Category: NCS News

Farmer-led research is missing link between science and on-farm change

Agricultural research should put farmers at the heart of project design if it is to deliver lasting changes in farming practice, argues a new paper from researchers involved in the Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems (NCS) project.

The paper Nitrogen Climate Smart: Cutting UK Agricultural Emissions using a Farmer-Focused Theory of Change, sets out a framework for future agricultural research that prioritises farmer participation, on-farm trials, peer-to-peer learning and supply chain collaboration. 

It argues that involving farmers from the start leads to research that is more relevant, more readily adopted and more likely to deliver environmental and economic benefits.

Lead author Dr Emily Guest, postdoctoral researcher at Cranfield University, explained that the NCS project aimed to reduce agriculture’s carbon emissions by 3.4MtCO2e per year through increased production and use of pulses. 

She said: “There is a wealth of scientific evidence about the benefits of pulses, but that alone isn’t what makes farmers decide to grow them. Research must support farmers to build confidence, see the results for themselves and learn from each other if we want to create meaningful change.

“Research programmes must bridge the gaps between research, practice and policy. The impact of the project needs to be considered from the start, not as an afterthought or box ticking exercise.” 

Led by PGRO the NCS project is a four-year £5.9M research programme involving 200 UK farms and 17 partners. Farmers have worked alongside scientists throughout the project to co-design and carry out on-farm trials that answer both scientific questions and practical farming challenges. 

PGRO CEO and NCS project lead Roger Vickers welcomed the publication: “From the outset, NCS was designed to do more than answer scientific questions. We wanted farmers, researchers and industry to work together to understand not only how pulses can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also what’s preventing their wider adoption. 

“We hope this paper will help influence the way future research is designed – showing that bringing farmers, researchers and industry partners together from the outset delivers outcomes that are more likely to bring the change needed.”

Tom Allen-Stevens, managing director of BOFIN which leads the on-farm trials and farmer engagement elements of the NCS project said: “Farmer-led research is the missing link. Good science on its own isn’t enough if doesn’t make it beyond the page. When farmers help shape the research, test it on their own farms and share what they’ve learned with others, that’s when research can drive real change.” 

Read the full paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aab.70146

How Yattendon Estate is Boosting Confidence and Crop Performance

For Pulse Pioneer, Nick Down, Yattendon Estate‘s Farm Manager, beans aren’t just a break crop, they’re a way to connect soils, markets, biodiversity, and business resilience.

It’s a mindset rooted in Integrated Farm Management (IFM) – a practical, whole-farm approach that supports thoughtful decision-making, continuous learning and improvement, and responsible use of natural resources. It underpins both Nick’s day-to-day management and Yattendon’s commitment as a LEAF Demonstration Farm, sharing good practice and fostering open, honest discussion across the industry.

This approach has guided Yattendon’s journey over the years – analysing field performance, matching land use to its strengths, and building a more resilient, climate-smart rotation for the future. 

A diverse estate, shaped by resilience 

The 2,200-hectare Berkshire estate combines 1,750 ha of arable land with permanent pasture and commercially managed forestry. Farming decisions balance productive ambition with environmental stewardship, supported by Countryside Stewardship and SFI agreements on land better suited to nature recovery than production. 

Soils vary widely across the estate, from calcareous silts to heavy, flinty clay loams, which makes crop placement and flexibility essential. Partnerships with local graziers help manage herbal leys, while forestry, retail and local brewing enterprises contribute to a diverse and resilient business model. Collaboration with colleagues, partners, and the local community remains central to every decision.

IFM in practice means more than just managing land well, it’s about organisation and planning, engaging people, and strengthening the landscape as a whole. Yattendon demonstrates IFM at scale: working with the land’s assets and integrating them into a wider, joined-up system.

Why beans and why the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) Project?

With the challenges around oilseed rape previously standing alone as the break crop, Nick wanted to diversify while reducing reliance on fertiliser and plant protection products. Winter beans offered a route to improved soil structure, nitrogen fixation, reduced synthetic inputs, and new market opportunities.

“I’ve always had a thirst for knowledge and for improving what we do. NCS gives us the chance to benchmark beans properly, and to learn from growers we’d never normally be compared with.” says Nick.

As a Pulse Pioneer in the project, Nick now benefits from:

• Detailed bean-specific benchmarking
• Access to specialist agronomy and crop health expertise
• Reliable data-sharing and technical support
• Peer-to-peer learning – which he rates as the most valuable part of the programme. 

