The EU Horizon 2020 project Climate Neutral Farms aims to support the transition to climate-neutral and climate-resilient European farming by scaling up systemic, locally relevant solutions at a farm level. During the last 12 months we have selected 10 farms from across the East of England to be at the centre of this project.
These “Lead Commercial Farms” form part of the vital network to upscale climate neutral management practices, over the next two years they will implement a host of climate-neutral principles on-farm to measure and review the principles within each farming system, as well as working with tools such as the Cool Farm Tool to look at where improvements to the existing system can be made.
With such brilliant work already taking place across the farms throughout the project we aim to host and demonstrate areas of trial research, practical experiences, and methods of improvement through events and discussion groups. Working with these farms within the Nestle supply chain progresses the work many of them are doing with Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs). Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) initiative, pioneered by Nestlé and 3Keel in 2017. LENs is a system for organising the buying and selling of nature-based solutions and has been active in the East of England since 2020, purchasing natural capital outcomes from farmers in areas such as clean water, healthy soil and increased biodiversity.
Increasing the resilience of these supply chains is of vital importance and a driving factor for the Horizon 2020 project, disseminating this information through effective knowledge exchange platforms and opportunities both internally with participating farmers and farmers invested in change.
So far throughout the Climate Neutral Farms project, we have begun to compile baseline data for each of the farms, including biodiversity assessments, Cool Farm Tool and soil sampling. The next steps in the project focus on setting objectives for each farm. This will involve each farmer selecting a handful of management practices to trial on farm and cover soil, water, biodiversity, energy and cropping system.
During a time of uncertainty in the industry this project is proving a brilliant learning opportunity for many. It is exciting to collaborate with a talented group of passionate farmers who possess diverse knowledge in the field. Our aim is to facilitate engaging discussions and motivate further resilience. Take a look at the farmers involved in the project, where they are located and what they are up to, as the project develops, we look forward to sharing news and updates. Follow the link below to meet the farmers.
Interested in finding out more about ClieNFarms or becoming part of the farm network? Contact us here
