3. farm assessment tools for monitoring and improving sustainability€¦ · sustainability...

F A R M A S S E S S M E N T T O O L S F O RM O N I T O R I N G A N D I M P R O V I N G

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

The benefits of incorporating holistic practices and the barriersto adoption

Current figures suggest many UK farmersare struggling economically. With futurepolicy changes focusing on the delivery of'public goods' UK farmers need to addresshow they manage their farms in a moreholistic manner. The benefits of holistic farmmanagement and a more ‘whole farm’view are beginning to be incorporatedacross the UK, but adoption rates are lowand there is still a lot of distrust in thetrue value of ‘holistic’.

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT ANDSUSTAINABILITY

The Savory Institute through 3LM offer agraded series of Holistic Management(HM) courses in the UK. Initially farmersundergo HM training, they can then applyfor Ecological Outcome Verificationallowing produce to achieve premiumsthrough the Land to Market Scheme. Sheep farmers opinions were sought onthe value of participation in HM trainingoffered by 3LM. They were also offeredthe opportunity to participate in a simplesustainability assessment using thePublic Goods (PG) tool and invited tocomment on the value of the tool.

THE CASE STUDY

In the UK, 71% (or 17.4 million hectares) of land is classified as utilised agricultural area, 60%of which is suitable for growing grass, livestock can convert this land/forage into a healthy

human food source

F e e d b a c k

Sustainable practices are divided into 13areas (spurs) in the PG Tool. Farmersanswer questions associated with eachspur and the PG Tool calculates a score.The results are presented in a radardiagram illustrating the performance ineach spur. A score of 1 is poor whilst 5 is very good. Performance varied on each of the threefarms but as a whole they demonstratedgood and very good practices across thespurs. General feedback on the tool waspositive, with it providing relevant resultsand aiding their understanding ofsustainability . The breakdown of sections and radarpresentation was identified asparticularly useful, helping to develop anunderstanding of how different elementsof a business contribute towards itsoverall sustainability.

PG TOOL ASSESSMENT

Public Interest75%

Example PG Tool reporting formatpresented to participating farmers

All three farmers had successfully completed HM trainingprovided by 3LM in the last 1-2 years and joined theregenerative network but had not progressed to EcologicalOutcome verification. Participants felt the training was useful, deliveringinformation that was 'eye opening' and provided 'much tothink about'. Farmers suggested that implementation of holisticpractices led to improvements in grass availability duringthe 2018 drought. Participants were positive about the usefulness of HMprinciples and their on-farm application.

HM TRAINING AND ECOLOGICALOUTCOME VERIFICATION

PG tool results by sustainability 'spur' across the three sheepfarmers practicing holistic management principles

EOV gives the land a voice of its own, through empiricaland tangible outcomes, which in turn provide the farmer

with ongoing feedback from which to make bettermanagement decisions”

Savory, 2018

O u t c o m e s , D r i v e r s a n dC o n s t r a i n t s

With policy changes imminent, UK farmers will be forced to adapt their practices in order to be morecompetitive and to address environmental concerns - holistic approaches are a means of doing this. The Savory HM/EOV system has been adopted worldwide by a variety of livestock producers concernedwith sustainability issues and regenerating agriculture. Both the PG Tool and Savory networks areaccessible by anyone, there is no stereotype to participants and the only barrier is willingness. The financial costs of HM training and EOV provide a barrier / constraint to its uptake but there arebenefits to participating in the Land to Market programme. The Public Goods Tool provides an initialsustainability assessment and platform for discussion without cost.

DRIVERS,CONSTRAINTS AND POTENTIAL

The PG Tool was highlighted as a useful meansfor developing initial sustainability conceptswithout a financial investmentHM training, while worth while, requirescommitment of both time and money andtherefore participants need to be dedicated to achieve the most from the experienceEOV enables farmers practising HMtechniques to achieve a financial benefit fromtheir end product but is expensiveTogether the PG tool, HM training and EOVwere considered by practising farmers as aneffective means for improving farmsustainability

OUTCOMES

Holistic management provides farmers with thefundamental knowledge of regenerative farming whileallowing them to incorporate the principles / practices

which suit their overall aims and objectives

WRITING: NSA & ORC

The participating sheep farmers who conducted assessmentsand provided feedback, 3LM, a member of the Savory Network

in the UK

THANKS TO

This project has received funding from theEuropean Union’s Horizon 2020 research andinnovation programme under grantagreement N° 679302