Growing intensive vegetable crops in a fully regenerative farming system remains a possibility rather than a reality.

This according to Worcestershire farm manager, John Sansome of G Wilson Revill & Son, despite good progress being made in many parts of the business.

Striking the balance between short-term profitability and long-term sustainability can be more challenging with the market pressures and 24/7 demands of vegetable growing, explains John.

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It also means that a balanced rotation typical of an arable farm is less likely to be in place, he adds.

This is because tight specifications, irrigation requirements and seasonal factors can all influence when and where vegetable crops are grown.

Having recognised that years of running a high-input, intensive system on the farm have taken their toll on the soil, John is working with the business owners to turn that around.

Regen techniques

He is using regenerative techniques, both to future-proof production and for the wider benefits that a more sustainable system offers.

“As we’ve introduced changes, it’s been about making incremental gains and recognising that market demand and extreme weather events will sometimes mean we have to change tack,” he says.

John adds that when they get it right, the results are fantastic.

“We find that the soil can carry the kit better, which really matters when you are harvesting in October, and moisture retention is improved in the summer. But it hasn’t all gone according to plan.”

The business produces eight different vegetable crops, all harvested by hand, with its location providing the microclimate that allows it to be the first producer of certain crops.

Planting starts in February and continues until September, while harvesting carries on throughout the year until December, with sequential plantings taking place to meet customer requirements and fulfil orders.

As well as cereals, the farm produces asparagus, beetroot, baby carrots, courgettes, dwarf French beans, salad onions, sweetcorn and Tenderstem broccoli. There is also an on-site farm shop and café.

The five principles of regenerative agriculture are applied, as far as possible, on the farm.

1. Diversity

On paper, maximising diversity is easy, says John.

“Growing a range of vegetable crops and cereals, with overwinter cover crops and summer catch crops, ticks that box,” he explains.

In practice, it’s less straightforward. “Not every crop can be grown in every field and the size of the market means that we grow much more of some crops than others.

“That means there are restrictions on our rotation and on land use. Reducing the area of a profitable crop to grow a less profitable alternative is difficult to do where there’s strong market demand.”

Diversity between years is an easier ask, he says. “Within years it’s especially tricky with intensive crops; both carrots and salad onions are good examples.”

2. Living roots

Having living roots in the ground for most of the year is possible in certain circumstances, but not all.

“Mono-cropping makes a big difference to harvest efficiency,” he points out.

“As harvesting represents a large percentage of the costs of our vegetable production, we need to recognise that reducing that efficiency will increase our costs.”

For crops such as asparagus, there are opportunities for cover crops.

“So we are using living roots wherever we can and where it makes business sense to do so.”

3. Integrating livestock

The farm owns no livestock, so John has struck a deal with a neighbour for sheep to graze cover crops and vegetable residues.

While that works well for both parties, there are Red Tractor rules and restrictions that have to be observed with vegetable crops for food safety reasons.

“There are fixed intervals which must elapse between grazing and crops,” he says.

“Some stipulate that we can’t have animals on that land for 12 months, so any grazing regime has to fit with our cropping plans.”

4. Protecting the soil surface

There are many opportunities in the farm’s rotation for soil cover – from catch and cover crops, vegetable residues and chopped straw.

While it has been possible to make good use of these, there are also times when their presence interferes with the drilling of the following crop.

Vegetable drills work with precise seed spacings and a short seed drop is essential for crops such as beetroot, carrots and salad onions.

“These drills find it very difficult to cope with trash, making it impossible to get the cash crop in the ground,” he says.

“The upshot is that we sometimes have to get the plough out to cope with large amounts of trash purely to allow our drills to work.”

5. Reduced soil disturbance

Wet springs and sequential drillings can interfere with the ambition of carrying out fewer passes, John says.

However, the purchase of a strip till cultivator has been a big step forward, as it has helped solve some of the issues they were experiencing with trash on the soil surface and has allowed planting to continue unimpeded.

“We were able to use strip-till to establish the majority of the Tenderstem broccoli area in 2023; a good example of where profit and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.”

John Sansome was speaking at the two day BASE-UK conference held in Newcastle, where the theme was Robust Farming in a Changing Climate