Together, these elements provide confidence in treating beans not as a rotational compromise, but as a crop with genuine strategic potential. It’s helping growers approach beans with ambition, not hesitation and providing the evidence to support better decisions.

Learning from real-world variation

Yattendon’s NCS trial splits one field between winter beans and legume fallow, monitoring differences in rotational and legacy benefits, particularly on the following wheat crop.   The first year brought challenges: a delayed drilling window and severe summer drought halved yields compared to their five-year average, and the legume fallow had lower competitiveness against blackgrass. But for Nick highlights that “the greatest value” from the trial is “hearing what others are trying and from knowing what’s working and what isn’t”. Learning remains the win, reinforcing the importance of farmer-led knowledge exchange.  

Knowledge exchange across the NCS Project, through events, data-sharing and open discussion, offers reassurance that pulses can be productive and marketable. 

Yattendon grows for human consumption first, with value-added feed routes available when quality specifications aren’t met. With tight cost control, including cleaning home-saved seed, beans already enhance rotation performance, even in tougher seasons. 

Advice for growers thinking about pulses

Nick is honest about what beans (and the British weather) can throw at you. His advice:

• Know your costs – not just averages but crop-by-crop, field-by-field, year-by-year.
• Be realistic – plan for poor seasons as well as the good ones.
• Be bold and act decisively – both when something works and when it doesn’t 
• Play the long game – focus on rotational value, not just benefits you can sell by the tonne. 

“The challenges keep changing, and they don’t get any easier, but our ability to navigate them can improve” Says Nick.

Looking ahead

With first-year data due shortly, Nick is eager to understand the nitrogen legacy gains in the following wheat crop, and to build evidence across multiple seasons. He continues to pursue targeted input reduction, including trialling BYDV-tolerant varieties and reducing insecticide use. For Yattendon, beans are not a stop-gap. They are an investment in resilience, supported by evidence, guided by IFM, and enabled by the NCS project.

Pulse Pioneers step forward to deliver NFU sustainable proteins plan

A group of leading arable and mixed farmers is being positioned at the forefront of the UK’s shift towards home-grown, sustainable protein, as a new delivery model is launched to turn ambition into action.

At the From Soya to Sustainability conference in Peterborough, which took place on Wednesday, 28 January, organisers announced the creation of Pioneer Pods – small, focused groups of farmers drawn from the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) project’s Pulse Pioneers. These farmers are working together to accelerate the adoption of pulses in arable rotations and strengthen routes to market for UK-grown protein crops.

The move is designed to provide a practical delivery mechanism for the NFU Sustainable Proteins Plan, which calls for a major expansion in pulse cropping to improve farm resilience, cut reliance on imported soya and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across UK agriculture.

The Pulse Pioneers, around 30 commercial growers involved in the PGRO-led NCS project, have already demonstrated what is possible. They are among growers involved in independent benchmarking through ADAS YEN, which shows they are achieving pulse yields around 1t/ha higher than national averages. Early rotational data from Pulse Pioneer trials point to improvements in nitrogen supply and following-crop performance.

“These are not trial-plot results – this is evidence from commercial farms, across different soils and systems,” said Tom Allen-Stevens, founder and managing director of the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN). “The question now is not whether pulses can deliver, but how we scale that performance and connect it to markets. Pioneer Pods are about doing exactly that.”

Analysis led by ADAS within the NCS project has shown that while there is no single ‘silver bullet’ input to transform pulse performance, system-level learning – around establishment, nutrition, crop protection and rotation design – delivers consistent gains when shared and applied at scale.

The Pioneer Pod model builds on that insight. Each pod will bring together a small number of Pulse Pioneers working on similar challenges or opportunities, such as improving yield stability, optimising nitrogen supply to following crops, or supplying consistent volumes of high-quality pulses into feed and food markets.

By pooling data, aligning on-farm trials and working directly with supply-chain partners, the pods are intended to shorten the gap between on-farm innovation and commercial uptake.

“The NFU plan is clear that pulses can deliver productivity, resilience and environmental benefits, but only if farmers are supported to manage risk and if supply chains commit alongside them,” said Tom Allen-Stevens. “Pioneer Pods are where those conversations become practical.”

With pulses identified as a key lever for reducing fertiliser use, improving soil health and cutting agricultural emissions, delegates at the FSTS2026 conference agreed that the challenge now lies in delivery rather than direction.

