University’s farm goes fully regenerative in a bid to tackle the effects of climate change

13 February 2025

In an attempt to tackle the increasing adverse effects of climate change on UK farming, the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) has joined forces with an award-winning local regenerative farming business to make the University’s teaching farm fully regenerative.

 

Coates Manor Farm, which is next door to the University’s main Cirencester campus, is a vital part of RAU students’ learning about agriculture and related disciplines, and the 457-acre arable farm is now being farmed in an exciting new collaboration between the University and local farmer SS Horton and Sons, run by RAU alumnus Ed Horton.

This change in farming system - which includes a more diverse crop rotation, a range of cover crops, grazing cover crops with livestock, and direct drilling - has enabled RAU students to gain experience in a wider range of farm management techniques including growing peas, beans, and spelt wheat, as well the management of over winter cover crops.

RAU Agriculture Professor Nicola Cannon, who oversees the teaching at Manor Farm, said: “The RAU is at the forefront of both education and research to find solutions to the challenges currently facing the agricultural industry and our Manor Farm site provides a vital canvas for our teaching as well as our research projects and links with the agricultural industry.

“In addition to using the farm as a base for practical field classes, real-life scenarios, case study based learning, and environmental planning, it also allows us to teach students the more traditional agricultural skills, such as crop and livestock monitoring and evaluation, understanding a range of husbandry practices, and weed, pest, and disease identification.

“It’s really important that we are able to offer our students a diversity of enterprises to enhance their learning opportunities whilst also addressing the challenges facing the food supply chain. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many food supply chains suffered and we had empty shelves due to the restrictions that were imposed and we know that using ultra-local food supply chains can help improve food security.”

Regenerative farming focuses on enhancing soil health. A combination of practices - including maintaining soil cover, integrating crop and livestock enterprises, maintaining living roots in the soil, practicing diverse crop rotations, and minimal soil disturbance - helps to build organic matter which, in turn, stabilises the soil and helps to reduce erosion as well as creating diverse soil microbiomes and decreasing the risk of environmental stress.

Ed Horton, RAU Alumnus and partner at SS Horton and Sons, explained: “We are aiming for the RAU’s farming operation to be a guide to regenerative agriculture at scale. Utilising our access to local markets for produce allows us to grow a more diverse range of cropping, such as spelt wheat for Northern Pasta, and durum wheat for our local mill, Matthews Cotswold Flour.

“Having a close working relationship with the customer means that the end user has full traceability and transparency in how their food is produced, and what the long-term benefits are to biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

“We also aim to show to students and the wider farming community that, over time, a reduction in external synthetic inputs will still produce commercially viable yields in a tough market, with far less risk exposure to the vagaries of the global commodity markets.”

Regenerative farming is a key step towards developing resilient farming systems which can cope with extreme weather conditions and a changing climate.

Professor Cannon explained: “The UK is experiencing more extreme weather conditions - including named storms, prolonged wet periods and flooding, and, at times, very hot and dry periods limiting growth - and these extremes are occurring much more frequently.

“Farming systems, not just here in the UK but across the globe, need to respond to this changing environment to ensure that we can carry on producing food whilst also acting as of part of the solution for climate change.”

This method of farming offers resilience to changing market conditions as it is not reliant on a single crop, and it also encourages diversity on farms through a wider range of crop rotations which not only improves the ability to cope with environmental stressors but also creates a wider range of habitats to improve biodiversity.

Professor Cannon added: “As well as helping farmers to deal with climate change, regenerative farming is also a climate change solution as it is one of the most reliably tried and tested ways of sequestering carbon. It also reduces emissions by using less fossil fuel for cultivations and being less reliant on crop protection products so it should therefore also lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

The University is also working with Zerodig - a social enterprise which established a seven-acre site on land adjoining the RAU’s Cirencester campus last year - not only to teach students on the RAU’s MSc in Agroecology course but also, working directly with the University’s kitchens, to provide produce for hospitality and retail markets.

RAU students are actively involved in all aspects of Zerodig and the planting schedules for this season are currently being finalised to match the University’s catering requirements for the next year.

Edward Bonn, Farm Environment Adviser at Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) South West which is working with Zerodig, said: “We grow a wide range of crops using a low soil disturbance system to try and improve soil health. Our site offers students a great opportunity for hands on involvement in horticultural production throughout the year.

“The RAU wants to ensure that as much of the food as possible that it serves through its student and staff catering, and also its external commercial bookings such as weddings, conferences, and the like, is RAU grown. Not only does this cut down food miles but it also raises the visibility of seasonal vegetables which can be harvested to directly meet the market demands.”

Professor Cannon concluded: “Both these partnerships help us to provide real time examples of regenerative farming practices and sustainable food production systems to teach students across a wide range of our courses – from the BSc and Foundation degrees in Agriculture to Countryside Management and Land and Property Management, as well as International Business and our MSc in Agroecology. 

“Meanwhile, our focus on supplying locally produced food really helps consumers connect with their food, as well as supporting and driving local business and maintaining the UK as a valued producer of the food we eat. Basically, it’s win, win and absolutely what, as an agricultural university, we should be doing!”