lives and plates.

Listening Adapting Improving Photo: Hugh Lowe Farms

21

Delivering more integrated, climate positive farming solutions has to be addressed at a pan-European and global level. Currently LEAF is involved in several projects,

Showcase - what's it all about?

working with farmers, researchers and industry bodies to tackle a range of sustainable farming issues such as intercropping,

India Grant-Wood

water management, best

Technical Assistant

practice demonstration and

india.grant-wood@leafuk.org

development of management tools to support farmers

What is it?

in their uptake of more

Showcase is a 5-year project looking at

regenerative practices.

integrating biodiversity with farming

Here, India Grant-Wood, LEAF Technical Assistant, explains

practices. It involves establishing working demonstrations of quantifiable practices that reconcile production and biodiversity conservation. The project is

more about Showcase – what

funded through the EU Horizon 2020

the project is setting out to do,

programme, working with farmers,

who’s involved, work to date and next steps…

industry bodies and researchers from 10 European countries.

Photo: University of Reading - Richard Casebow

Who’s involved?

LEAF and the University of Reading are working with a selected group of arable farms in the UK to co-develop novel ideas that benefit both farmers and wildlife and form a UK EBA (Experimental Biodiversity Area). A number of our members, Demonstration Farms, Innovation Centres and LEAF Marque certified businesses are involved and it is part of a wider EBA network across Europe involving European farmers, research institutions and universities. There are various levels of involvement possible in this project; the highest level of participation being the Intervention Farm core working group to co-design and implement an on-farm intervention, to a less intensive involvement as a monitoring and survey farm participating in interviews and/or on-farm biodiversity monitoring. There will be further opportunities to include farmers who are interested in being involved in a monitoring/survey capacity as this project progresses.

What’s happened so far?

The final group of Intervention Farms were selected based on existing biodiversity management, interest in introducing new measures and geographic location. The first co-design workshop was held last month where scientific evidence was presented for various biodiversity interventions and initial interest and feasibility discussed. This was the first stage in the intervention co-design process to identify measures which would be complementary to the farms’ existing management and landscapes.

What’s next?

The first face to face workshop is scheduled this summer with LEAF and the University of Reading facilitating discussions with the Intervention Farms on a range of biodiversity measures. This discussion will culminate in the selection and implementation of a biodiversity intervention, or combination of interventions, on all the Intervention Farms later this year. The impact of this selected intervention on both production and the surrounding environment will then be measured over the coming years

We will keep you updated on the project’s progress and if you would like to find out more, please get in touch with india.grant-wood@leafuk.org 23

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.

Photo: Bangor Univerity - Dan Struthers

Horizon 2020: Envision

Agri Capture CO₂ This 3-year project has now been officially launched and is in the throes of developing and organising resources and interactive events for stakeholders, including farmers, businesses, and other interested bodies. Our 6 case studies have submitted their development of AgriCaptureCO2’s suite of services; Look out for events you can be a part of, and contact rebecca.davis@leafuk.org for more information or to get involved.

the University of Reading as part of ‘Envision’ looking to develop innovative solutions through Earth Observation to support sustainable farming monitoring. We would

baseline data for analysis and to support the Explore, Quantify, Verify, and Support.

LEAF is currently working with

like to speak to any farmers about their opinions on the use of remote monitoring and farm inspections.

Please contact Georgios Pexas g.pexas@reading.ac.uk if you are available to participate in an interview.

IPM Works

SolACE

Working with partners across

After SolACE’s most recent Annual Meeting held in

Europe, planning for the

June, all partners from 14 different countries across

first demonstration events is

Europe were brought together, to share results

underway. LEAF has contributed

from the last year of project work and to formulate

its experiences of running a

an action plan for the remainder of the project

national network of demonstration

which concludes next Spring. LEAF’s involvement

sites and helped gather views

has been around presenting and sharing findings

from other experts including

from the 2020/21 phase of the project, focusing on

the AHDB Monitor Farms and

potato trials in the East and North-East of England

Teagasc BETTER Farms. We are

that measure the effects of irrigation and microbial

now leading on the design of

inoculant on potato crop growth and yields. This

feedback forms and protocols

year, we are working with partners from Newcastle

for gathering feedback from

University, to replicate these trials. In addition,

demonstration events to inform

we are co-leading the knowledge exchange

ongoing improvements over the

and dissemination element of the project. After

life of the project. The collaborative

speaking to all partners, we have set our activities

UK demonstration ‘hub’ will

for the remainder of the project, which will consist

be focussed on Scotland and

of videos, policy briefs and practice abstracts. More

Coordinated by LEAF Innovation

to follow towards the end of the project.

Centre, The James Hutton Institute.