“The evidence is building, the policy intent is clear, and now the structures are starting to fall into place,” said Tom Allen-Stevens. “The Pulse Pioneers have shown what’s possible. Pioneer Pods are about turning that potential into something that works for farmers, supply chains and the wider industry.”

The Pioneer Pods will begin forming during 2026, with opportunities for additional farmers and supply-chain partners to engage as the model develops.

1.6 million tonne target for UK push for pulses

The environmental gains of replacing imported soya with UK-grown beans in livestock diets could be substantial, but without appropriate incentives across the supply chain they will not be realised. 

That is the message that senior economist James Webster-Rusk (The Andersons Centre) will deliver to delegates at From Soya to Sustainability in Peterborough today. 

As part of the Defra-funded NCS project, James has been tasked with carrying out Cost-Benefit Analyses of the project partners’ ambition to increase pulse production to 20% of the UK’s arable area, replacing 50% of the imported soya currently being fed to the nation’s livestock.

It is the second of three studies which evaluate the economic and environmental implications of making these changes at farm level over the four years of the NCS project (2023-2027). The results are then extrapolated to demonstrate the potential impact on UK arable and livestock production.

The biggest potential gains could be seen in the poultry sector, he will say. The environmental benefits of using beans in layer and broiler diets could outweigh the costs by as much as 20 times (a 20:1 benefit to cost ratio). While early broiler trials suggest lower inclusion levels may improve producer margins and reduce emissions, the trials to date have been small-scale, underlining the need for further research. 

For grazing livestock, the results from trials represented in his analysis are mixed and also warrant further research. 

“Beans may reduce the emissions from feed, but any decrease in growth rates can offset the gains,” he will say. “However the project’s dairy trial revealed that the benefits to society of reduced emissions do outweigh the cost to the farmer of increased feed.”

Increasing pulses to 20% of arable rotations has the potential to reduce emissions by as much as 600,000 tonnes (t) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) or 9.4%. This is primarily driven by the reduction in fertiliser needed in the arable supply chain. 

However, under the current five-year average economics of arable farming, the environmental benefits of reducing emissions are offset by losses in margins as rotations move towards 20% pulses. While increasing pulse consumption delivers a net benefit for the livestock sector, the same is not currently true for arable producers.

“If we don’t incentivise arable farmer to produce the beans then the beans won’t be there to deliver the vast improvements that could be realised in the intensive livestock sector. 

“We will need 1.6 million tonnes of beans to make it happen, and we simply don’t have that at the moment.”

The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted intervention across the supply chain, said Tom Allen-Stevens, founder and managing director of the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN) which leads the on-farm trials within the NCS project.

“This analysis shows very clearly that the environmental gains are there for the taking, but the system is currently misaligned. Livestock producers and society would benefit from lower emissions, yet arable farmers are being asked to carry the financial risk. 

“If we want UK-grown pulses to replace imported soya at scale, we must put meaningful incentives in place to make bean production a viable and attractive option for growers.”

Full profiles of the speakers joining us at the ‘From Soya to Sustainability’ Conference 2026

From Soya to Sustainability is shaping up to be a key event in 2026 for anyone interested in the future of farming and sustainable food production.

Bringing together farmers, researchers, policy specialists, economists and industry leaders, the programme reflects the breadth of expertise contributing to the UK’s move towards homegrown, lower-carbon livestock feed.

Organised by partners in the Defra-funded NCS project, the conference takes place at the KingsGate Centre, Peterborough, on Wednesday 28 January 2026.

Soya in the supermarket

The first panel session will explore how retailers, policymakers and supply chains can shift towards more sustainable protein sources. Professor Neil Ward of the University of East Anglia brings decades of expertise in agri-food policy, rural development and climate change. A former adviser to the Cabinet Office, Neil co-leads the AFN Network+, a national initiative connecting over 3,000 researchers and practitioners focused on achieving net zero in the UK food system.

Joining him is Nicola Brennan of WWF UK, a leading figure in the move towards deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains. With strong international experience and a focus on soy sourcing, Nicola has worked closely with major retailers to navigate barriers and opportunities in transforming supply chains for people and nature.

Embracing change

The second panel session turns attention to the science and practice of replacing imported soya with homegrown pulses. Chairing the discussion is John McArthur, Managing Director of McArthur BDC and lead of Work Package 4 of the NCS Project which is investigating how heat-treating faba beans can improve their feeding potential.

Professor Jos Houdijk of SRUC brings world-leading expertise in monogastric nutrition. His research has demonstrated that peas and faba beans can fully replace soya bean meal in balanced pig rations – a breakthrough now informing NCS trials in poultry.

