Nuffield Scholar helps Yorkshire farm to rediscover its roots

A Nuffield Scholar has helped a Yorkshire farm to refresh its approach to fit with a changing world, with some surprising conclusions. Farmers Guardian finds out more.

Farming is at a crossroads and the favoured direction to be taken has become increasingly clear to Chris Harrap, Head of Estates and Environment at J & E Dickinson, who is following his chosen route with a passion. Having recently completed his report for a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, Chris also finds that the scholarship itself has opened new and unexpected avenues and broadened his horizons far beyond the scope of his project.

These ambitions found their roots at Tyers Hall Farm in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where he has worked for the business - which also owns dairy processors, Longley Farm - since 2014. Here, Chris's background as a chartered surveyor serves him well in his role, overseeing the property and land portfolio for the 1,000-acre (405ha) mixed livestock and arable business and his background outside farming also equips him to question some of the practices in the industry. It was perhaps this open-mindedness, as well as an evident passion for learning, which prompted the farm's owner, Jimmy Dickinson, to suggest Chris apply for a Nuffield Scholarship.

"It all started when we began designing a new building which would house straw-bedded RSPCA Assured pigs, bought in for rearing and finishing," says Chris, describing the pigs as a sustainable digestor for whey and co-products from the Longley dairy business.

"I'd always been interested in psychology and how building design affects people, so this became the subject of my scholarship."

Entitled, ‘We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us', Chris was aware of how architects are increasingly incorporating natural materials, patterns, shapes and views throughout building designs because of the proven link between nature and human wellbeing, but he noticed livestock buildings were often focused on other priorities.

"People don't generally consider farmer mental health when designing livestock buildings," he says. "They focus on animal production efficiency, practicality, cost of construction and durability, which tends to result in spaces that feel enclosed and unnatural. That's totally understandable given the pressures on cost of production, but if you look at it from the farmer and animal well-being perspective, you end up with a very different design, and in some pasture-based systems, no building at all."

Embarking on his scholarship in 2019 - which involved 10 weeks of travel in the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Canada and meetings with helpful participants as unexpected as a prison design psychologist in New York - he rapidly realised that the scope of his thinking had to broaden.

"Modern building design is a reflection of how far we've taken our production systems," he says. "Instead, I started questioning the whole approach and the proper role of animals in farming."

Route

The findings from Chris's scholarship were a catalyst for Jimmy Dickinson's thinking on how to steer the business as a whole towards an even more environmentally sustainable future. The farm is moving towards integrating livestock more widely on arable land, as a key tool for soil health, and using diverse leys in the rotation. There is also a developing interest in the capture of carbon through the generation and retention of biomass; be it in roots, wood or biochar. The aim is to optimise production by using the resources available on farm, focusing on profitability and improving the farm's environmental credentials.

"I have always been fascinated by natural cycles, but the scholarship gave me a real insight into the bigger issues of sustainability in the farmed landscape," he says. "Rewilding has its place - and we can all leave space for wildlife across our farms - but we also need to produce food, so it's about managing the cropped areas in the right way and improving soil long term."

Feeling fortunate that his employer is a lifelong believer in environmentally sensitive practices, Chris says the changes are a team effort.

"Jimmy already had his own instincts and preferences about the overall farming direction and the transition at Tyers Hall is indicative of the way he wants to steer the whole Longley business," he says. "Mostly, these are based on his conviction that being environmentally responsible and being financially viable are becoming one and the same thing.

"The price of chemical inputs is increasing year on year, at some point carbon emissions will mean another cost to the farmer, and the public are increasingly showing a preference for sustainable food production through their buying choices.

"With a team that includes Paul Robson, farm manager, along with Longley's farm liaison manager, Rachel Liles and commercial manager, Katie Jones, we formed a core group putting together a business model which works for our own farm, the farmers who supply us, our customers and the environment. We are also trying to understand if it's possible to mitigate the entire finished product footprint by genuine sequestration, year on year, on the land in the dairy's supply chain."

Integrated

All have a part to play in making plans, but when it comes to implementation on the farm, the process benefits hugely from the years of practical experience that Paul Robson brings with him. Chris sees Tyers Hall as well placed for the future because of its mixed farming setup.

The 180 head Jersey herd are grazed as much as possible and housed through the winter, with all milk going to Longley. The herd averages 6,000 litres per year and are put through a 12 a side Herringbone parlour twice a day. The pigs were a natural progression, being fed on dairy waste and taken to Cranswick. With the Red Polls, although they are currently sold as stores the aim is to become Pasture for Life certified, and they have found a local butchers in Glossop who are offering an attractive price per kilogram for pasture fed animals within 30 miles radius, as part of an initiative they have developed with the PFLA.

Crops include OSR, wheat, barley, rye and maize, and this spring will see the introduction of herbal leys and cover crops.

He says: "Over time, the industry has broken down into separate specialisations - pigs, arable, dairy etc - and then focused on increasing production output of each, often drifting away from circular principles. We are fortunate that Tyers Hall has always taken an integrated approach, right from the early days when Joseph Dickinson set up the farm in 1973.

"The original concept was to feed food waste from the dairy to pigs, create natural fertiliser, grow grass and keep cows. For us, what's happening now isn't a fundamental philosophical switch; rather it's a process of recalibration and innovation, making sure that we are the right fit for an evolving economic and social landscape."

"The reality is, soils, plants and animals belong together and the smartest way to farm is to produce food as cheaply as possible by using natural resources and cycles, focusing on profit rather than yield. There is a great deal of wisdom to be found in old books, especially about soil health and fertility building leys. Lots of farmers are revisiting those principles now, but implementing them in a modern way."

Diversification is very much a part of the process at Tyers Hall Farm where alongside the milking herd of Jerseys, the growing pigs, the suckler herd of Red Polls and the arable business, the farm is exploring environmental income.

"We have just submitted our second Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier application, which is still an attractive financial option. This time we've opted for herbal leys, wider field margins, bird and nectar mixes, along with £50,000 of capital grants to help us continue our programme of hedge restoration and planting," says Chris.

"We're also planning more shelter belts across the farm, which will help us graze more widely. Many farmers are trying to figure out how to be profitable once Basic Payments have ended. We recently reached out to other farmers locally who are thinking similar things, so we're setting up a Dearne Valley Farmers cluster later this year."

Keen to engage with the local community and schools, the next project is an education barn.

"We are setting up for school visits and hope to grow from there. The public are interested in the countryside and our local area has plenty of nature reserves, but there aren't many places nationally where people can go and learn about commercial farming and food production." he says.

"We want to produce food in as natural way as possible and to be able to proudly show people how our team at the farm does that."

Scholar

Remarking that being a Nuffield Scholar opens doors and helps foster discussions, he says it has also heightened his own aspirations.

"Ultimately, I'd like to make as big a contribution as possible in helping our business - including the 29 other farmers which supply milk to Longley - to have a robust model for the future which is financially sound, improves the environment and farmers' lives," he says.

"Farmers have risen to the challenge before - they were asked to produce more food and they did that; now we are being asked to produce food in a more environmental way, and we will. The subject I looked at was fascinating and I do help others with building design advice. But you can't just address building design without looking at how you are managing your animals, what you are feeding, the role of livestock in your whole farm system. When you ask each question, lots of other questions arise. You have to try to answer them all and that's what we are working on together."