25

Sus-Ag The Sus-Ag project by the SusAg consortium, made up of LEAF, Sustainable Food Trust, and Hummingbird Technologies is in its final quarter after having a project extension of 3 months. The project partners have completed content development for 9 categories, plus a hidden category on climate change

Nature Based Solutions to Climate Change Our group of ten farmers have completed a farm carbon footprint tool. This has provided the farmers with a baseline measurement to understand their own and their farms’ impact on climate change

mitigation. The categories are as follows: •

Business Management

•

Human Capital

•

Biodiversity

•

Soil Management

•

Crop Health

•

Animal Husbandry

•

Resource Use

•

Water Management

•

Social Capital

and presented an opportunity

Within each category, there are sub-

for measuring further

categories with questions that collect

improvement. Furthermore,

qualitative and quantitative data that

our farmers are able to project

is then scored using the new scoring

the environmental impacts of

system designed by the consortium,

various different scenarios using

based upon existing assessments

the tool, for example, understand

(eg, LEAF Sustainable Farming

the impacts of changing a

Review, and the SFT Sustainability

particular practice or growing a

Assessment).

different crop. All participating farmers have been set up with their own bespoke adviser, who have been visiting them over the last couple of months to develop an action plan to mitigate climate change using naturebased farming approaches. We have also come together as a group for a workshop to share and discuss results.

The project is now looking at collecting feedback on the current content from users (primarily farmers at this stage) to ensure usability and relevance. Additionally, we have finalised brand voice and brand identity which is assisting in the design aspects of the tool and online dashboard. For further information please contact rebecca.davis@leafuk.org.

Penwith Partnership We have visited participating farmers and given guidance on LEAF Sustainable Farming Review completion and held a group tour to the world leading daffodil facilities at Varfell Farms, which we hope to launch as a LEAF Demonstration Farm by the end of the project.

Project participants created some great self-filmed footage which has been stitched together into a fabulous video showing a snapshot of Penwith spring farming, with music composed by a local A-Level student. Take a look below:

27 Photo: Varfell Farms

upcoming

Events: LEAF Online Farm Sunday 2021 26th September Join us on the LEAF Open Farm Facebook page and social media for LEAF Online Farm Sunday. We have an exciting line of Facebook live farm tours throughout the day, and with our theme for this year being Climate Change, we’re excited to announce we will be hosting a discussion between some of our leading farmers about what they are doing to help work towards net zero and explain the concepts behind their work.

Find out more here

training:

Managing Pesticides in Fresh Produce Managing Pesticides in Fresh Produce training is aimed at Technical Managers who have regular contact with retailers in the UK. The course will be highly

BASIS Introduction to IFM & LEAF Marque A BASIS accredited three-day online training course covering all aspects of Integrated Farm Management and the LEAF Marque Standard. This is an ideal

participative and will use practical examples to enable learning to be easily applied to real business situations.

12 BASIS Points awarded.

2nd - 3rd September 8.30am - 12.30pm More details & book here

first step for anyone looking to become LEAF Marque certified or wanting to gain more out of their certification. Aimed also offers a deep dive into the aims and

CEVAS

processes of LEAF Marque certification to

CEVAS is aimed at farmers, farm staff, care farmers,

help advise others or certify businesses.

volunteers, advisers, carers and teachers/teaching assistants

at producers, advisors and auditors, it

19th - 21st October 9.30am - 12pm Find out more & book here

(Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme)

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 & register here

News...

Join the LEAF Team We have an exciting new opportunity for a Business Relationship Coordinator. In this pivotal role, working with our Director of Business Development, you will build strong relationships with our members and partners, support our diverse range of UK and EU projects and work closely with LEAF's growing team to help deliver business objectives.

Applications close Friday 30th July Find out more & apply here

ELM Engagement We continue to participate in the codesign process of all aspects of ELM as they start to take shape, working to represent the common sense of recognising and rewarding Integrated Farm Management as a systemic mechanism for public goods delivery. Quarterly Stakeholder Engagement Group meetings are supplemented by monthly one to ones and going forwards the increasing opportunity for farmer members to comment and input on proposals.

LEAF was happy to see soil being put at the forefront of the first widely available ELM payments for arable and horticulture and

Bloomin' new future for Emily!

Emily Trivett, LEAF Technical Coordinator,

grassland, intended from 2022.

We recognise that the majority of LEAF Marque farmers will already be working to these standards or above, further evidence that the

who has done an incredible job managing

LEAF Marque standard evidences

all of our H2020 European Projects, has left

environmental land management.

the team to pursue her lifetime dream. She

Remaining focussed on the site-

has set up her own floristry and scented candle business based on the family farm in Warwickshire.

We wish Emily all the very best of luck in her new venture!

specific nature of all sustainability solutions, we would highlight the very different soil challenges associated with field scale vegetable production to cereal and oilseed systems and urge a further review of this combined arable and horticulture standard.

29 Photo: Collison Cut Flowers

Cover Photos: Leckford Estate

If you are interested in any of the projects, or have any feedback on IFM Quarterly, then please get in touch with rebecca.davis@leafuk.org

www. l ea f.e co LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Stoneleigh Park Warwickshire CV8 2LG United Kingdom 02476 413 911 C harity N umber : 104578 1

@LEAF_Farming

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