Written by Iain Hoey
Four farms have been selected to become the first ever participants in the pilot of the three-year Resilient and Ready Programme from Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) and Corteva Agriscience.
The programme was initially planned to trial with two farms, but after a substantial number of applications, the initiative doubled in size to four fams, two of which are based in Scotland and two in England.
The first Resilient and Ready farms are:
- Ben Lowe and Harriet Ross, Newseat of Dumbreck Farm, Udny, Aberdeenshire
- Craig and Claire Grant, Kindrought, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire
- Andy Bason, Newhouse Farm, Alresford, Hampshire
- Nick Down, Yattendon Estate, Yattendon, Berkshire
The selected farms will undergo a tailored programme of training, consultancy and trials, measuring their performance and sharing their experiences with other farmers across the UK.
The programme will focus on providing farmers with access to the best technical insight into their businesses alongside the training to enable them to turn theory into commercial application.
Practical work to measure and improve aspects of their farms identified as crucial by the participants will focus around Integrated Farm Management and include soil health, water quality and biodiversity. In addition, xommunications training will be provided and farm benchmarking will be carried out.
Alice Midmer, demonstration and innovation manager at LEAF, said the level of interest at the launch events for this programme followed through in terms of the quality and quantity of applications.
“It shows that farming businesses are thinking about the future, how to adapt and innovate, and looking for opportunities,” she commented. “Our four selected farms have different objectives so the scope to learn from each other and share experiences is huge.”
Simon Parker, marketing manager at Corteva, added that the programme offers is a unique blend of training, monitoring and access to management tools that will take the businesses forward, making them fitter for the future.
He said: “I am really pleased with the farmers we have selected. They are passionate, driven people and we all believe the programme LEAF is offering will leave an indelible mark on their careers and their businesses. We are ready to get going, excited to see where this initiative will take us and look forward to sharing the results with the whole agricultural industry.”
Pictured: Top Left – Andy Bason; Top Right – Craig and Claire Grant; Bottom Left – Ben Lowe and Harriet Ross; Bottom Right – Nick Down
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