Newest LEAF Demonstrator Farm launched with Home Farm Nacton

Home Farm Nacton has become the latest Demonstrator Farm for LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), in a move that will help promote sustainable agriculture through an Integrated Farm Management (IFM) system.

Acting as real-world showcases of best practice, LEAF’s network of Demonstrator Farms is an important knowledge exchange tool for farmers, policy-makers and the public.  At a celebratory tree-planting followed by farm tours for invited guests, LEAF CEO David Webster announced that Home Farm Nacton (HFN) is the 43^rd farm to become an official “Demonstrator”.

In his speech David thanked HFN Farm Director Andrew Francis for his commitment to collaboration, environmental stewardship and positive approach to innovation.

In reply, Andrew commented “This is a fantastic recognition for the team – they have been engaging with educators, researchers, educators and customers to get across the story of farming – what we’ve been doing, and where we’d like to go in the future.”

A diverse approach to crop production

Part of HFN’s strength lies in its diversity of cropping, including brassicas, legumes, root crops, potatoes, onions and field and salad vegetables. Baselining the carbon footprint of the farm in 2018 has also enabled the HFN team to show positive progress in terms of carbon savings across the entire holding.

Water, Water… being managed better

The Felixstowe Hydro Cycle is an innovative approach made possible by farmer and land-owner collaboration to help retain over a million tonnes of surplus water from the Felixstowe peninsular for farm irrigation. During times of excess rainfall, this water was historically pumped into the tidal River Deben, but is now providing almost a third of Home Farm Nacton’s water needs for its crops.

Hear it in Andrew’s own words: