The School of Sustainable Food and Farming in collaboration with Landex have founded the Sustainable Farm Network (SFN).
The SFN aims to provide the links between farm demonstration networks across the UK, in essence a Network of Networks.
A basal network, run by The School of Sustainable Food and Farming and Landex, is made up of the Landex College and University farms.
The Sustainable Farm Network will then facilitate connections across existing farm demonstration networks, with the Landex partners acting as a focal hub to support the activity.
Connect farms within networks to support their net zero pledges (and wider sustainability targets biodiversity, welfare etc.).
Establish Pioneer Farms to assess carbon stocks and baseline net carbon balances and biodiversity on farm.
Share data and best practice with the aim of developing a common data platform hosted by SSFF at HAU as agreed by member networks (we realise not all farms or networks will be able to share data).
Collate material as case studies to map journeys towards net zero / BPS transition.
Link together, promote and support farm network innovation.
Share best practice through organising workshops and farm visits across the networks focused, but not limited, on five key priority areas:
1. Productivity (best practice)
2. Reducing and refining inputs
3. Soil health and carbon capture on farm
4. Green energy
5. Biodiversity assessment and net gain
The SFN will be a coming together of like-minded farm networks to share pre-competitive best practice, innovation and findings to realise ‘a whole’ which is greater than the sum of its parts.
This approach will collectively realise a Net Zero agriculture most efficiently through combined investment across the networks. The Landex Colleges and Universities will act as Regional Hubs and will link together with layers of national demonstration farm networks to provide regional access to training and demonstration.
Farms within existing networks, which will make up the SFN, can connect as deeply across the SFN as they feel comfortable with ownership of their network fully residing with the original partners.
SFN in essence allows a farm in a network tackling a particular pre-competitive issue e.g., carbon auditing, to connect not only with farmers within their network but also across an array of other networks to collaboratively work on the issue.
Furthermore, those farms have the support of a regional Landex member to advise and offer support accordingly.
For more information on the Sustainable Farm Network please visit the School of Sustainable Food and Farming