Angus Gowthorpe, Approach Farm, North Yorkshire is Farmers Weekly’s Environmental Champion of the Year.

Soil health and biodiversity is at the heart of Angus Gowthorpe’s farming practices.

His passion for and attention to improving the sustainability of his soils is infectious, and the real driver of crop production at his mixed beef and arable farm in North Yorkshire.

Mr Gowthorpe’s environmental achievements showcase how farmers can successfully enrich the farm environment, while considerably cutting input costs and maintaining impressive crop yields.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Environmental Champion of the Year finalists

Working with nature

Beginning his regenerative agricultural journey eight years ago, his no-till system includes extensive cover crops as part of an extended and diversified eight-year rotation.

Plant growth regulators and insecticides were eradicated four years ago, leading to increased insect and bird populations, and Mr Gowthorpe can now confidently grow crops without synthetic fungicides.

Instead, he fuels the health of his soils and crops through a combination of home-brewed microbe and fungal mixes, which saves more than £90/ha a year on a typical winter wheat field.

He uses wheat blends and natural silicon sprays to improve crop health and robustness, while seed dressings have been eliminated.

Fertiliser cut backs

Nitrogen rates have been cut by two-thirds through the use of foliar nitrogen feed, which offers four times greater efficiency over granular N.

Thanks to his suckler herd, muck is applied across the whole rotation to improve organic matter levels, eliminating the requirement for purchased phosphorus and potassium.

A shift to herbal ley mixes for his mob-grazed beef herd has further improved biodiversity levels and eliminated artificial fertilisers on all forage ground.

He prides himself on promoting farm biodiversity through the Mid Tier Countryside Stewardship scheme which has seen him establish an abundance of flower margins, grass margins, herbal leys and bird food mixes.

Wider industry benefits

Mr Gowthorpe is  part of an Innovative Farmers field lab looking at the role of flower margins in boosting the numbers of beneficial insects for crops due to regenerative farming.

He was also involved with the set-up of The Green Farm Collective – a collaboration of six farmers with plans to add value to farm businesses that are following regenerative agricultural methods.

Through this, they hope to trade carbon and biodiversity to maximise returns to the farmer, while creating their own logo and packaging to promote their produce.

The other finalists were:

• Ian Boyd, Whittington Lodge Farm, Gloucestershire
• Graham Potter, The Grange, North Yorkshire