The UK’s demonstration farm networks have been called upon to join a nation-wide collaboration to share knowledge and practice at the official launch of the Sustainable Farm Networks initiative (SFN).

The UK’s demonstration farm networks have been called upon to join a nation-wide collaboration to share knowledge and practice at the official launch of the Sustainable Farm Networks initiative (SFN).

The launch was held at this year’s Royal Welsh Show and set out how the initiative – coordinated by  Harper Adams University’s School of Sustainable Food and Farming - will bring together a diversity of UK demonstration farm networks to help them better prepare for the scale of change facing the industry by sharing experiences, findings and best practice.

An audience of farmers and sector professionals joined the launch – at a Harper Adams University alumni event – to hear more about how the SFN is being formed through a collaboration of UK’s public and private demonstration farm networks to become more than the sum of their parts, by combining their vision, knowledge and experience.

Professor Michael Lee, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University, said: “Farmers, as we know, learn best from each other. There are many different groupings around demonstration farm networks with different purposes – but these networks, as good as they are, don’t always speak to each other. They’re formed, they deliver a purpose, and then sometimes they continue, or sometimes they end.

“What is needed in the UK is a mechanism that connects those networks, and critically, farmers within these groups, so that common goals, such as carbon net zero, can be realised more efficiently together across the breadth of the networks.

“There is a lot of pre-competitive work that can realise common solutions – so we are facilitating the bringing together of these demonstration farms to be greater than the sum of their parts.”

The Landex Network of teaching and research college and university farms is a founding partner of the SFN, and representatives including CEO Alex Payne joined the event.

Groups representing suppliers of major retailers as well as sector specific pioneer farms and national research project clusters are also joining up – and during the launch, Sophie Throup, Technical and Sustainability Director at Myton Food Group, the manufacturers for Morrisons, was among those who spoke about their hopes for the network.

She said: “We know from all the work we do with the farmers who supply us, that so many are at different stages of the journey for more sustainable food production. To have a UK wide network which brings these farmers together, delivering practical support from research and training to knowledge sharing, is something that we’re looking forward to supporting as the Network and the School of Sustainable Food and Farming grows.”

As its work develops, the SFN will share successes and research drawn from participating  networks, using the collective power of the participating farms to boost their reach and impact.

The SFN’s chair, Professor John Gilliland, is a willow and livestock farmer from Northern Ireland and the chair  of the  ARC Zero climate smart farming project, and who has helped to define the groundbreaking N. Ireland  soil nutrient health scheme .

He also advises the UK’s Agriculture Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and to Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) as well as serving in a series of other roles in farming, higher education and sustainable development.

He told attendees how he will draw on his experiences as both farmer and advisor in his new role,  adding: “The beauty about the networks within SFN is the empowerment of farmers with knowledge and experiences, all of which are   slightly different – and what SFN will   do is encourage and facilitate the collaboration of  what worked, what didn’t work, and support how  we can use this collective experience to help prepare our  industry better  for  the further change which is approaching at such speed.

“It would be fair to say the scale of the changes coming towards us in the next five to 10 years is going to be greater even than we have seen over the last 20. So we need to help each other in and across farmer networks. We also need to understand and respond to the emerging needs of the supply chain, our customers and policy makers – and work together to find practical solutions to square this up.”

SFN is open to any, and all, farming networks out there who believe they can leverage better by embracing sharing what works.

Industry representatives, farmers and alumni at the launch were encouraged to spread the invitation from the SFN to their own networks, whether sector specific pioneer farms, national research project clusters or farmer innovator groups.

Project Manager Lucy Bates said: “Over the first six months working with and listening to a huge range of stakeholders, we’ve got a good plan together. We have already had really fantastic and generous input from a huge spread of organisations.

“I am really looking forward to reaching out to and hearing from demonstration farm networks – putting into action the plans that we have set in place so far and honing them: to fit the industry, to fit the sector, to fit the supply chains, to fit the individuals, to fit the farmers and the networks we’re going to be working with.

“My hope is to see you here this time next year and update you on the progress we have made. Watch this space!”

For enquiries and to join the SFN, please contact   LBates@harper-adams.ac.uk  <mailto:LBates@harper-adams.ac.uk>