IFM Quarterly - Spring 2021

IFM

QUARTERLY SPRING 2021

United Nations International Year of Fruits & Vegetables 2021

Future of Farming Evolution or Revolution?

At LEAF Demonstration Farm, Bowhill Farming Ltd

All the latest research, updates & news around Integrated Farm Management www.leafuk.org

@LEAF_Farming

Positive Action for the Climate

LinkingEnvironmentAndFarming

Welcome to the

first issue

new

of the

IFM

Quarterly!

A warm welcome f rom LEAF’s Chief Executive,

Caroline Drummond MBE

H

ello and welcome to the first issue of the new IFM Quarterly! We have redesigned the IFM Bulletin (and given it a new name!) to bring you information around what is currently happening in our industry, and to update you on LEAF’s work, projects, events and resources.

2021 is a big year for LEAF as we celebrate our landmark 30th anniversary but also a significant year for the UK and for the world. The UK hosts COP26 in November which are the most important round of climate change discussions to date. As an industry, we are facing the biggest shake up to farm payments for generations and navigating a post-Brexit world, as well as dealing with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Food standards and safety, animal welfare and environmental protection are global issues, with consumers, food companies and governments all over the world looking for more sustainable methods of production. In this context, it is reassuring and exciting to observe the unprecedented level of activity in Agritech innovation that is taking place and to note that farmers taking an integrated, regenerative approach are often on the front line of innovation. Every element of LEAF’s Integrated Farm Management will be transformed by new technology over the coming years.

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We are committed to supporting farmers in a practical, meaningful and achievable way as the industry faces a period of unprecedented change.”

Our 10-Year Strategy 2021 – 2031, which we launched at the end of last year, is an advancement of our work in developing and promoting more sustainable agriculture through IFM. We are looking to build on our core capabilities and strengths to deliver positive action for the climate, nature, economy and society, all based around the core principles of Circular Agriculture. Circular Agriculture is a collective search by farmers, interested citizens, businesses, scientists and researchers for the optimum combination of ecological principles with modern technology, new partnerships, new economic models, and credible social services.

It not only focuses on good yields and the sparing use of resources and energy, but also stresses the importance of putting as little pressure on the environment, nature and climate as possible.

We are committed to supporting farmers in a practical, meaningful and achievable way as the industry faces a period of unprecedented change. We will have to seek new approaches to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as aspiring to net zero emissions.

The opportunities for farmers committed to more climate-smart, agroecological farming are simply immense. We recognise the challenges ahead but we are equally determined to steer a carefully planned course of incremental and transformational change for our food and farming systems.

I hope you enjoy our new IFM Quarterly - the articles, updates and the new design – 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!

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ello, I’m Becky Davis. I joined LEAF as a Technical Assistant back in February 2020, after leaving my molecular biology PhD for a more person focused environment. What a good move that was! Although it has been an adjustment, having to work from home and trying to build relationships via video calls and emails, I have constantly been inspired by the work done here at LEAF, not only by the staff, but by the LEAF Network and all our members. I am so excited to be part of the team and am looking forward to meeting many of you in person soon.

My role is varied and covers both internal and external LEAF work. I am sure many of you will have used and worked with the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review (LSFR), for which I am partly responsible.

The LSFR is updated annually, to ensure the contents cover the most up to date technical knowledge.

The 2021 scope went live on December 1st 2020 and will be available to complete until December 31st, 2021. I am also part of the team responsible for the IFM Quarterly, alongside the Marketing Team.

This resource is available to all LEAF members and contains articles on current research within the industry.

Currently I am working on 3 external projects – Farmbench, Food Waste on Farm and Sus-Ag. Farmbench is a project looking at the practices implemented on farms, and the costs associated to these. It also looks at how the farms carbon footprint is impacted by which practices are used. We analyse data from AHDBs Farmbench, the LSFR, and the farms own carbon footprint assessment.

This data is then shared with the participants and we discuss it at an online benchmarking meeting.

Food Waste on Farm, run in partnership with the Soil Association, WRAP, and 3Keel is coming to a close and looked at how much produce is lost before leaving the farm and why. We were responsible for looking at the onion and raspberry sector, with the Soil Association responsible for collecting data in the blackcurrant and brassica sector. The final report will be published later this year.

The Sustainable Agriculture (Sus-Ag) Project is looking to design a tool that builds on existing sustainablility frameworks and metrics. We are currently in the process of designing the prototype and collecting user feedback.

If you are interested in any of the projects or have any feedback around the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review or IFM Quarterly, please get in touch via email at

rebecca.davis@leafuk.org

Contents Spring 2021 6

UN International Year of Fruits and Vegetables The signif icance of the year, what it means for IFM and how to engage

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The Future of Farming - Evolution or Revolution?

LEAF Demonstration Farm Case Study: Digital Technology at Bowhill Farming Ltd

12

What is the Climate Emergency?

