Ahead of this year’s COP26 Conference to be held in Glasgow in November, Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, visited Benningholme Grange farm to meet with pea farmers, Chris and Guy Shelby, and representatives from the multinational frozen food brand Birds Eye to discuss their cover crop initiative.
Birds Eye has partnered with The Sustainable Landscapes Humber Project to develop and deliver an innovative project in the Humber to tackle the threat of increasing carbon emissions and encourage more sustainable agricultural practices.
The focus of this project involves farmers growing cover crops in the window between harvesting peas and sowing their next food crop. At present, over 40 farmers who grow peas for Birds Eye UK are planting a diverse range of cover crops. This crop is being planted to provide natural carbon storage, reduce flooding and improve soil health for the next crop. It is this initiative they hope to exhibit at COP26 in November.
During the farm visit, Graham commented, “It is encouraging to see local producers and national retailers working together to place British agriculture at the centre of our national efforts against the growing threat of global climate change. Sustainable agriculture is a very British story.
“I wish the farmers, and their part in this fascinating initiative, every success for the future. I hope it brings with it more successful results and that Birds Eye may take it forward to tackle a whole host of environmental issues while also bringing great reward to local producers.”
James Hopwood, UK Agriculture Manager, Birds Eye said: “Birds Eye has worked with partner growers in the region to secure the planting of a variety of cover crops over 400 hectares. These crops were then sown to retain nutrients and protect the soil from the elements and capture carbon.
“In just 90 days, the cover crop programme had sequestered sufficient Carbon to make 400 four-person UK families carbon neutral for a year. The programme generated sufficient benefit to offset the impact of cultivation, making ploughing a net zero carbon operation.
“We are now looking at how to repeat this project for other crops, such as wheat, and given all these benefits and the potential to scale this initiative across the world, we have submitted an application to jointly exhibit at COP26 later this year.”
Guy Shelby of Benningholme Grange Farm said “While this is just a pilot scheme, I think it demonstrates how farming can be part of a wider solution to climate change and biodiversity loss and will help inform decision makers what could be possible on a larger scale to reduce carbon emissions and create a more resilient and sustainable agricultural supply chain.”
