The decision follows a comprehensive review of the soil carbon market, assessing the integrity, methodology, and market readiness of multiple providers. The review concluded that Regenerate Outcomes and Ecometric offer robust, farmer-aligned programmes, enabling EFG members to maximise both environmental impact and financial benefits.

Supporting farmers to take control of carbon

Soil carbon programmes allow farmers to track and measure soil carbon over time, building datasets that support informed management decisions and can generate verified carbon credits. These credits can either be retained to offset on-farm emissions, sold to supply chain buyers, or sold on the voluntary carbon market, creating an additional income stream. The key is that farmers have control of what they do with their carbon.

The commercial opportunity of trading soil carbon depends on variables such as weather, farm management practices and soil types. This means that the amount of carbon stored in soil can go up and down year by year. However, on average over a 20-year period, EFG expects about 3tn/ha/annum CO₂e could be stored in soil with a modest carbon price leading to a gross margin of around £60/ha/annum. This might be an important additional income stream for farms over the coming years.

Digby Sowerby, Managing Director of EFG, commented: 

“After careful analysis of the soil carbon market, we are pleased to endorse Regenerate Outcomes and Ecometric as trusted providers. Both offer high-integrity programmes that put decision-making firmly in the hands of farmers. Our priority is to ensure members can engage in carbon markets confidently, with access to transparent, science-based programmes that support both environmental outcomes and commercial resilience.”

Ecometric CEO, David Wright added:

“We are excited to work with EFG to scale routine soil carbon monitoring across their membership, in support of improved soil management and the generation of financial reward for capturing and storing carbon dioxide.”

Regenerate Outcomes Director, Tom Dillon added:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Environmental Farmers Group to enable more farmers to see the benefits of improved soil health on their farm, through the package of bespoke mentoring plus revenues from soil carbon credits. Now is the right time for British farmers to secure a soil carbon baseline so that the environmental benefits they’re delivering on farm can be recognised and rewarded now and in the future.” 

High-integrity soil carbon

EFG has taken a pragmatic approach in assessing market providers, looking at both the scientific and commercial offering. From an environmental perspective, EFG has been supported by Mark Kibblewhite of MK Soil Science Ltd and an Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University. Based on his work, EFG has decided that a ‘measure and remeasure’ approach to quantifying change in soil carbon and generating soil carbon credits is most appropriate for decision making and for trading high-integrity carbon credits. Both Ecometric and Regenerate Outcomes complete intensive physical sampling with carbon traded based on outcomes rather than being purely modelled.

From a commercial perspective, Trethowans (solicitors and EFG sponsors) and Natural Capital Advisory have acted for EFG in reviewing the legal agreements that farmers will need to sign to participate in soil carbon programmes. Although both programmes comprise of long-term commitments, both offer methods to exit early and EFG has also negotiated specific terms for EFG Members to ensure its members have the ability to own the soil carbon data generated.

Advantage of Scale

EFG will facilitate trading carbon credit sales (where members wish to trade) through its existing network of buyers, leveraging the cooperative’s scale to secure competitive pricing for members. As well as benefiting members, its size offers an advantage to buyers seeking significant quantities of high-integrity, UK-based carbon credits through a single point of contact. Overall, EFG is aiming to achieve over 50,000tn CO₂e carbon sequestration in 2026, clearly demonstrating how farmers can contribute to national environmental targets whilst increasing farm profitability.

As part of the new agreements, EFG members will receive savings of between £1/ha and £4/ha. As EFG’s Membership subscription fee is only £1.25/ha, this means that it is worth joining these soil carbon programmes as an EFG Member. Those who are members of the farmer cooperative will also benefit from selling together through existing networks of buyers, leveraging the cooperative’s scale (currently 387,000ha) to secure competitive pricing for members.

EFG Members have received full information on the offers available to them and EFG has held two information sessions in early November. Farmers who are not yet members but are interested to learn more are encouraged to either express an interest in joining EFG or to email efg@gwct.org.uk for more information.