The issues, challenges and the urgency for positive action

18

LEAF Demonstration Farm Feature

19

ELMs Update

20 22

Electrical Weeding in action at Lockerley Estate

Outline of LEAF’s involvement in supporting ELMs

LEAF Project Updates A round-up of our new partnerships and European projects

News and Events LEAF’s 10-Year Strategy, LEAF Open Farm Sunday 2021, latest podcast and more

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UN International Year of Fruits & Vegetables Lucy Redmore

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Firstly, the Covid-19 pandemic created numerous challenges for the horticultural industry, including access to labour, ensuring worker welfare, and a disruption to local and national food supply chains.

In addition, health was brought to the forefront of consumers and policy makers decisions, with obesity and diabetes being significant risk factors for Covid-19 mortality. Furthermore, the long-term economic repercussions arising from the pandemic have exacerbated the pre-existing challenges of ensuring access to healthy and affordable food.

Why is this important?

Secondly, Brexit has cast a shadow of uncertainty over businesses, both environmentally and economically. From many perspectives, Brexit makes addressing the key questions more challenging; how do we ensure affordable access to fruit and vegetables, and how do we do this whilst protecting the environment?

The UK is heavily reliant on imports, and in 2019, UK production of vegetables was at a 20year low and 16.4% of the total supply of fruit was produced in the UK, a decline from the previous year. Therefore, a range of strategies are needed to address challenges of increasing UK production and displaced environmental impacts resulting from overseas production. This is especially evident for water; a different UK water management strategy is needed in addition to measures to ensure we are not reliant on imports from water scare regions.

LEAF Senior Technical Coordinator ince 1960, the United Nations (UN) has designated ‘International Years’ to give recognition to important topics on international peace and security. Agriculture has often featured due to its relevance to many aspects of sustainability, including products such as rice, potatoes, quinoa, and pulses, environmental issues of soils and water, and social perspectives of family farming and ecotourism. An Integrated Farm Management (IFM) approach recognises that the interaction and impact of every aspect of farming is important, but also the value in raising awareness of specific challenges. It can initiate conversation and initiatives that help contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

2021 has been designated the Year of Fruits and Vegetables. It aims to highlight the role of fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet and more sustainable agricultural systems. The 2021 designation fits into the UN’s wider strategies of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (20162025) and the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028). A tumultuous year in 2020 has enhanced the relevance and immediacy of this topic amongst agricultural businesses, retailers, governments, and consumers. We are all too familiar with the challenges of this year, but several factors in particular have created momentum for promoting a greater focus on fruits and vegetables.

These factors highlight the importance of the Year of Fruits and Vegetable. It is both a unifying goal and a call to attention. It provides a framework for challenges to be addressed at a national and regional level, whilst also taking into account the global context.

Looking forward Enhancing production and consumption of fruit and vegetables presents significant challenges. However, considerable progress in highlighting its importance has already been made, and the Year of Fruits and Vegetables provides opportunities to develop this further. The National Food Strategy is the first review of the UK food system in 75 years, and Part 1 of the report focused on health and trade. As discussed above, Covid-19 and Brexit have significant repercussions on health and trade, and therefore the National Food Strategy is another supporting factor relevant to the focus of the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. It is rare for recommendations to have such a direct route to government attention, and it provides an opportunity to push for the cross-departmental and regulatory changes needed to make positive changes to our food system. In addition, scientific research is identifying agricultural solutions that recognise the complementarity between health and environment. For example, agroforestry, greater diversity, and whole-farm approaches such as IFM. Research in nutrition has also increased exponentially, from food industry interest in personalised nutrition, to a greater understanding of microbiomes and individual nutritional needs.

Framing conversations around fruit and vegetables is an opportunity for positive discussions and engagement; to ask questions of how we can do more and how the greatest positive impact can be achieved.

Yet it can be difficult to disentangle the role of food producers from the complexity of the political, social, economic, and environmental factors of the discussion, whilst being respectful of different cultures, behaviours, context, and preferences. Listed to the right are examples of actions that can be initiated by the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables: See the UN’s programme for further information, and please get in touch with Lucy Redmore if you have any ideas or examples of engagement as part of your IFM approach:

lucy.redmore@leafuk.org

1) ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION Every business, from arable farmers to agricultural advisors, can support the discussion of the role of fruit and vegetables in a healthy diet and how the food system can support this. It is not the responsibility of food producers to provide dietary advice or to delve into the complexity of nutritional science, but the importance of eating fruit and vegetables is widely recognised and a simple principle that needs promotion; global consumption per capita is 20-50% less than the recommended daily amount. The International Year of Fruit and Vegetables provides a context to frame conversations, with consumers, amongst staff or on an individual level.

