The two-day Climate Neutral Farms event involved visiting several partner farms to discuss biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable farming practices. At GD Jewers & Son, the group learned about Tom Jewers' role in Hutchinson's Helix Project and Nestle's LENs initiative. They discussed cover crops and saw Tom's bioreactor. The group also participated in a soil health session with Ian Robertson from Hutchinsons discussing the Helix Project's use of data platforms. On the second day at Rookery Farm, the group learned about Richard Ling's cocoa shell fertilizer trial with Nestle. They explored how the fertilizer performed compared to conventional methods. The event highlighted several farms leading sustainable practices like Fen

1. CLIMATE NEUTRAL FARMS WINTER EVENT
DECEMBER 2023
TWO-DAY EVENT VISITING SOME OF OUR I3S PARTNER FARMS, DISCUSSING ALL
THINGS BIODIVERSITY AND SOIL WITH OAKBANK AND HUTCHINSONS AND
LEARNING MORE ABOUT SUSTAINBLE ARABLE AND DAIRY FARMING.
Figure 1. At GD Jewers & Son, Tom Jewers has
established and is trialling a Johnson-Su bioreactor.
GD Jewers & Son,
Suffolk
On 5th
December, the group travelled to Tom
Jewers’ farm in Suffolk, where they heard about
Tom’s role within Hutchinson’s Helix Project
and his involvement in Nestlé’s LENs
(Landscape Enterprise Networks) initiative.
LENs aims to reverse nature degradation by
collaborating with businesses to derive different
benefits from the same landscape. Tom explained
that through LENs, he has been able to upgrade
his farm infrastructure through funding to
purchase new farm machinery. Whilst taking the
group on a farm tour, Tom discussed the use of
cover crops at Wood Hall Farm, some of which
were being grazed by neighbouring sheep. To
finish off, Tom took the group to his Johnson-Su
bioreactor – a static aerobic composter used to
create microbial inoculant.
Figure 2. (from left to right) Richard Ling (Rookery Farm), Alice Midmer (The Allerton
Project), Henry Reynolds (Manor Farm), Ian Matts (Brixworth Farming), Matt Ryan
(Nestlé), Patrick Barker (Lodge Farm), Tom Jewers (GD Jewers & Son), Ben Chaplin and
James Green (Boughton Farming), Amie Pickering (The Allerton Project), Toby Simpson
(JH Simpson & Son), Jamie Gunn (Oakbank) and Oliver Carrick (The Allerton Project).
Soil session with Hutchinsons’ Ian
Robertson
During the soil session, Ian briefly spoke about the Helix Project, which aims to
help farmers improve economic and environmental sustainability by evaluating the
latest technology and agronomic techniques. In order to assess factors such as soil
health, rotational planning and farm carbon footprint, the project utilises digital
platforms such as TerraMap to record and analyse data.
‘We’re always trying to do the right thing and find better, more efficient ways
of working’ – Tom Jewers, Helix East Anglia
Figure 3. Hutchinsons TerraMap is a soil scanning service that uses gamma-ray radiation
technology to deliver mapping of nutrient properties, soil texture, organic matter etc.

2. Rookery Farm, Suffolk Biodiversity session
JAMIE GUNN
During the biodiversity session, Jamie
revisited the biodiversity assessments
generated for both Manor Farm,
Boughton Farming and Brixworth
Farming, highlighting measures the
farms had already put in place in
relation to hedgerows and ponds. Jamie
discussed the available grant schemes
under both the Countryside Stewardship
and SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive)
for hedgerow and pond management.
These included:
WN5 Pond Management
WN6 Pond Management
BN11 Planting New Hedges
BN7 Hedgerow Gapping up
BN5 Hedge Laying
BN6 Hedge Coppicing
BE3 Management of Hedgerows
HRW1 Hedgerow Management
Plan
HRW2 Manage Hedgerows
HRW3 Maintain or Establish
Hedgerow Trees
COCOA-SHELL FERTILISER
TRIAL
The second Climate Neutral Farms visit
took place at Richard Ling’s Rookery
Farm in Suffolk on 6th
December.
Richard is involved in a trial with Nestlé,
testing a low-carbon fertiliser made from
factory cocoa-shell waste and evaluating
its performance in terms of crop
production, soil health and greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions.
‘We’ve compared two parts of the field,
one which used the cocoa shell
fertiliser, and one which used the
conventional fertiliser, and there is no
significant difference in the yield so we
can see that it works’ Richard Ling
‘We have to find ways to build more
resilience into the system and
optimising our use of natural
resources is a critical part of this’ Matt
Ryan, regeneration lead at Nestlé.
Figure 4. Richard discusses this year’s oilseed
rape. Although it is becoming increasingly
difficult to grow, oilseed rape is an important and
valuable break crop.
KEY PLAYERS IN SUSTAINABLE FARMING
Fen Farm Dairy are an innovative 3rd
generation family farm, aiming to set the
standard for dairy sustainability. Whilst giving the group a tour of the farm, Jonny
– the third generation of the Crickmore family to farm the land, told the story of
how Fen Farm Dairy started selling fresh milk by the side of the road through
honesty boxes, later diversifying to create a range of dairy products including their
popular ‘Baron Bigod’ cheese. Jonny also discussed the various measures the
farm has put in place to implement greener farming and become more responsible
dairy farmers. These include:
• SOLAR POWER – 200kw solar panel system with battery storage on the
roofs of cow sheds
• COW POO POWERED HEAT EXCHANGE – 2 miles of water pipes
underneath the concrete of cow’s winter yard
• REDUCED FUEL CONSUMPTION / FOOD MILES – free range cows
and locally produced / sold products Figure 5. The majority of Jonny’s herd are
Montbeliarde cows.
.
Bryan and Patrick Barker gave the group an introduction to
Lodge Farm; a newly completed AHDB Strategic Farm as well
as a LEAF Demonstration Farm. The pair discussed how the
farm has undergone a huge transformation, continuing to
concentrate on the production of high quality and high yielding
arable crops, whilst simultaneously increasing their
contributions to wildlife and biodiversity. Some of these
activities include nutrient mapping, reducing energy use,
habitat creation, pond restoration, just to name a few. Figure 6. Patrick explains how the hedgerow on the right underwent a
number of different experimental methods to create the perfect habitat.