]]> 141890 https://www.newsanyway.com/2025/01/16/heritage-fund-awards-100k-to-swaledale-wensleydale-farmers-for-conservation/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:00:41 +0000 https://www.newsanyway.com/?p=138879 The newly formed Wensleydale & Swaledale Environmental Farmers (SWEF) Group has successfully secured £100,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to advance its conservation goals and support the development of its cooperative.

This farmer-led initiative represents a significant opportunity for the 133 farmers who have shown interest in joining. Collectively, their farms span 54,000 hectares, accounting for 65% of the land area in Swaledale and Wensleydale. With this extensive coverage, SWEF aims to achieve large-scale biodiversity restoration, improve water quality, and work toward net-zero carbon emissions.

The group’s innovative model is designed to generate income through private natural capital markets, ensuring the long-term sustainability of its environmental efforts. By fostering collaboration, SWEF is set to drive positive ecological change across this iconic landscape.

Mark Willoughby local tenant farmer and chair of SWEF said:

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to receive this award and recognition that farmers play a central role in creating and maintaining our iconic Dales landscapes. It’s essential that environmental improvement goes hand in hand with food production and with the loss of £10million in subsidies from the area, farmers will need to find alternative revenue streams. Emerging natural capital markets are a potential new source of income, but they are difficult for individuals to navigate alone. SWEF’s cooperative model provides an assured trading platform that reduces risk and operates at a scale that offers much bigger opportunities.”

The Heritage Fund grant has enabled the appointment of project officer Emma Orde-Powlett who will work with the group to implement a catchment-scale conservation plan based on ecological assessments of its members’ land holdings. This will enable SWEF to establish a wide range of farmer-led initiatives aimed at protecting and improving important habitats and populations of threatened wildlife, such as curlew, golden plover, hen harrier, merlin, red squirrel and Atlantic salmon, for which the Dales are famous. It will also incorporate projects to repair stone walls, hay barns and sheep folds and improve water quality in the Ure and Swale river catchments and reduce flooding through its Water Restoration Fund.

Mark continued:

“I strongly believe that a conservation plan, designed by SWEF farmers, local estates, and land managers, can be more effective at delivering environmental outcomes and better value for money than a top-down approach. We have the knowledge and expertise to maintain and enhance our rich environmental and cultural heritage.”

As part of the culture and community aspect of SWEF’s project supported by the Heritage Fund, a series of ‘living history’ films will record the stories of farmers from the area. Much of the local heritage is held in the oral traditions of the two dales. The living histories project will record these traditions for posterity and chronicle the changes in farming life from the different world of their grandparents to today’s reality where many small family farmers have to take on other jobs to make ends meet.

Swaledale farmer and SWEF board member Linda Rukin said:

“I would urge all farmers who have so far expressed an interest in SWEF to join as full members, not only to benefit from accessing natural capital markets, but also to share resources and gain a stronger voice to ensure the continuance of our cultural heritage and communities. SWEF offers farming families an opportunity to help secure a sustainable future.”

Once its conservation plan is in place, SWEF aims to secure funding for restoration projects through a blend of public and private finance including sponsorship, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and corporate Environment Social Governance (ESG) investment. The cooperative’s partnership with the UK’s leading wildlife research charity Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) guarantees both farmers and investors verifiable delivery. The GWCT’s subsidiary Natural Capital Advisory (NCA) will carry out the environmental monitoring, guaranteeing the highest level of assurance and offering natural capital investors a single point of contact.

GWCT chief executive Teresa Dent CBE convenes the SWEF steering group. She said:

“SWEF and its sister cooperatives Peakland Environmental Farmers (PEF) and the Environmental Farmers Group (EFG) form a ground-breaking farmer-led nature recovery movement. Combined they now represent 687 farmers covering 354,436 hectares or 875,830 acres.

“With 72% of UK land in farming it is vital to engage and support the private land managers or Working Conservationists who run it. Nature reserves are important but not sufficient on their own. Bringing farmers on board and paying fairly for environmental goods they can supply through a blend of private and public funding is the only way the Government will be able to hit its legally binding targets for nature recovery alongside its food security goals.”