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Farming for Nature programme

LEAF is delighted to be working with Waitrose & Partners on a new long-term programme, supporting British farmers with the move to more nature-friendly, regenerative farming practices.

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About the Farming For Nature programme:

Long-standing LEAF members, Waitrose & Partners, have committed to support more than 2,000 of its British farmers to move to nature-friendly farming practices, through the Farming for Nature programme, helping to boost financial resilience of farms in the long-term and combat the effects of climate change. The move builds on the Partnership’s Plan for Nature and commitment for Waitrose’s UK farms to be Net Zero by 2035.

The Farming for Nature programme will broaden 'Regenerative Outcomes' to encompass:

  • Regenerating the health of our soils
  • Generating knowledge, collaboration, and relationships
  • Generating healthy and resilient food and farming solutions
  • Regenerating land and ecosystems
  • Generating value
  • Generating carbon and wider climate change solutions

“We are com­mit­ted to work­ing tire­less­ly — as we do on our uncom­pro­mis­able ani­mal wel­fare stan­dards — to pro­vide mean­ing­ful sup­port and col­lab­o­ra­tion for our amaz­ing UK farm­ers”- Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of Wait­rose, James Bailey

LEAF's involvement in the programme:

Year 1: We will be collaborating with Waitrose and the University of Reading to support the first farm and LEAF Demonstration Farm, Leckford Estate, to understand how soil, biodiversity, water, carbon and IPM (the modules) interact with each other, to produce regenerative outcomes. Results from the first year will enable the identification and continued measurement of key performance indicators across the modules.

Years 2 and 3: Eight satellite farms, representing different sectors across the Waitrose supply base including; beef, dairy, pig, poultry, top and soft fruit, root vegetables and glasshouse, will then begin the same journey.

Through baselining, creation of management plans, trials and expert input, the programme will build understanding around achievable regenerative outcomes as well as the commonalities and differences across different farming methods and sectors.

Throughout the programme, workshops and case studies will be integrated, to share learnings with a wider range of internal and external stakeholders.

Find out more about Farming for Nature here.

“We believe it is only by ground­ing inter­ven­tions at farm lev­el, with­in the con­text of work­ing farm busi­ness­es that we can effec­tive­ly accel­er­ate change at pace and scale”- LEAF CEO, David Webster