Proagrica has announced its sponsorship of the renowned Nuffield Scholarship, a UK scholarship focussing on nurturing innovation in the agriculture sector and driving positive change.
Caroline Davis, COO at Proagrica, says the company is excited to create opportunity for individuals within agriculture. “We are delighted to partner with Nuffield and be able to provide opportunity to passionate and talented individuals to make a difference in the world of agriculture. The agriculture and food sectors are facing tremendous challenges and this scholarship is the right platform to foster problem-solving innovations.”
In this, Proagrica’s inaugural year, the successful candidate as part of their research, will explore opportunities for US and UK farmers and growers to integrate nature-based solutions into their farming practices.
Each year, Nuffield Scholarships are awarded to approximately 20 individuals working in farming, horticulture, forestry, or any supporting industry. Each scholar spends at least eight weeks abroad to research a chosen topic. At the end of the scholarship, they produce a 10,000 word report which is presented at the annual Nuffield Farming Conference. Their valuable research adds to the ever-growing agricultural knowledge base and many scholars go on to become respected thought-leaders in the sector.
Mike Vacher, Director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, welcomed Proagrica’s sponsorship. “Nuffield inspires people to make a difference in the world of agriculture. This is achieved by developing those individuals who will shape the future of agriculture and of our local and global communities. We are delighted that Proagrica is sponsoring a scholar to help us lead positive change in farming and food.”
For anyone interested in applying for this prestigious scholarship, applications must be submitted by 31st July. Following an interview process for shortlisted applicants, new scholars will be announced in late October.
Arable carbon credits from a Yorkshire farm sold to RELX as part of Carbon Bank initiative
The world’s first arable carbon credits verified by BCarbon have been sold in a major new initiative that could reverse climate change by using farmland to pull harmful carbon from the atmosphere.
Unlike many carbon credit programmes, the project by UK-based Future Food Solutions sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and restores soil health by storing carbon in the ground, enabling farmers to combat climate change while continuing to feed the world.
Carbon credit trading is expected to hit $50bn dollars by 2030 and the Future Food Solutions scheme could unlock millions of tonnes of sequestered carbon credits by utilising farmland around the world.
The first tonnes of verified carbon credits have been sold to RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers, after being generated by a single farm on the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK.
Working with the British Consulate in Houston, USA, Future Food Solutions partnered with independent verification body BCarbon, which is based at Rice University in Texas, to create the Sustainable Futures Carbon Bank to sell carbon credits on the voluntary carbon market.
Through the Carbon Bank, farmers are encouraged to grow cover crops that pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. Cover crops are growing in popularity for many reasons in the UK and by planting between the regular food crop rotation, they don’t impact on the amount of food UK farmers can produce.
We are passionate about helping our customers improve productivity, profitability and sustainability whilst creating a better everyday life for farmers.
How does it work?
Future Food Solutions conducts soil analysis before the cover crop is sown and then uses a series of rigorous tests to determine exactly how many tonnes of carbon has been removed from the atmosphere.
Much of this field data has been acquired in conjunction with Yorkshire Water and Proagrica, part of RELX, who have partnered with Future Food Solutions on catchment scale farmer engagement programmes in the UK.
“We are delighted to have played a part in the Carbon Bank”, says Jamie O’Sullivan, Group Managing Director at Proagrica. “We have adapted our farm management software, Gatekeeper, to enable the capture of essential field data needed to give confidence that the system works. This data is fully permissioned by the scheme participants through our software. The opportunity for farming to fulfil its potential as a positive force not only to address climate change but to continue to supply safe, nutritious food has been brought much closer with this project. And we are proud that our parent company, RELX, is the first to purchase this innovative carbon credit as part of our global effort to achieve Net Zero”.
Although sequestration will vary because of weather, cover crop and soil type, on average a hectare of cover crop will deliver 2-3 tonnes of carbon to trade. Farmers then receive money through the sale of their carbon credits.