2) APPLY IFM PRINCIPLES IFM aims to deliver more sustainable food and farming. Therefore, the role and opportunities for fruit and vegetables can be considered in the context of implementing IFM, either from a broad sustainability perspective, or individual elements of IFM. Organisation and Planning can be used to consider opportunities regarding fruit and vegetables and their position in a business’s IFM approach. Global food production is not aligned with a healthy and sustainable diet, and each business could consider whether it is able to support the production of more fruit and vegetables, indirectly or directly, now or in the future. The challenge of this is not to be underestimated and the regulatory framework is an important externality to consider, but a conversation on this topic is a start that could lead to innovation, informed strategic decisions, and positive change.

Engaging Society is another example of where there are numerous opportunities to use IFM principles to contribute to the objectives of the International Year of Fruit and Vegetables.

Engaging society activities can contribute to social attributes of the topic, such as knowledge of fruit and vegetables and environmental considerations, to cookery skills and access.

Examples from LEAF farms include running cooking classes, supporting local schools by providing access to fruit and vegetables, or awareness raising engagement such as LEAF’s Open Farm Sunday and Farmer Time.

LEAF Demonstration Farm Case Study Digital Technology

The Future of Farming Evolution or Revolution?

India Grant-Wood LEAF Technical Assistant india.grant-wood@leafuk.org

Sion Williams is the Farm Manager of Bowhill Farming Ltd, a 5,463 hectare mixed hill/ upland enterprise forming part of the wider Borders Estates in the Buccleuch Estate, one of lowland Scotland’s largest estates.

Aberdeen Angus cows and Scottish Blackfaced ewes are the estate’s main enterprises, with diversification into a large free-range poultry laying unit, hinds for venison production and a 200kW Anaerobic Digestion Plant. A small amount of arable cropping is also grown mainly for stock feed.

WHO? Bowhill Farming Ltd 5463 hectare (mixed hill/ upland) Buccleuch Estate, Scotland Main enterprises: Aberdeen Angus cows Scottish Blackfaced ewes

Digital technology at Bowhill

Challenges

Digital technology is utilised at Bowhill as a way of maximising data collection to help inform farm management and improve efficiencies.

As a commercial business, efficiency is a central consideration to improve profitability, and all enterprises are benchmarked.

Digital technology can be a costly undertaking.

Boluses for example required a £32,000 investment. For Sion, “it is a no brainer for us as it saves labour and time. But this can’t be compared to a family farm where there may not be as much benefit. The problem is justifying and it involves a big leap of faith”.

Bowhill’s involvement in the Agri-Epi project illustrated the benefits of such adoption and so was a significant factor in making the decision to invest in the boluses. Sion believes the grants coming into force in Scotland for the first time this year will be important to derisk and justify business choices for farmers and land managers.

Health and welfare Electronic Identification (EID) has been used at Bowhill for 22 years. Individual animals are weighed and the data automatically logged.

A record card is generated for each individual including veterinary and medical history e.g. blood tests, antibiotic use, reducing the time taken in manual data input and avoiding human error.

Welfare standards are a central consideration.

The data provided from the boluses provide a more accurate and precise monitoring and therefore keeps more animals in the system; fevers for example, can be detected and treated early on. Faecal Egg Counting is also utilised, mainly for sheep, to inform timing for worming.

Calving Boluses detect heat and temperature which is particularly useful for bulling and calving timing. The herd is treated as individuals instead of looking at data as individuals. Breeding programmes can be adjusted accordingly and an 8 week calving window is followed. A drone is also utilised to monitor deer calving. This limits human contact and staff interference as much as possible, essential for avoiding calf abandonment.

Grazing Technology is also applied to grassland, which is treated as a crop. Grass is measured every week using a plate meter to maximise grass production and utilisation by livestock. This records the number of heads, demand in field etc which is used to determine grazing management across the paddocks. Sion has explored the use of satellite imaging for cropping and grass yields although the accuracy of the data is currently limited due to interference of sward density from grass mixes.

Sion stresses the importance of data analysis“We need to be careful not to have too much data and not do anything with it”. Keeping up-to-date computer software is a further consideration and Bowhill Farming is in the process of merging multiple programmes into one programme for greater ease of use.

Sion believes the challenges involved with the adoption and upkeep of digital technology are significantly outweighed by the substantial benefit of the large amount of data collected that can be used to inform better and more efficient management of whole enterprises.

IFM Data is the central driver at Bowhill Farming and the business is managed to help save time in other parts of the business. The AD plant in particular is a central support for the livestock enterprises and part of the wider circular economy; the crops grown are eaten by cattle, muck goes into the AD, producing fertiliser which is then used on the crops. As Sion explains: “We don’t use many inputs which is good environmentally and good for crop health” By considering the farm as a whole and livestock as mobs, the digital technology utilised at Bowhill allows detection of the weakest performing fields or individuals to target attention and so maximise welfare and production. continued on next page >

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The Future of Farming: Revolution or Evolution?

