Farmers from across the UK join our Soil Health Workshops
Profit, productivity, biodiversity and soil carbon were just a few of the subjects up for discussion at Regenerate Outcomes’ Soil Health Workshops.
Nearly 100 attendees from all over the UK came to our workshops in Perthshire, the Cotswolds and Lancashire earlier this month.
Alongside the many farmers were also ecologists, lecturers, journalists, scientists and food industry professionals, all interested in exploring the benefits of building healthy soil.
The Soil Health Workshops were led by Dr Allen Williams, who founded our mentoring partners Understanding Ag alongside regen pioneer Gabe Brown.
“The truth is that from the very first time Gabe and I came to the UK we fell in love with the country and the potential here. You have incredible resources,” says Allen.
“We’re excited every time we come over because we want to help the farmers truly tap into those resources and reach the potential this land has.
“We are always inspired by their level of enthusiasm in really wanting to learn and to do things in a way that benefits all of us, whether it is the farmer, the environment or the consumer. The beautiful thing about regenerative agriculture is that it is a win, win, win.”
Growing knowledge of regenerative agriculture
Allen says the interest and engagement from the groups reflect a growing knowledge of regenerative practices.
“We have been here several times now over four or five years and what we have definitely found is that the depth of the questions has improved,” he says.
“Instead of dealing with the basics, we are able to dive a little deeper into the real concepts and how to implement this practically in each individual farm’s context.
Allen Williams at our Soil Health Workshop in the Cotswolds
“You couldn’t have asked for better groups in terms of questions, interactions and the desire to learn. People are inquisitive and really want to dig deeper into how regenerative agriculture can be part of what they do.”
Allen says a key part of the events has been allowing people to become comfortable with experimenting and making mistakes.
“We want people to leave the workshops feeling that this is achievable and they can do it within their own farm context because confidence is one of the key factors,” he says.
“All of us make mistakes and we continue to make mistakes because regenerative agriculture is not a prescription. It is a constant learning process.
“The key is to keep moving forward and if we make a mistake - which we will - let’s make small, immediately correctable mistakes.”
Taking action in face of reforms to BPS, SFI and Countryside Stewardship
Allen led the workshops alongside Soil Farmer of the Year 2023 Stuart Johnson and soil microbiologist Kyle Richardville.
Stuart says it is important for farmers to make changes which will help them cut input costs and become more financially independent as BPS is removed and questions hang over the future of SFI and Countryside Stewardship programmes.
“There are lots of people who are looking for that financial security and the resilience that comes with improving soil health, but there are also those interested in sequestering carbon or increasing biodiversity,” says Stuart.
“It’s better for us to empower ourselves and take action.”
“The beauty of focusing on soil health is that no matter what your motivation may be, it provides a way to meet those objectives - whether you are looking to cut costs, improve biodiversity, sequester carbon, get your water cycling more effectively, or countless other benefits.
“At the moment we are in a transition in farming where the subsidies are going to disappear or be very much reduced in the short-term.
“Now is the time to do something while we’ve got this buffer of SFI and Countryside Stewardship. Let’s learn and make some improvements now so we’re in a resilient position.
“It’s better for us to empower ourselves and take action.”
Adam Henson: ‘We need resilient soils’
Our Soil Health Workshop in the Cotswolds was kindly hosted by Adam Henson and Duncan Andrews at Cotswold Farm Park.
Adam and Duncan joined the workshop, taking us on a tour to analyse and observe soils in their arable fields.
Adam Henson at our Soil Health Workshop in the Cotswolds
“Now is a time to go through a transition and think much more carefully about the resources we have, the soil being key to that, and get the most from it,” says Adam, who is well known for presenting BBC’s Countryfile on a Sunday evening.
“We need resilient soils because they are the tool that grows everything. By doing that we can deal with flood and drought to a degree.
“There is so much to learn and a lot to take away from the last few days. It’s been really useful to understand that we all make mistakes and it’s a learning process.”
Learning from other farmers
Edward Franklin, estate manager at Sapperton Wilder - a nature-friendly farming project in the Cotswolds - says the workshop was a good opportunity to learn from other farmers.
“We are currently transitioning from intensive farming on a solely arable farm to a more regenerative system and we need to get a bit more knowledge on how to do that,” he says.
“It’s been really helpful and good to hear from other farmers.”
“We are coming at it from the wildlife side of things and trying to farm with nature. With SFI and other subsidies drifting away we also need to find more financial benefits.
“It’s been really helpful and good to hear from other farmers and how it works in their system and what they’re experiencing. Everyone has different soils, crops and livestock, and if we can take a bit from everyone and make it work for us that’s a massive benefit.”
Regenerate Outcomes works with
farmers to grow profits
We provide one-to-one mentoring to help you cut costs and improve crop and livestock performance.
At the same time, we baseline and measure soil carbon at no upfront cost to generate carbon credits which you can retain or sell for additional income.
Find out more by downloading our Programme Handbook.