Who buys the carbon?
The carbon credits are sold to organisations looking to offset their carbon footprint. More than a third of the world’s largest publicly traded companies have already made Net Zero pledges and demand for quality carbon removal credits is increasing.
Steve Cann from Future Food Solutions says: “This is a step change in carbon removal providing a real opportunity for organisations to reduce their carbon footprint. The Carbon Bank offers global reach as soil stock in all farming environments around the world could provide significant capacity to become a huge carbon sink.
“The Carbon Bank means farmers in the UK and beyond can provide a solution to one of the biggest climate change issues, highlighted at COP26 in Glasgow.
“Plus, if we do it right, food gets better. Water and flood management improves because the cover crops transform below ground soil structure, which in turn helps to reduce leaching and water run-off and because carbon is being sequestered back into the soil from the atmosphere, the planet starts to heal as well”.
“We can get everybody to contribute by eating smarter and actively choosing to buy food products sourced from land where this remedial process is being undertaken by farmers.”
First credits from Yorkshire
The first verified carbon credits have come from Tom Mellor’s farm High above Bridlington, in the North Yorkshire Wolds.
Tom says: “Farming is about achieving a balance, similar to the challenge the planet is facing, with regard to climate change. If we take out more than we put back in, future generations will pay the price”
Tom also commented “Knowing now that farming can be the solution, not the problem is encouraging us to rethink both our practices and mindset”
The Sustainable Futures Carbon Bank aims to bring 10,000 carbon credits to the voluntary market in the next 12 months from other farms involved in the scheme across the UK and EU.
Arable carbon credits from a Yorkshire farm sold to RELX as part of Carbon Bank initiative
The world’s first arable carbon credits verified by BCarbon have been sold in a major new initiative that could reverse climate change by using farmland to pull harmful carbon from the atmosphere.
Unlike many carbon credit programmes, the project by UK-based Future Food Solutions sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and restores soil health by storing carbon in the ground, enabling farmers to combat climate change while continuing to feed the world.
Carbon credit trading is expected to hit $50bn dollars by 2030 and the Future Food Solutions scheme could unlock millions of tonnes of sequestered carbon credits by utilising farmland around the world.
The first tonnes of verified carbon credits have been sold to RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers, after being generated by a single farm on the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK.
Working with the British Consulate in Houston, USA, Future Food Solutions partnered with independent verification body BCarbon, which is based at Rice University in Texas, to create the Sustainable Futures Carbon Bank to sell carbon credits on the voluntary carbon market.
Through the Carbon Bank, farmers are encouraged to grow cover crops that pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. Cover crops are growing in popularity for many reasons in the UK and by planting between the regular food crop rotation, they don’t impact on the amount of food UK farmers can produce.
How does it work?
Future Food Solutions conducts soil analysis before the cover crop is sown and then uses a series of rigorous tests to determine exactly how many tonnes of carbon has been removed from the atmosphere.
Much of this field data has been acquired in conjunction with Yorkshire Water and Proagrica, part of RELX, who have partnered with Future Food Solutions on catchment scale farmer engagement programmes in the UK.
“We are delighted to have played a part in the Carbon Bank”, says Jamie O’Sullivan, Group Managing Director at Proagrica. “We have adapted our farm management software, Gatekeeper, to enable the capture of essential field data needed to give confidence that the system works. This data is fully permissioned by the scheme participants through our software. The opportunity for farming to fulfil its potential as a positive force not only to address climate change but to continue to supply safe, nutritious food has been brought much closer with this project. And we are proud that our parent company, RELX, is the first to purchase this innovative carbon credit as part of our global effort to achieve Net Zero”.
Although sequestration will vary because of weather, cover crop and soil type, on average a hectare of cover crop will deliver 2-3 tonnes of carbon to trade. Farmers then receive money through the sale of their carbon credits.
Who buys the carbon?