Sion believes that, “where there is a small, family type hill farm that has not experienced much change, the future of farming will likely be a revolution. For the more forward thinking guys, this will be more of a natural evolution”.

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For the more forward thinking guys, this will be more of a natural evolution.”

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We have been calculating our carbon footprint for years: the footprint of the suckler herd is half of other farms and the nitrogen bill is one fifth of what it used to be due to improved management and use of the AD plant.”

For Bowhill Farming, the future of farming will likely be an evolution of existing practices. Early and extensive adoption of digital monitoring has made big savings on the estate already and as a business that records data more than most, Bowhill’s involvement in various projects furthers opportunities to develop.

The AD plant triggered the start of digital technology on the farm and is entirely computer controlled.

Sion continues to invest in technology on the estate, recently buying two sheep drafters and explains: “If we can get to a similar stage with livestock, with a computer monitoring and identifying problems, it’ll save time and labour.”

He feels Bowhill is in a good place in terms of changes expected with Brexit and says, “If we had concentrated solely on beef and sheep, we would have been left exposed but we have diversified into poultry, venison and the AD plant”. Such diversification reduces and manages the risk of changing circumstances. Sion further recognises the effect of changing government policy on decision-making, stating, “With greater data collection and better management, there is likely to be more support for beef with a view to increase carbon sequestration. We have been calculating our carbon footprint for years: the footprint of the suckler herd is half of other farms and the nitrogen bill is one fifth of what it used to be due to improved management and use of the AD plant.”

As he outlines, “The challenge comes from those farmers not wanting to change or those who are unable to improve or innovate, due to economic pressures or lacking the right skills. The problem is that no one knows where they are. Everyone needs to benchmark. Our margins are tight at Bowhill and it is a commercial business, so we have to” Sion recognises the importance of sharing knowledge, best practice and experiences between farmers to drive innovation. As a LEAF Demonstration Farmer, he regularly hosts visits and talks for other farmers so they can see how digital technology works in action at Bowhill.

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What is the Climate Emergency?

Postive Action for the Climate Caroline Drummond LEAF Chief Executive

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ovid-19 has certainly shaken much of society - access to fresh food has driven a growing interest in local production, there is a stronger appreciation of nature and certainly less travel; however, the threat posed by climate change has not gone away.

The challenge is alarming, but farming is well positioned to make a significant contribution to decelerating and reversing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through integrated approaches encompassing nature-based solutions and regenerative agriculture, alongside green investment to drive innovation, together we can accelerate and scale-up action to meet international climate change targets. This article highlights the scale of that challenge and poses some of the solutions that we need to adopt now.

Across the globe, mankind’s activities and how we live, mainly from extracting and burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees, have increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, driving up temperatures.

Climate change is already affecting the planet, increasing the likelihood and intensity of events like floods, heatwaves, wildfires and drought, and the damage is costing billions of pounds.

What is climate change?

The Earth’s temperature naturally fluctuates, but scientists say this is now rising faster than before. This is linked to the ‘greenhouse effect’, where the Earth’s atmosphere traps some of the Sun’s energy. Solar energy radiating back to space from the Earth’s surface is absorbed by GHG and re-emitted in all directions.

This heats the lower atmosphere and the surface of the planet. Indeed, without this effect, the Earth would be about 30ºC colder and hostile to life. However, our lifestyles are adding to the natural greenhouse effect, and raising temperatures. Unfortunately, all of this is resulting in an increase of global temperatures at a time when the Earth’s temperature cycle is naturally higher.

So, it makes it all the more difficult for nature to correct this.

What are greenhouse gases?

The GHG with the greatest impact on warming is water vapour, but the amount in the atmosphere remains fairly constant. It is CO2 that persists for much longer and is a bigger challenge. Other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide are also released through human activities and, although important, are less abundant than CO2. Since the Industrial Revolution began in about 1750, CO2 levels in the atmosphere have risen more than 30%, higher than at any time in at least 800,000 years and in 2020, temperatures globally were an average of 1.25ºC higher than in pre-industrial times, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

This trend is unsustainable, it needs to be halted and reversed fast. We need to reduce deforestation and fossil fuel use – we need to stop releasing stored carbon.

What is the evidence for warming?

2020 has been reported as the joint-hottest year on record, tied with 2016, with the last six years being the world’s hottest on record. 2020 also saw the highest temperature ever reliably recorded, when in August, a California heatwave pushed the temperature at Death Valley in the Mojave Desert up to 54.4ºC. The average sea level has increased by 3.6mm per year between 2005 and 2015, partly as water’s volume increases as it heats up and also melting ice as glaciers and ice sheets are destabilised. Furthermore, we have all seen the effects of a changing climate in vegetation and land animals, including earlier flowering and fruiting times for plants, changes in the territories of animals, nesting times for birds and the wider reach of pests and diseases. Who could have imagined that English wine makers could be taking on the Champagne producers successfully!

