WHILE the term ‘regenerative agriculture’ might still carry with it a degree of controversy, the practice has been gaining increased interest and traction in recent months as growers look towards new ways of reducing inputs and harnessing premium markets.

However, no ultimate consensus on a definitive set of rules or requirements of regenerative practices has been globally accepted – and the term remains open to a wide spread of interpretations.

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But last week some of Scotland’s leading arable farmers heard that an assurance scheme has been launched to lay out a set of principles for growers to adhere to in order to secure the premiums which can be available for regenerativley farmed produce.

Speaking at last week’s Scottish Agronomy conference, Staffordshire grower and founder member of the Green Farm Collective, Tim Parton, said that he had grown tired of the erosion and dilution that this lack of definition allowed. He said this meant that almost anyone could term themselves ‘regenerative’, a fact which was being exploited by supermarkets and multinational corporations to give themselves a green cloak: “So a group of growers have been working with Food Integrity Assurance (the Scottish-based SAOS offshoot which also audits SQC and QMS) to allow growers working through the Green Farm Collective to sell products which are backed as certifiably regenerative produce,” said Mr Parton.

He said that the scheme required producers to reduce inputs such as fertiliser in graded steps – adding that products such as flour from regen wheat were already being sold under the Green Farm Collective brand, mainly through farm shops, artisan bakers, and specialist retailers.

And he added that the collective, which aims to help farmers work with nature, reduce inputs and become carbon negative, was also working with Trinity Agtech’s ‘Sandy’ to offer growers a platform for trading carbon and natural capital – although he admitted that the carbon credit price needed to rise.

Turning to his own journey towards regen farming, he said if 20th-century farming was the age of chemistry, the 21st would be the era of biology as farmers realised they had to ‘step off the spray can/bagged fertiliser hamster wheel’.

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Mr Parton said that following a lot of research and constant monitoring of crops he had been able to reduce his use of nitrogen fertilisers to 40kg/ha over his major cereal crops without compromising yields, while dramatically reducing fungicide usage and stopping the use of insecticides altogether by focusing on soil health.

He continued: “The more I look into the intricacies of the complex relationship between plants, soils and the microbes which live in it, the more I’m left with the impression that it’s the microbes and fungi which controls the plant’s success rather than the other way round – so we concentrate on nurturing the soil biome.”

This realisation had led him to focus on the use of ‘microbial brews’ to enhance seedling growth and root vigour alongside other regen practices such as direct drilling, cover crops and the use of foliar nutrients, Mr Parton explained.