How data will enable McCain’s Farm of the Future to boost regenerative farming worldwide

The agriculture sector is facing unprecedented challenges. Producing enough food to sustain a rising global population while trying to prevent increasing environmental damage is not an easy balance to achieve.

Which is where concepts, such as regenerative farming, come in. There may be no single, agreed definition of what this holistic approach to food production comprises today. But its aim is to restore soil health, boost biodiversity, and rebuild natural ecosystems that have all too often been depleted by intensive, industrial-scale farming practices. 

It is still early days in global adoption terms, with only 1.5% of the world’s agricultural land being farmed in this way. But the technique is becoming more commonplace among large agrifood players, not least in the UK. Here, growing numbers of farmers are experimenting with the technique, spurred on, among other things, by a desire to cut high fertilizer and fuel costs. 

One organization that has chosen to go down this route is McCain Foods. The world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products has not only set up demonstration and innovation hubs with some of the farmers in its 4,400-strong global network. 

It has also set up three ‘Farms of the Future’ to research and trial innovative regenerative agricultural practices that “it wouldn’t be right to ask commercial growers to do”, explains James Young. He is Vice President of Agriculture for McCain GB and Ireland. 

The first Farm of the Future was set up in Florenceville, New Brunswick in Canada, where the business originally started. The second is in Lichtenburg in the North West Province of South Africa. The third and final one was established earlier this month near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, not far from the company’s UK headquarters. This was its first operation outside of Canada on being founded more than 50 years ago.

Farms of the Future

The first potatoes, meanwhile, will be planted on a rotation basis this spring at the new 202-hectare, commercial-scale site, which is located at the University of Leeds’ farm – although McCain will not fully take over operations until August when last year’s crops have been harvested. A farm manager is currently in the process of being recruited and a wider team will be hired over time based on requirements.

The overall Farm of the Future’s aim is to build on the work already begun at the other two sites by helping accelerate the adoption of regenerative farming practices and, in turn, reduce their carbon footprints. This is in line with the company’s commitment to cut Scope one and two greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from a 2017 baseline by 2030. Its long-term goal is to ensure a climate-neutral food chain by 2050. 

Unsurprisingly then, a joint ambition of McCain and the University is to hit net zero. In fact, the University already has a long-term trial in place to that end. But the task will not be easy as agrifood systems contribute about 18% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, second only to the fuel and energy sector. As Young points out:

How we’ll get there and the path we’ll take is still unclear. We don’t have the answers yet, but we’ll work together [with the University] to do it. A big contributing factor will be implementing a circular nutrient system. We don’t have any livestock expertise at McCain, but the University’s National Pig Center processes pig manure to recycle nutrients, enrich the soil, and cut waste. It’ll also help lower carbon emissions.

A further important area of research will be the use of autonomous and precision vehicles. These are smaller and lighter than the norm and are managed using Controlled Traffic Farming systems that optimize how and where they move. Young explains:

A more lightweight vehicle can be contained to smaller areas, which helps reduce soil compaction and improve soil health, so it’s a big attraction. With the headwinds and challenges of climate change, enhancing soil health is vital.

As to why it is so important, Professor Stefan Kepinski, Head of School of Biology at the University of Leeds and Co-Lead for the Agrifoods for Net Zero project, explains:

If you improve soil health, you need less fertilizer. The Ukraine war pushed the cost of fertilizer up significantly in Europe, so it’s a no-brainer to reduce inputs.

Another aim is also to run the vehicles on alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, where possible. The idea, Young says, is that “if hydrogen becomes more practical, it could be a gamechanger for emissions”.

Employing data for lifecycle analysis

The point here is to trial a range of different approaches and gather data on them to understand not only how effective each one is but also to “scale up practice change elsewhere”. As Kepinski points out:

Having a good handle on all the data we generate on the farm allows us to do lifecycle analysis, so we can evidence what has changed due to how we’ve altered our management practices. We can use data to think about how we reduce the environmental impact and increase the financial sustainability of operations. It’ll also create information we can use as a teaching resource that can be rolled out beyond the farm. So, there’s potential for professional learning and continuing professional development too. 

The University already has a data warehouse in place to help it understand issues, such as soil health and crop biology. But it also intends to explore less common approaches, such as how to optimize the valorisation of waste streams to better support a circular economy. 

A further plan is to develop advanced data models that can capture each data flow, with the goal of creating a Farm of the Future digital twin over the longer-term. As Kepinski explains:

If we change the way we manage the land and make interventions on emissions, we can capture it in a wider model to better understand what the impacts are. It’s not in place yet but it is something we’ll be doing. This is only the start of our cooperation.

Young agrees:

We can use the information and data to extrapolate through to the finished product and the food we produce at the end of the chain. It’s an open-ended project and we have a long-term tenancy agreement with Leeds, so we’ll work together on any opportunities that come up. 

Using data to ensure scalability

Another intention is to annually share pertinent research findings in the form of data-driven reports with members of McCain’s farmers’ network, research partners, and industry bodies. These include the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Agribusiness Taskforce, which shares regenerative farming insights and advice with its members. Doing so is important, Kepinski believes, because to make regenerative farming truly effective:

It’s about scalability, and some of that requires changes in incentives from government. We need better leadership from government both in the UK and internationally as the whole world is leaning in to tackle these big problems, which means that scalability is key.

Young takes a similar stance:

The data will help us define emissions reduction, which includes rolling information out and scaling it up to our growers and other partners keen to take on our tried and tested practices…There’s an element of the unknown with this and we don’t have all the answers, but it’s genuinely exciting to help shape the future. Despite the challenges agriculture faces, there’s a lot of innovative thinking, especially among the young people coming through who see a bright future for food production in the UK. So, if we can contribute to a bigger ambition and even link it to international agrifood policy at the government level, it could make a big difference.