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says that if the current warming trend continues, temperatures could rise 3-5ºC by the end of this century, a rise of 2ºC has long been regarded as the gateway to dangerous warming.

Hence the Paris Agreement commitment to limit temperature rises to 1.5ºC. We are not on track to deliver this. Scientists now predict the threshold of dangerous global warming as early as 2027, and between 2027 and 2042, earlier than the previously predicted 2052 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Their report in 2018 suggested that keeping to the 1.5ºC target would require “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”.

The UN is leading a political effort to stabilise GHG emissions. Even when we cut emissions dramatically, the effects will continue - large bodies of water and ice can take hundreds of years to respond to changes in temperature and it takes decades for CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere.

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Further warming and its associated risks can only be stopped by achieving net zero emissions.”

How will climate change affect farming and the food system?

Most farmers have already seen the impact of climate change, the heavy rainfall, out of season floods, droughts, wildfires, and this is only the start. There is uncertainty about how great the impact of a changing climate will be. It could cause fresh water shortages, dramatically alter our ability to produce food, and increase the number of deaths from floods, storms and heatwaves.

Plant and animal extinctions are predicted as habitats change faster than species can adapt.

Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the health of millions could be threatened by increases in malaria, water-borne diseases, and malnutrition.

Global warming will cause further changes, including the release of large quantities of methane as permafrost - frozen soil found mainly at high latitudes - melts.

Responding to climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face this century. That is why LEAF’s activities are critical and why the focus on events such as the UN Climate Change Conference COP 26 in Glasgow in November will be very important.

Solutions Against the backdrop of the Earth getting hotter, the ice melting, and the oceans rising, we are losing species, building up GHGs and running out of time - sustainability is key. It needs to be applied to every area of human activity; energy, food, clothing, travel, cities, etc and even if we were 100% sustainable, we would need to repair the damage.

To feed more than 10 billion people (as predicted by the UN), within our planetary boundaries (Rockstrum 2009, updated Stephan et al 2015) by 2050, while ending hunger and tackling unhealthy diets, we will have to fundamentally change the food system. This requires coordinated and large scale action by all stakeholders in a fully integrated way and at multiple levels. A climate focus will become essential for all decision making.

Further warming and its associated risks can only be stopped by achieving net zero emissions.

continued on next page >

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Estimates of how the different control variables for seven planetary boundaries have changed from 1950 to present. The green shaded polygon represents the safe space. Source: Steffen et al. 2015

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Farming may be part of the problem – but more importantly, it is a critical part of the solution.”

As countries launch efforts to reboot their economies in response to Covid-19, we need to pursue a course that is more sustainable and resilient.

Recovery plans will need to channel investment in sustainable, resilient agriculture and food supply chains at the local, national and regional levels. Well-designed, climate-smart and agroecological practices are essential to strengthen food security, adapt to and prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and reduce the loss of biodiversity which may exacerbate the risk of zoonotic diseases (transferrable diseases between animal and people). Restoring degraded land and forests and fundamentally scaling up LEAF’s vision and approach through the agroecological and regenerative benefits of the whole farm, site specific focus of Integrated Farm Management, will in turn drive positive action for climate, nature, economy, and society. Embracing circular agriculture with health, diversity, and enrichment at the centre of all we do. This is the aim of our 10-Year Strategy. From our work we know nature-based solutions can increase the resilience of businesses and livelihoods.

Such an approach helps restore the land and balance the climate while feeding the world with healthy food. We need a nature based and regenerative approach that builds on the best of traditional knowledge, whole farm planning, cutting-edge science, research, technology, and innovation. Our priority should be protecting and enhancing biodiversity, soil and water health and security, air quality and improving the nutritional value of our food.

How and what we eat matters, and we must use that power wisely. This is why we have built our 10-Year ambition to transform farming and food systems through our work around three themes health, diversity and enrichment. Although about 6,000 plant species can be used for food, less than 200 species are widely eaten, and only nine make up the world’s plant derived energy intake.

Integrated Farm Management

There is a saying ‘forget nature she will go away’, and she does. “The loss of biodiversity for food and agriculture is seriously undermining our ability to feed and nourish an ever-growing global population,” said former head of the FAO, Jose Graziano da Silva. “We need to use biodiversity in a sustainable way, so that we can better respond to rising climate change challenges and produce food in a way that doesn’t harm our environment.”

75% of Global Food Supply comes from only 12

plant & 5 animal species

Of which, only 3 plants make up nearly 60% of the calories/ proteins in the human diet: corn, wheat & rice Edible plant species (300,000) Consumed by humans (150-200)

The FAO has shown from a study of 91 countries that there is “mounting evidence” the world’s biodiversity was under “severe threat” due to pollution, badly managed water and land use, poor policies, over harvesting and climate change.