They are joined by Brian Kenyon, Senior Poultry Nutritionist at ABN, who has decades of experience supporting high-performance, sustainable poultry feeding. Brian contributes to NCS research demonstrating how UK-grown beans can reduce reliance on imported soya without compromising bird performance.

John said: “Replacing imported soya with homegrown pulses isn’t just possible – it’s already happening. What we need now is collaboration and momentum and that’s what From Soya to Sustainability is all about. It’s a place to share expertise and shape the future of UK livestock feeding together.”

Pulse Pioneers

In a workshop for the NCS project’s Pulse Pioneer farmer trialists, Jamie Burrows, NFU Combinable Crops chair, will lay out the NFU’s Sustainable Protein Action Plan and encourage growers to get behind it. The plan includes measures to boost UK production and use of protein crops – including peas, beans and lupins – in arable rotations to enhance food security, reduce reliance on imports and improve farm sustainability.

Tom Allen-Stevens of the British On-Farm Innovation Network encouraged all Pulse Pioneers to attend. He said: “This is an opportunity for our farmers to shape future policy by influencing the NFU’s feedback to Defra to ensure there is a plan we can deliver and that Defra has the confidence to support.”

The workshop will also shape the future of the project’s trials based on findings and experiences from the first two years of trials and will prioritise areas for further on-farm research. 

The price of change

The final panel session will focus on the economic and carbon implications of scaling pulses and reducing soya dependence. James Webster-Rusk of The Andersons Centre leads the NCS cost-benefit analysis on expanding pulse production to 20% of UK arable land and replacing 50% of imported soya.

Liz Bowles, Chief Executive of the Farm Carbon Toolkit, will provide vital insight into emissions reduction and on-farm carbon opportunities.

With its diverse programme of speakers (and more to be confirmed soon), the conference aims to advance the NCS project ambitions to increase pulse production and reduce reliance on imported soya.

Roger Vickers CEO of PGRO and NCS project lead said: “We have the science, the farmers and the will to build a protein system that delivers for nature, climate and food security. At From Soya to Sustainability we will bring those threads together and accelerate change. I encourage anyone who wants to see British agriculture move forward to join us on 28^th January.”

Tickets to the event are on sale at www.tinyurl.com/FSTS26

Wholecrop beans boost livestock performance and cut carbon

Wholecrop beans can improve livestock performance, reduce reliance on imported proteins, and strengthen the sustainability of both arable and livestock systems, according to experts speaking at the NCS project’s on-farm open day in December.

Hosted by Yorkshire beef and arable farmer Richard Barker, the event brought together producers, advisers, seed specialists and processors to share their expertise, practical experience and trial results from the Defra-funded NCS project.

Richard, who farms in partnership with his father and nephew, finishes Aberdeen Angus cattle for Dovecote Park under a Waitrose contract. The business has increasingly focused on feeding homegrown crops, including beans, crimped wheat and barley, supported by the introduction of herbal leys to increase grazing.

“We initially began growing spring beans as a homegrown protein source, but yields were inconsistent,” Richard explained. “However, in the cattle ration they performed very well, with noticeable improvements in animal performance. The cattle are more settled and content.”

As part of the NCS project, Richard worked with beef nutritionist Lizz Clarke to trial beans in calf diets too. His 140 calves were split into two groups – one fed a total mixed ration (TMR) including herbal ley silage and the other a TMR based on wholecrop beans.

“From the get-go the animals on the bean diet were flourishing more,” Richard said. The group on the wholecrop beans TMR gained an average of 1.19kg/day, compared with 1.05kg/day on the herbal ley ration – an advantage of 140g/day. Over the course of the trial, this translated into a 66% total weight gain for the beans group versus 49% for the herbal ley group.

He plans to continue using beans wherever possible. “Our challenge is growing beans consistently when we can’t control the weather. We want to deliver a consistent end product for Dovecote and the consumer, and by working with experts through NCS we hope to improve how beans are grown and used.”

Sustainability is also a key driver for processors. Chloe Bridgett of Dovecote Park explained the company’s shift away from imported soya: “Our main customer, Waitrose, was concerned about soya coming from deforested areas. Every year we must declare that we don’t have soya in our supply chain.”

Heather Oldfield of Limagrain highlighted the opportunities for growers: “It’s encouraging to see government supporting projects like the NCS that bring together the whole supply chain to make impactful change. The added value of beans when fed to livestock can be significant, and together with the agronomic benefits this makes them a very viable break crop on a mixed farm”.

