Net zero farm ‘more productive, more profitable’

But there is some very positive news from the farming world

Net zero farm ‘more productive, more profitable’ - Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

A calf and Donald the bull (Yorkshire Dales NPA)

A Wensleydale couple farming near Orton in Cumbria are producing certified ‘carbon neutral beef’, following a carbon audit which proved a catalyst for big changes to their upland farming system.

Jenny and Lenny Bowes, tenants of the 600 acre Ghyll Bank Farm at Raisgill, have cut sheep numbers by half to 500 breeding ewes while being on course to double the beef cattle herd to 150 beasts.

They have stopped using bought-in fertiliser and feed, adopted new grassland management aided by GPS technology, changed sheep breeds to lamb later and outside, created three flower and herb rich meadows, and put together a plan for planting trees and hedges. Other regular inputs such as bedding material, silage wrap and fence posts and wire have been reduced, with wrap and metals all sent for recycling.

The changes mean the farm business is now ‘net zero’ according to Farm Carbon Toolkit, as it is sequestering as much carbon from the atmosphere as it is adding to it through the release of greenhouse gases.

Ghyll Bank Farm is one of 14 farms in either the Yorkshire Dales National Park or Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to have participated in the ‘Farm Carbon Project’, designed and funded by a partnership including the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the AONB, Yorkshire Water and the York & North Yorkshire LEP. A final report on the project has been made public today.

Jenny Bowes said: “The carbon audit has completely changed the way we do things. Everything we do we think, ‘Ooh how’s that going to affect our carbon’. We’ve found a way that you can work with the environment, while not letting the environment stop your productivity. I think we’ve had more productivity on our new system. We’re looking at the profit margin. We’ve got a better deal with the wholesalers, with Lake District Farmers, than we would have had if we hadn’t got the carbon neutral beef certification. It’s a great market.”