Climate change will become a steadily bigger threat to biodiversity by 2050, adding to damage from pollution and forest clearance to make way for crops, according to more than 550 experts in reports approved by 129 governments last March.

Global food production must become more diverse and include species that are not widely eaten but could be better equipped to withstand hostile climates and disease right across the world. “Compounded by our reliance on fewer and fewer species to feed ourselves, the increasing loss of biodiversity for food and agriculture puts food security and nutrition at risk.”

(Graziano da Silva).

Diversification could also help fight malnutrition globally by bringing littleknown but highly nutritious foods into the mainstream, those foods well-suited to hot climates with unpredictable weather patterns.

We must be mindful that the UN has said countries must double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers by 2030 to eliminate hunger and ensure all people have access to food.

One in nine people already do not have enough food, and Covid-19 has only made this worse. continued on next page >

FAO - The state of the World’s Biodiversity for Food & Agriculture

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The Future

Our Vision A global farming and food system that delivers Climate Positive action, builds resilience and supports the health, diversity and enrichment of our food, farms, the environment and society.

Our Mission To inspire and enable more circular approaches to farming and food systems through integrated, regenerative and vibrant nature-based solutions, that deliver productivity and prosperity among farmers, enriches the environment and positively engages young people and wider society.

There is sufficient evidence to clearly demonstrate that positive action for climate change needs to not only start now but accelerate. Covid-19 and Brexit have made the situation more complex. What is needed are practical, realistic, and achievable solutions for farmers. LEAF’s 10-year strategy is an advancement of our work in developing and promoting more sustainable agriculture, through Integrated Farm Management. We are looking to scale up and accelerate our work in the delivery of positive action for climate, nature, economy, and society, based on our core work and the principles of circular agriculture as set out in our vision and mission.

For more than three decades, LEAF, our farmers and members, have been committed to driving change and focusing on delivering more sustainable farming. Through inclusive and collective action these values remain core to our ongoing actions. LEAF is the leading organisation delivering and promoting climate positive, thriving resilient and exemplar agroecological farming at an increasingly global level.

Working with farmers, the food industry, scientists, environmentalists, teachers, young people and consumers, we are looking at new ways to deliver productivity and prosperity amongst our farmers, enrich the environment, and engage young people in society in a valuable and meaningful way.

Our ambition is to play a demonstrable part in transforming farming and food systems building on our work since LEAF was established in 1991. Positive actions for the climate will be driven through the ecological and regenerative benefits of the whole farm system, site specific focus of Integrated Farm Management, with health, diversity, and enrichment at the centre of all we do.

There are three areas we have identified to support change:

1) LITTLE STEPS The little steps, chipping away at day-by-day improvements in performance, capability, responsibility, and change. One of the things during lockdown I have taken up is CrossFit - every morning at 6:00 o’clock I will do an hour of burpees, press ups, and other muscle stretching activities, I know if the day’s programme is for 100 press ups the key is to chip away, bit by bit, to get through it. We cannot underestimate the significant advancements that change farm practices, a sound rotation, diagnostics, tyre pressure adjustments, Integrated Pest Management strategies, etc – the marginal gains.

The future predictions are challenging, but as with anything in life, driving change practically is very important.

We need to move forward in ensuring that we work together in a way that is inclusive, not accusing and driving binary positions, supportive and enabling to create ownership, understanding, lifelong appreciation and ultimately change. If the prediction of reaching an increase in 1.5ºC has accelerated to 2027, we have just six years to make substantial change on our farms, nationally and across the globe. We know working with our LEAF farmers and members there is much we can do, but we need to scale up and accelerate our work, and we look forward to being involved with you on that journey.

2) EMBRACING THE BOLD The big steps, really embracing the bold actions, using food as a force for good. This is finding solutions for those wicked problems that we know face farming, the importance of capturing carbon, such as through soil health improvement, ever more efficient use of inputs and, in particular, artificial fertilisers, the reduction, and eventual eradication of the use of diesels and fossil fuels, planting trees and innovations and techniques we have not even thought of! Collaborative projects are needed, working with researchers and scientists, environmentalists, climatologists and, of course, farmers. This is an area that LEAF is very familiar with, and one we continue to advance and improve on.

3) WORKING TOGETHER Finally, those areas that are beyond the capability of any single sector or organisation needing government, industry, and NGOs’ to work together on new trust models. Such as through the integration of trade, farming, food, health, and education. Farming has a great part to play building carbon, enhancing biodiversity and growing more sustainable food. Added to this is our individual lifestyle decisions, including what and how we eat – we need to recognise the importance of ‘eating like it matters’.

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LEAF Demonstration Farm Feature Electrical Weeding at Lockerley Estate

with Craig Livingstone What technology are you using?

