Trinity AgTech profiled in Agronomist & Arable Farmer regenerative agriculture special
This article appeared in the regenerative agriculture special edition of the November 2022 Agronomist & Arable Farmer.
New generation navigators – why an analytical approach to natural capital creates better business resilience
Farm businesses should be taking control of their enterprise’s natural capital regardless of government directives, as data shows a positive link between sustainability improvements and the bottom line. But, in order to maximise a farm’s potential, a thorough and analytical approach to understanding the farm’s natural assets is needed.
“Despite the recent ELMS review sparking mass debate and uncertainty among those within the agricultural sector, followed by further changes in government leadership, farmers should continue to adopt sustainable farming practices. Not least because these opportunities to make changes on-farm could save time and money, but they will also have a knock-on positive effect on your sustainability credentials,” stresses Director of Business Development at Trinity AgTech, Anna Woodley.
Ms Woodley highlights that all scientific evidence suggests a direct link between prioritising sustainable practices and saving time and costs. She stresses that farmers should be taking steps to measure, manage and profit from changes to their farm management practices now. “We shouldn’t let government indecisiveness dictate our decisions. Farms should be able to take control of their enterprise’s natural assets,” she adds.
When explaining the meaning behind ‘taking control’, Ms Woodley says, “It’s important to accurately understand your farm’s natural capital. By using navigators which use the latest science and data to provide a comprehensive view of your farming system, you can analyse and understand the costs and benefits associated with your farm and any changes you make.
“Ultimately farmers are custodians of the land and take their responsibility keenly in protecting it. Our farms offer a whole host of natural capital opportunities, whether that be relating to carbon, biodiversity, agroforestry or water quality – usually it’s a combination of all of these areas that farmers can build on,” she adds.
“Business resilience is more important now than ever, so it makes economic sense to use a next generation navigator, such as Sandy, to measure and optimise your enterprise’s natural assets while continuing to produce nutritious, good quality food.”
Anna Woodley
Director of Business Development, Trinity AgTech
“Business resilience is more important now than ever, so it makes economic sense to use a next generation navigator, such as Sandy, to measure and optimise your enterprise’s natural assets while continuing to produce nutritious, good quality food,” she adds.
“For example, changing from ploughing to a min-till or no-till system, not only improves the farm’s sustainability credentials but also reduces input costs through a reduction in fuel use and labour.
“Similarly for clients who are using our water module, they are able to reduce their impact on water quality, through precision nitrogen usage and applications, which has also saved them money and improved their carbon and biodiversity scores.”
Ms Woodley explains, “This also has a direct impact on increasing yields, improving soil quality and reducing carbon emissions – spotlighting the business case for driving forward sustainability and natural capital.
She concludes by reiterating her point, “We know the farming community is keen to move forward with implementing more sustainable practices on-farm, to drive soil health and environmental credentials but we also know the results can lead to business resilience and make good business sense for the balance sheet.”
A farm manager’s perspective
Overbury Enterprises, a mixed-system estate managed by Jake Freestone, switched its farming methods a decade ago in a bid to save money on rising costs.
“We came at this from an economic point of view as we wanted to reduce farm costs and could see that wheat prices were declining,” explains Mr Freestone.
“We thought that farm subsidy payments would be reduced over time so we looked into our establishment methods, machinery, fuel and labour costs and how we could reduce the impact of those rising costs within the farm business.
“That way of thinking, coupled with my Nuffield Scholarship in 2013 – where I was lucky enough to visit many farms who were all following regenerative agriculture systems – is what got us started on our regenerative agriculture journey,” he adds.
“Our original goal was to create a more financially viable business and we’ve done just that but also improved the farm’s sustainability credibility, so it makes complete business sense.”
Jake Freestone
Overbury Enterprises
Mr Freestone acknowledged that the arable side of the business makes up the majority of the farm’s land use and is therefore the biggest contributor to their carbon footprint. It also has the potential to cause the most environmental damage based on the inputs.
“At Overbury Enterprises, we have been working hard over the last 15 years to reduce our environmental impact and look at how we can grow crops in a more sustainable way.
“We moved from a plough-based system to min-till, and then to a zero-till system in 2015, which is when we really saw the benefits to our cost savings as well as our carbon emissions.”
Mr Freestone says the cost of production back in the days of ploughing were approx. £169 per hectare, including depreciations, labour, fuel and the cost of spares and repairs. He explains this cost was reduced minimally when they converted to a min-till system, but the big reductions came when the farm moved to direct drilling.
“Since moving to a no-till system we’ve reduced our input costs to about £45 per hectare, as well as significantly reducing our carbon emissions.
“Our original goal was to create a more financially viable business and we’ve done just that but also improved the farm’s sustainability credibility, so it makes complete business sense,” he adds.
Commenting on the impact on yields, Jake explained this has been variable for them.
“We’ve seen an increase in wheat yield since 2017 whereas oilseed rape has stayed the same, but this is heavily affected by the extremely variable spring weather we’ve experienced over the last six years.
“Everything we are doing is against the backdrop of the changing climate, but it’s also clear to see that the resilience we are building into the business has taken some of the variation out of our crop’s performance.”
"Sandy has shown us the true scope of potential we have here at Overbury Enterprises to operate even more sustainably while benefitting from the wider businesses benefits of doing so."
Jake Freestone
Overbury Enterprises
Mr Freestone explained they have been using Trinity AgTech’s navigator, Sandy, to play out hypothetical scenarios, which - unlike first generation software - has enabled them to assess the natural capital and sustainability opportunities available for Overbury Enterprises and make changes to their business.
“To date, we’ve made quite a few changes on-farm, but Sandy has shown us the true scope of potential we have here at Overbury Enterprises to operate even more sustainably while benefitting from the wider businesses benefits of doing so,” he concludes.