LEAF in 2015 Delivering more sustainable farming and food WHO WE ARE LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) – the leading organisation delivering more sustainable food and farming OUR VISION A world that is farming, eating and living sustainably OUR MISSION To inspire and enable sustainable farming that is prosperous, enriches the environment and engages local communities LEAF celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2016 We are organising lots of fundraising activities during this landmark year based around the theme ‘delivering more sustainable food and farming fit for the future’. Support us and join in the celebrations! Join LEAF at www.leafuk.org 2 From the President The weather during 2015 has been better for most UK farmers. Bumper UK wheat yields were achieved but so too was the global harvest, resulting in tumbling commodity prices. UK dairy farmers were equally affected by increasing yields overseas; the outcome a 25% average fall in UK milk prices for producers. Clearly this situation is not sustainable in the long term. Following the election, Defra Minister Elizabeth Truss quickly gathered together leading representatives from the UK Food and Farming Industry to develop a 25 year plan. Its key themes are focused on innovation, research and development, the sharing of expertise and available data and the drive to improve skills within the industry. The aim in bringing together various parts of the food industry was to discuss how best to grow UK food production, sell more UK sourced food at home, increase exports, use new technology on farms and promote the British Brand. LEAF is an organisation which knows about brands and the LEAF Marque is sought after by farmers. It is accepted by retailers and increasingly recognised by consumers. For over twenty four years LEAF has been the driving force in promoting sustainable food production whilst maintaining and improving the earth’s natural resources. Caroline, her team, LEAF members, retailers and the wider food and farming industry have worked closely together and are to be congratulated on their success to date. I believe there are big opportunities ahead in developing the brand to more products and for informing the public about the advantages of sustainably produced and traceable food. Open Farm Sunday is one way this engagement is promoted as are visits to LEAF’s network of Demonstration Farms; my sincere thanks go to you all. LEAF celebrates twenty five years in 2016. Let’s make it a year to remember. Baroness Hazel Byford DBE DL 3 Delivering more sustainable food. Proud to support LEAF. www.waitrose.com 4 From the Chairman 2015 has been another very positive year for LEAF. New LEAF Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres have been opened to add to the outstanding network that our team has developed and improved over the years. At our Annual Conference in November, Professor Dame Anne Glover spoke eloquently about the urgent need to continue funding new science for our industry, and most importantly to encourage its adoption in practice. Open Farm Sunday broke all records with attendance and the whole agricultural industry owes a debt of gratitude to all the participating farmers and their numerous helpers for the way in which they portray the good messages about British food and farming. Our LEAF Network of Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres has a great role to play in trying out new ideas and techniques, and some of them are leading the way in what I see is a gradual change taking place in our industry. Young men and women, impatient to shake off the constricting blanket of support systems, are looking critically at the state of our soils, static yields and the march of the blackgrass menace, and developing strategies to make Integrated Farm Management the cornerstone of our farming. In the livestock industry too, great strides are being made in improving genetics and embracing the use of genomic technologies to bring us greater productivity, feed conversion and eating quality. These are exciting times for those willing to embrace change, and I hope that many LEAF farmers, using the range of tools we make available, will be in the vanguard of that change. It is instructive to look at how other industries are coping with the new economic order resulting from the emergence from recession. The chairman of BAE Systems, one of our largest manufacturing companies, in looking at the renaissance of British manufacturing, asked what has changed. Foremost, he said was attitude. “There is now a recognition that we are entitled to nothing: we must strive for everything, and our place in the competitive world can be held only by developing the highest skillset and having a mindset of continuous improvement.” That is a message we should all bear in mind, and indeed the board and staff will be doing just that as we prepare our strategy for the next five years. As we prepare for the challenge of 2016 and beyond, I take the opportunity to thank all the LEAF team for their hard work and dedication over the last year, and to the members Delivering more sustainable food. of the board, who with their experience and time freely given help guide LEAF to its vital Proud to support LEAF. role of linking profitable farming with the highest standards of environmental stewardship. www.waitrose.com Stephen Fell, MRICS FRAgS 5 LEAF really matters to our businesses. We work with farmers and growers every day. We see rst hand the benets of integrated farm management and implementing best practice – on UK land and abroad. As one of the largest and best-respected suppliers of fresh produce in the UK, our technical staff are strong advocates of the LEAF Marque scheme. We introduce, encourage and support growers with the scheme and indeed, we adopt IFM and LEAF principles on our own sites. That’s why we’re pleased to be associated with this publication and with LEAF. To learn more about Fresca Group and our constituent businesses, please see www.frescagroup.co.uk 6 From the Chief Executive As LEAF approaches its 25th year it is interesting to reflect on our achievements and learn from the mistakes we have made. The world is a hugely different place to the one into which LEAF was born. We face economic uncertainty, climatic fragility and an ever more inquisitive and demanding public. I would like to think we are an AGILE organisation – Adaptive (flexible and ready for change), Growing (seeking new ways to differentiate), Innovative (proactive in what we do), Lean (efficiency is valued in our farming systems and the organisation), and Expectant (always assuming change). During the past 25 years we have certainly made a valuable contribution to the understanding, delivery and promotion of more sustainable food and farming. We have remained true to our core values and through the development and promotion of Integrated Farm Management provided a logical framework for farmers to adapt to the changes around them – in our markets, our climate and consumer demands and expectations. All of this has happened as a result of the wonderful support of our members – corporates and individuals, sponsors, our Trustees, committees, staff and supporters. Thank you so much and well done. Together we have achieved a lot, but there is so much more to be done. With the impact of climate change rising up the agenda, identifying the opportunities for farming to be part of the solution is critical. That is why we will be focusing our efforts for 2016 and beyond on LEAF – delivering healthy food and farming, fit for the future. This year’s annual review provides just a snapshot of our achievements delivered through our core activities of: • Knowledge generation and exchange, though our wonderful LEAF Demonstration Farmers, Innovation Centres and effective management tools • Market opportunity, through the strengthening and growth of LEAF Marque • Public engagement, through the hugely successful Open Farm Sunday and Open Farm School Days. 2016 looks to be a memorable year for LEAF and we look forward to continuing to work with you as we prepare our members for the next 25 years of achieving healthy food and farming . Ensuring farming businesses are fit for the future. Caroline Drummond, MBE 7 The year at a glance Spring 2015 Facilitating sustainable farming knowledge generation and exchange is one of LEAF’s overarching core activities. We work with farmers, the food industry, scientists and consumers to inspire and enable sustainable farming. We do this through our network of Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres, developing management tools for farmers and through technical events. During the first quarter of 2015, we held a technical event on sustainable soil management, bringing farmers together to focus on this key area of Integrated Farm Management. Measuring and evaluating what impact our work and our members are making to the delivery of more sustainable farming across the globe, is key to LEAF’s ongoing growth. Our Global Impacts report, published in March and launched at the International Food and Drink Event, reported significant growth in the area of crops grown to LEAF Marque standards, which reached 266,324 hectares with a nearly 30% increase in the area of LEAF Marque crops being grown in Northern Europe. Hugely positive results that we are continuing to build on. Summer 2015 We were delighted to launch our first two glasshouse businesses as Demonstration Farms - Tangmere Airfield Nurseries Ltd and Eric Wall Ltd. They will play a critical role in showing how the principles of IFM can be applied to the glasshouse sector Another significant achievement for LEAF was achieving full membership of the ISEAL (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling) Alliance, the global membership association for sustainability standards, providing third party acknowledgement that LEAF Marque standards are robust and credible.