Farming the fens: Innovation for resilience

The Soil Association is a UK-wide sustainable food and farming charity which aims to protect nature by transforming how people eat and farm.

Soil Association

Join this free farm walk and discussion hosted at G's Norfolk exploring sustainable farming practices on the Fens.

Rosedene Farm

Lowland peat soils support some of the most productive farming systems in the country but are also responsible for a significant proportion of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers working these soils face growing pressure to reduce emissions and restore peat, while maintaining profitable food production. Join us at G's Norfolk Farms in Wissington, for a farm walk to see innovative peatland farming approaches in practice and engage with local farmers and advisors in discussion on how to balance emissions reduction, soil health and farm profitability.This event is a collaboration between Soil Association and Ocado's Agroecology at Scale programme, Fenland SOIL and the <a href="https://nbsoil.eu/" title="https://nbsoil.eu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NBSoil</a> project.<h4>What to expect</h4>The core farm at G's Norfolk Farms is 1200 ha of ring fenced, deep peat located in Wissington, Norfolk. Through a presentation and farm walk, Callum Bennet, Technical and Innovation Manager at G’s Norfolk and Feltwell Growers, will introduce different management practices and explain the results from water management based trials. The farms have completed 2 years of paludiculture trials at 20cm water table, mostly focussed on salad crops with trials on chinese leaf, mini romaine lettuce and celery. They have also trialled farming at water tables of around 45cm with radishes, lettuce and celery. Both trials have collected extensive yield and carbon data with a goal of evaluating the opportunities and drawbacks of raising water tables. The farms make use of a sub-irrigation system, utilising the drainage under the fields and a network of dams to control water tables under the crop, making them a great trial site for this work.We will also be joined by Lucy Harler, Future Farming Manager - G’s Fresh. Lucy supports farming colleagues in multiple countries across 14,000Ha of salads and vegetables in their transition to regenerative practices. G's Fresh have a group strategic objective to be farming regeneratively across all farming sites by 2030 in an effort to improve soil health, product quality, biodiversity and business resilience whilst making meaningful reductions in carbon footprint. We will also hear from Christian Kielinger, Project Manager at Fenland SOIL, who oversees the development of evidence-based greenhouse gas emissions data for peat soils and leads the use of landscape opportunity mapping to support practical, sustainable land management decisions that balance climate mitigation with profitable farming.We will also be joined by Josiah Judson, Farming Advisor and Anne Rees, Head of Horticultre at the Soil Association. The event is hosted in collaboration with <a href="https://nbsoil.eu/" title="https://nbsoil.eu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NBSoil</a>: a Soil Mission Horizon project training new advisers in deploying six rigorously-tested nature-based methods – paludiculture, blue-green infrastructure, cover crops, organic fertiliser, bioremediation and forest diversification – to address critical soil threats.The event is free to attend and will include refreshments and a light lunch.<h4>Agenda</h4>10.30am - Arrival, welcome and refreshments11.00am - Introduction11.15am - Farm walk12.45pm - Lunch1.30pm - Presentations, Q&amp;A and discussion3.00pm - Close<h4>Who should attend</h4>This event will be of particular interest to farmers and advisors working on or supporting farming on lowland peat, particularly the Fens. This is a fantastic opportunity to see a commercial-scale peatland vegetable farm who are exploring practical options for reducing emissions and improving soil resilience.This event follows on from the Farming the Fens: Building resilient peatland systems webinar hosted in April. You can watch the recording here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioxNVvDByDE" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioxNVvDByDE" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Farming the Fens: Building resilient peatland systems</a>.Thank you to Christian Kielinger and Fenland SOIL for supporting this event series.

This event is part of our ground-breaking Farm to Fork Partnership between <a href="https://sustainability.ocadoretail.com/agriculture/" title="https://sustainability.ocadoretail.com/agriculture/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ocado Retail</a> and <a href="https://www.soilassociation.org/" title="https://www.soilassociation.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Soil Association</a> which has been established to help transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world.<a href="https://www.fenlandsoil.org/" title="https://www.fenlandsoil.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Fenland SOIL</a> was set up in 2021 by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Independent Commission on Climate with a team of dedicated farmers at its core to tackle climate issues relating to agriculture and peat in the Fens. We are a not-for-profit members organisation that aims to inform and develop ‘whole farm’ land use policies, aimed at achieving climate change mitigation and biodiversity enhancement in the fens, and to help establish an agreed set of numbers for GHG emissions for deep, shallow and wasted peat soils.<a href="https://www.gs-fresh.com/" title="https://www.gs-fresh.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">G’s </a>is one of Europe’s largest family-owned, fully integrated fresh produce companies, growing c. 17,500Ha of crops. G’s supply quality salads, vegetables and added value produce to major UK, European and North American retailers. We have a group strategic objective to be farming regeneratively across all our farming sites by 2030 in an effort to improve soil health, product quality, biodiversity and business resilience whilst making meaningful reductions in our carbon footprint.<a href="https://nbsoil.eu/" title="https://nbsoil.eu/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NBSOIL</a> is a Soil Mission Horizon project training new advisers in deploying six rigorously-tested nature-based methods – paludiculture, blue-green infrastructure, cover crops, organic fertiliser, bioremediation and forest diversification – to address critical soil threats. Access a range of educational resources such as the free NB SOIL Academy <a href="https://nbsoil.eu/soil-academy/" title="https://nbsoil.eu/soil-academy/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

This event is registered for BASIS and NRoSo CPD points. To claim your points, please complete the form what registering at the event. It will be helpful if you have your membership numbers to hand (but not essential).

Directions: Rosedene Farm, Methwold Hythe, Thetford IP26 4QYWhat3words: <a href="https://w3w.co/comedy.takeovers.include" title="https://w3w.co/comedy.takeovers.include" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">///comedy.takeovers.include</a>Accessibility: Please wear appropriate clothing for the farm walk as well as appropriate footwear, as we'd expect to cover some uneven ground. Please let us know about any accessibility requirements via the booking form. Dietary requirements: Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements when you book your place.Filming and photography: Please be advised that filming and/or photography by Soil Association may take place at this event. To decline consent, you can get in touch or complete an opt-out form on the day.

Data protectionSoil Association takes data protection very seriously and will only collect essential data from participants necessary to use for the running of this event. The Soil Association's full privacy policy is available here: <a href="https://www.soilassociation.org/privacy-policy/" title="https://www.soilassociation.org/privacy-policy/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.soilassociation.org/privacy-policy/</a>By registering for this event you agree to the terms and conditions stated in our privacy policy. If you have any queries please contact: info.farmingandlanduse@soilassociation.org

Farming the fens: Innovation for resilience

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