Kingsplay Farming Company is the most recent participant of Corteva Agriscience's Resilient & Ready sustainable farming programme to be awarded LEAF Demonstration Farm status.

More than 70 industry representatives gathered at the farm in Calne, Wiltshire, in April to celebrate Nick and Lucy Tyler's commitment to integrated farm management (IFM) across their mixed dairy, livestock and arable enterprise.

The achievement was the culmination of three years' involvement in Resilient & Ready; an immersive package of training, technical support, trials, and mentoring, delivered by LEAF in partnership with Corteva.

Nick and Lucy manage an 850-hectare business in north Wiltshire, on the Western border of the North Wessex Downs AONB.

Lucy, a qualified vet, and Nick, the third generation in his family to farm at Kingsplay, have 450 dairy cows plus 400 replacements and 400 Wagyu beef cattle, and are focused on optimising the health and welfare of their animals.

"The launch reflected Nick and Lucy's dedication and hard work to adapt their farming practices to implement IFM principles and strive towards delivering their goal of having a closed loop, balanced system," says Sally Harris, UK & Ireland Field Technical Manager at Corteva Agriscience.

Attendees enjoyed a guided tour to see the farm's agroforestry and conservation efforts and learn more about their community outreach initiatives, animal husbandry, and soil and crop health practices.

Three trees were planted to mark the occasion by the Tyler family, Sally, and LEAF's IFM Manager, Dan Stevenson.

The Tylers' ambition is to be fully self-sufficient in cattle feed by utilising homegrown crops and their own grazing land.

They joined the Resilient & Ready programme in 2023 and have undertaken changes such as using biological alternatives to nitrogen fertilisers, and refining farmyard manure management. They also launched an agroforestry project which incorporates both silvoarable and silvopasture systems.

"Nick and Lucy have embraced the Resilient & Ready process, taking part in various training courses covering communications, the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme, and sustainable land management," says Sally.

The Tylers were named Mixed Farmers of the Year in the Farmers Weekly Awards last year, as well as receiving the Climate Positive Agriculture accolade at The Cream Awards.

Kingsplay is the fourth business to have taken part in the Resilient & Ready programme and rise to LEAF Demonstration Farm status. Newhouse Farm in Hampshire, run by Andy Bason, and the Yattendon Estate in Berkshire, managed by Nick Down, were part of the first cohort when the programme launched in 2019.

Harriet and Ben Lowe at Newseat of Dumbreck Farm in Aberdeenshire also became part of the LEAF Demonstration Farm network in 2022.

"Resilient & Ready is an innovative programme that offers a range of practical support, training, networking and access to industry experts and new products with the aim of enabling farmers to develop more resilient businesses," explains Sally.

"They have achieved so much while also offering strong support to the other farming business in their cohort, sibling duo Byrony and Archie Graham at Lodge Farm in Essex."

Kingsplay will now join the network of farms that inspire and support other farmers and the wider community through sharing their experiences.