The carbon credits are sold to organisations looking to offset their carbon footprint. More than a third of the world’s largest publicly traded companies have already made Net Zero pledges and demand for quality carbon removal credits is increasing.
Steve Cann from Future Food Solutions says: “This is a step change in carbon removal providing a real opportunity for organisations to reduce their carbon footprint. The Carbon Bank offers global reach as soil stock in all farming environments around the world could provide significant capacity to become a huge carbon sink.
“The Carbon Bank means farmers in the UK and beyond can provide a solution to one of the biggest climate change issues, highlighted at COP26 in Glasgow.
“Plus, if we do it right, food gets better. Water and flood management improves because the cover crops transform below ground soil structure, which in turn helps to reduce leaching and water run-off and because carbon is being sequestered back into the soil from the atmosphere, the planet starts to heal as well”.
“We can get everybody to contribute by eating smarter and actively choosing to buy food products sourced from land where this remedial process is being undertaken by farmers.”
First credits from Yorkshire
The first verified carbon credits have come from Tom Mellor’s farm High above Bridlington, in the North Yorkshire Wolds.
Tom says: “Farming is about achieving a balance, similar to the challenge the planet is facing, with regard to climate change. If we take out more than we put back in, future generations will pay the price”
Tom also commented “Knowing now that farming can be the solution, not the problem is encouraging us to rethink both our practices and mindset”
The Sustainable Futures Carbon Bank aims to bring 10,000 carbon credits to the voluntary market in the next 12 months from other farms involved in the scheme across the UK and EU.
Data is a driver for massive change in farming, and more and more within the sector are seeking solutions that allow them to take full advantage of the benefits it brings. A new partnership between Farmplan, the UK’s leading agricultural software specialists, and Sustainable Landscapes, a landscape-based programme initiated by Future Food Solutions, demonstrates just what the future of sustainable farming can look like – and how it can mean a win-win for farmers and their partners within the supply chain.
“About eight years ago, we began to specifically examine resilience in supply chains for our major clients,” says Steve Cann, Director of Future Food Solutions. “Working closely with farmers demonstrated that their data is incredibly important, and that Gatekeeper, which many of them used, offered a value adding platform, as the more data farmers had, the better it would be for them in terms of managing their business.”
The goal of Sustainable Landscapes is to improve soil quality and water management for more resilient and profitable farming. In Gatekeeper, Steve found widely used software that recorded all the essential data for effective sustainability planning and execution. “We sat down with Farmplan and discussed how we could work together,” he says. “As a result, with the farmers agreement, we can now pull vital information directly out of Gatekeeper to perform a full carbon audit very quickly.”
This partnership helps farmers to improve soil health and farm in a more sustainable way, including the use of cover crops to cultivate biomass and increase soil organic matter (SOM) in their fields – a major sink and source of soil carbon. As Steve explains, a 1% increase in SOM per hectare allows that area of land to absorb an additional 240 tons of water.
“In one example, we saw a farmer increase their SOM from 2% to 6%,” says Steve. “They have close to 1,000 tonnes of water available in that hectare of land that would not have been there a few years ago. All of this is verified and driven by independent soil testing and assessment. We’re not marking our own homework. It’s a real win-win, creating a virtuous circle where farmers, water companies, and brands all benefit.”
For UK growers, this means being able to farm more sustainably and demonstrate compliance to their supply chain partners – all by simply using the data which they already capture as part of their existing practice. This extends to nutrient capture, offering a further financial benefit. For example, one farm tested their cover crops and discovered 305 kgs of N pulled in per hectare – a hugely valuable gain, especially with the current pricing.
“Fundamentally, this is data that’s already being recorded for compliance,” says Scott Millar, Account Manager at Farmplan. “This partnership just means farmers see an extra benefit from their work, from better utilisation of nutrients to more effective farm management. It’s an exciting prospect for UK farmers who are eager to derive more value from their business in a sustainable way.”