Small Robot Company (SRC), we have 3 main robots (Tom, Dick and Harry!) and they are controlled by the Wilma platform. To date, we are one of the first working with SRC on weed identification and then control with an electric wand. The platform is great and farmer involvement is key.

When did you start using this technology?

We have had the robots on farm for the past 10 months, but commercially working since harvest. I tasked the robots to concentrate on a 3ha blackgrass patch in a 35ha field.

Why did you start using this technology?

Detail and prescriptiveness of using the tech in the correct area, so that artificial inputs are reduced. We are still in the trial phase of this, but I feel this will be game changing when online properly... which isn’t far away.

What are the benef its of using this technology?

Lightweight, targeted, soil health, no movement of soil, no herbicide, removal of potentially serious weeds with no resistance issues.

Do you think you will continue using this technology?

For sure - we are all signed up with an initial area and plan to do more as we learn the tech.

ELMs Update

Lucy Bates LEAF Technical Manager lucy.bates@leafuk.org At the end of 2020, more details were unveiled about the government’s vision for the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which is due to be fully rolled out for farmers in England by the end of 2024, largely replacing schemes currently available under the Common Agricultural Policy. Here you can find out what LEAF’s involvement has been in supporting the design of the new scheme, through its Tests and Trials programme, key outcomes and, crucially, what this may mean for farmers committed to more integrated, nature based approaches.

Tests & Trials findings LEAF’s engagement with the co-design of the new Environmental Land Management scheme continues at several levels. The third report to come out of our Tests and Trials programme was submitted to Defra at the end of last year, summarising thirteen LEAF Demonstration Farmers’ experience of whole farm planning to inform the design of the Land Management Plan mechanism within ELM. We continue to regularly attend co-design meetings with stakeholders from across the agricultural, environmental and heritage sectors. Our position is that IFM (as evidenced through LEAF Marque) delivers on the public goods - clean air; clean and plentiful water; thriving plants and wildlife; protection from environmental hazards; beauty, heritage and engagement with the environment; and reduction of and adaptation to climate change, intended for payment through ELM, and recognition of existing good practice should be an integral part of the payment’s framework.

We look forward to continuing to work with farmers and policy makers as this exciting new agri-environmental era evolves. With whatever uncertainties lie ahead, our LEAF members are in a strong position going forward, practicing regenerative, agroecological and integrated farming. LEAF are working hard to ensure recognition and reward for all the environmental good you deliver.

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Projject Up pdates

Horizon 2020 Emily Trivett, LEAF Technical Coordinator, works on our European projects which bring together researchers and farmers from both the EU and across the world, to share expertise and best practice – all united in their determination to address shared sustainability goals.

Here is an update on one of our projects and how to get involved.

Showcase Showcase is a new EU Horizon 2020 project looking at farm biodiversity and the associated wider benefits. We have teamed up with the University of Reading in this 5-year project to design and test novel ways to integrate biodiversity into UK farming so that it benefits both farmers and wildlife. We are looking for 15-20 arable farmers to work closely with LEAF and the University to co-develop new ideas for integrating biodiversity into production. Novel interventions will then be implemented on farms and performance monitored in terms of supporting beneficial insects, wider biodiversity benefits and compatibility with modern farming methods.

The project will also explore different types of incentives which could help growers adopt new practices including result-based incentives, citizen science for biodiversity monitoring and biodiversity-based business models. The longer–term aim of the Showcase project is to establish working demonstrations of novel practices, reconciling production and biodiversity conservation as a basis to encourage and inform other growers.

If you are interested in getting involved or would like to know more, please contact: india.grant-wood@leafuk.org

Sus-Ag The Sustainable Agriculture (Sus-Ag) Project is a collaboration between LEAF, Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) and Hummingbird Technologies. It is a 9-month project (ending July 2021) funded through Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund, looking at how to harmonise existing sustainability frameworks and metrics into a “tool for all”. We hope to revolutionise the way farmers report on and measure sustainability, to add value to their businesses and allow greater transparency in the supply chain.

The principle aims of the project are: •

To design a tool that is based on a harmonised framework for metrics

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To automate data collection and create an output dashboard

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To use cutting edge AI to look at the causal relationships in sustainability

The project is being led by Hummingbird Technologies and will provide a unique opportunity to drive change and harmonisation.

The web application will be built around both LEAF and SFTs existing MVR (Monitoring, Verifying and Reporting) tools – the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review and the ELM Sustainability Assessment Tool (ELSA), respectively – and will hopefully make a significant contribution in supporting farmers and the wider food chain in delivering informed change around sustainability.

The first iteration of the tool will compile, analyse and report on data and key metrics in five categories: •

Business Management

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Soil Management

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Biodiversity

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Crop Health

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Resource Use and Nutrient Management

LEAF Marque Updates Jennifer Clark Assurance Manager

Lucy Redmore

Senior Technical Coordinator

Jess Corsair

Technical Coordinator Our LEAF Marque Team have been busy setting up processes to enable remote LEAF Marque audits.