Seed specialists also encouraged growers to explore new approaches. David Watson of Nickerson recognised the reliability challenges of beans, suggesting different approaches including bi-cropping peas and beans to stabilise yields.

Further insights from the NCS project included harvesting efficiency trials from Kelvin Cave, showing that maize headers outperformed standard headers for bean wholecrop. Erin Matlock of PGRO reinforced the importance of good agronomy, including rotation, soil testing, seed quality and early weed control, alongside awareness of diseases such as chocolate spot and rust.

Hear Pulse Pioneer, Rob Waterston’s, bean story…

Achieving consistency with his bean crops is the main goal for NCS project trials carried out by Rob Waterston.

He has been manager for Welford Park Estate near Newbury since 2007. Overseeing approximately 1068ha of farmland, Rob has evolved practices to focus on sustainability.. This has included a move away from high input production and a focus on soil health and plant nutrition, reduced fertiliser use and adopting practices including cover cropping, companion cropping, strip tilling and direct drilling.

Including beans in the seven-year rotation is a key part of this new approach, however the crop is not without challenge, he says. “We’ve been growing winter beans for several years. I think we’ve had two successful years, when they’ve done really well, and we’ve had some shockers as well.

“So that’s the challenge for me. I see them as a good thing from a sustainability point of view, but the inconsistency drives me mad.”

In the first year of the project (2023-4) Rob’s trial was a 3ha block of beans from which he took leaf samples to send away for analysis.

“On the back of that we tailor made a nutritional programme,” he explains. “We did that twice in the build up towards flowering to make sure the plant gets everything it needs to maximise the flowering potential. It was quite an expansive list of micronutrients that went on.”

He achieved a 0.2t yield uplift in that area and a wealth of benchmark data from ADAS Bean YEN, into which his crop was entered, to analyse and interpret its performance.

Being a Pulse Pioneer involves quite extensive sampling. “There is some work to it, but you only get out what you put in. I am always bit last minute with the samples,” he admits. “There is always something else to do but it is worthwhile.” The resulting ADAS reports include a vast amount of data and there is support available to help the Pulse Pioneers to interpret it.

Now in year two, the field previously under beans has been planted with cereals to assess the impact of the pulses on the subsequent crop. While it is assumed that the next crop will benefit from residual nitrogen in the soil left by the beans, the Pulse Pioneer trials set out of quantify the difference it makes.

“The wheat crop that follows our beans always looks good, so they must be leaving some nitrogen in the soil, but how much?”

Rob joined the project after three successful years as an AHDB Monitor Farm. His experience engaging with other farmers and other experts and sharing knowledge was extremely positive and he particularly enjoyed hosting visits on the farm. Joining the NCS project seemed like a logical next step and he particularly values the opportunity to collaborate and share learning with other farmers growing beans.

All Pulse Pioneers have also been asked to take a carbon footprint calculation of their farm through Farm Carbon Toolkit, something with Rob had done previously as a Monitor Farmer too. It’s an extensive process but worth it, he says. “It’s a bit daunting at first but it’s useful as it focuses your mind about everything you do.

“The main contributor to our carbon emissions is nitrogen, and pulses obviously help with that no end.”

Off the back of his carbon baselining Rob has signed up to a carbon platform, Rob continues. “Agreena issue certificates to us once we’ve been audited and thoroughly validated. We then decide who we would like to sell them to and when.

“We are mindful of our carbon footprint and are trying to reduce our nitrogen requirements but it’s tough. Getting agriculture to Net Zero without farmers forgoing nitrogen is an enormous challenge – peas and beans will be a valuable part of the jigsaw, but farming without nitrogen at present would be impossible.”

For the owners of the Welford Park Estate legacy is important, adds Rob. “In 2012 we decided to change things up. We planted hedges and trees, created wildflower meadows, and we are producing food as well. I’d like to think we are doing our bit for the environment.

“Our system has changed. We’re no longer relying on chemicals – we’ve not used any insecticides for four years and not seeing any detriment to that.

“We’ve got a long way to go, but the farm is in better health than it was 10 years ago.”

He believes that beans will play an important part in ongoing improvements and is keen to continue growing them. “With the Sustainable Farming Incentive, it would be quite easy to not grow beans, or any other break crops. The safer bet would probably be to go down the legume fallow route and just take the money.

“But we still need to grow food in this country. And there’s no denying that beans are a great break crop, but unfortunately there are some years where they don’t return a profit.”