Throughout the year they have also been keeping on top of topical issues in agriculture to continuously improve and develop the LEAF Marque Standard.

We hope further funding will allow the development of another four key categories: •

Water Management

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Animal Husbandry

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Social Capital

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Air and Climate

It is the goal of the consortium that users of the tool will not only be the front-facing users inputting the data, but that other stakeholders will receive value from its development.

One particular goal is to develop stakeholder reports, that allow farmers to provide evidence to supply chain and government.

Pictured above: June 2020 saw the launch of the Vitacress Farm Excellence Programme in partnership with LEAF and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, thanks to the contributions and hard work of Lucy Redmore.

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News & Events

LEAF for the Future: Our new 10-Year Strategy This year, LEAF celebrates its landmark 30th anniversary. Our new 10-year strategy sets out our ambitions and commitments for transforming farming and food systems.

Our strategy 2021-2031 is an advancement of our work in developing and promoting more sustainable agriculture through Integrated Farm Management. We will support the delivery of Positive Action for Climate, Nature, Economy and Society based on our core work and the principles of Circular Agriculture as set out in our updated Vision and Mission. View the document here, and watch the launch video here.

Cover Crops in Action Over the last few months, we have been revisiting a long running collaboration with Catchment Sensitive Farming to deliver a series of case studies on good practice across the farmed environment. The first, freshly up on our YouTube channel, looks at LEAF Marque business, Riviera Produce in Cornwall, where the use of cover crops and strip tillage is helping to keep soil in good health. Watch it here.

The Big Farming Survey The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) has launched the largest ever research project relating to the wellbeing of farming people. For the first time, this wide-ranging survey will consider the relationship between physical health, mental wellbeing, and health of farm businesses. The data will enable RABI and its partners to develop effective tools and support strategies for farming people in years to come.

The survey takes 15 minutes, and is open to all farmers, farm workers, their spouses and adult-aged children until 31 March 2021. Find out more here and take part here.

Podcasts: In our latest podcast, Caroline Drummond, LEAF Chief Executive, Emily Trivett, LEAF Technical Coordinator and guest, Charlotte Bickler, Knowledge Exchange and Policy Manager at the Organic Research Centre, discuss how LEAF’s Speak Out Toolkit, developed with funding from H2020 DIVERSify project, is helping to inspire, inform and reignite farmers and researchers communications expertise.

Listen here!

New look for

#LOFS2021

As well as our usual LEAF Open Farm Sunday on-farm events on Sunday 13th June (Covid-19 permitting), we will be running an additional two LEAF Online Farm Sundays in the Spring and Autumn AND monthly Virtual Farm Visits throughout the year!

Here are all the dates: LEAF Open Farm Sunday: 13th June LEAF Online Farm Sunday virtual Spring and Autumn open days: 28th March and 26th September Virtual Farm Visits: First Sunday of each month, throughout 2021 We want to maximize on the success of the virtual events last year, when hundreds of you took to the airwaves and opened your farms online. This is the perfect time to capture the public's interest in farming and the countryside and extend the opportunities for more people to connect with farming and enable more farmers to participate. We would love you take part!

Read more here, and register to host LEAF Open Farm Sunday in June 2021 here.

Do you have Permanent Grassland in your farming system?

UK farmers and land managers are invited to participate in a research project on Permanent Grasslands (PG) in UK farming systems.

This UK based research is part of a wider project being conducted across a number of case study countries (UK, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic) within the Horizon 2020 SUPER-G (Sustainable Permanent Grassland Systems and Policies) research programme. SUPER-G is a 5 year EU programme which aims to provide evidence and solutions to improve the way grasslands throughout Europe are used to produce food as well as other benefits such as biodiversity, flood protection and recreation. The programme is working to co-develop sustainable permanent grassland systems and policies with a range of stakeholders, including farmers, advisers and policymakers.

We are interested in what UK farmers and land managers are doing with their permanent grasslands, as well as gathering evidence regarding opportunities and risks for ecosystem service provision, if there is a role for innovation here, and how markets and government policies influence decisions. We are conducting telephone interviews with farmers and land managers throughout January and February 2021.

The interview will follow a structured set of questions for approximately 1 hr 15 min. You will be asked questions about: •

Your farm, size, area of grassland, the type of livestock you keep and in what numbers (annual average), and the income structure of the business.

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Your thoughts about farming and Permanent Grassland.

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Your current and anticipated future management of Permanent Grassland in your system.

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What influences the decisions you make with regard to Permanent Grassland in your system.

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Your farming education and background.

Participants who complete the telephone interview will be given the opportunity to be entered into a £500 prize draw. If you would like to take part in an interview, please: Register your details here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TJGD8BC Or contact the ADAS team via email samantha.outhwaite@adas.co.uk

by Friday 12th February 2021.

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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

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