Futureproofing
Commitment to ESG
We believe it is vital to build a bridge between the best organic farming practices, with smart and sustainable regenerative farming, ensuring future innovation and technology are embraced, ensuring that we futureproof our business and have a long term, positive impact on our farming, the environment, our people and our community.
We are dedicated to four key pillars that form the foundation of our 4Life sustainability strategy:
Regenerative farming
Organic is the most proven method of regenerative farming and, over the last 25 years, we have taken a market leading position in organic roots.
We have applied science to grow roots sustainably and affordably, in our farming operation at Houghton and in partnership with our dedicated Grower Group. As a result, the proportion of carrot volumes in the UK which are organic is higher than for any other major vegetable. But conventional farming methods will be required to feed the nation for the foreseeable future. So, we will play our part in making conventional farming as regenerative as possible. We respect six principles of regenerative farming:- Context – not every farm, field or crop is the same
- Reduce soil disturbance
- Keep the soil surface covered as much as possible
- Keep living roots in the soil
- Grow a diverse range of crops
- Bring grazing animals back to the land
Energy, water and waste
We use clever technology to monitor energy use, to use as little as possible. The details add up – such as switching off machines during breaks and switching our lighting to LED, leading to a 13% reduction in energy use (23 vs 22).- We source better energy. We use solar panels at our Isleham and Yaxley sites and all of the energy we take from the grid is 100% renewable.
- Isleham and Yaxley use a lagoon system, which recycles our water through a series of filtration systems, so we take significantly less from the mains supply.
- We send zero food waste to landfill. All of our vegetables are sold to retailers, or to food manufacturers, or they are used as animal food.
- All of our consumer packaging is recyclable and we have reduced the plastic in our consumer packaging, saving 374 tonnes of plastic since 2019.
People and community
- We listen to our people – via representatives, forums and surveys.
- We look after our people including a cash health plan (help with prescriptions, dentists, chiropody, physiotherapy etc) and a well-being programme (in partnership with Yulife).
- We help our people find opportunities to move up and across functions. Click here to meet some of our team.
- When we use agency workers, we work with GLAA registered providers, which we audit annually.
- Our farmers are all members of Sedex, which helps us assess any modern slavery risk.
- All of our managers have received modern slavery training, to recognise the signs to look out for and what to do.
- We donate food through FareShare, crisis and local food banks. In 2023, we gave 174 tonnes of food, supporting 430,000 meals for those in need.
- Every year, we spend time in local primary schools providing hands-on education into how potatoes are grown and harvested, and their nutritional benefits.
A conversation with Chris Negus
Chris manages our farming operations at Houghton and Westacre Farms in Norfolk.I grew up in a farming family and most of my summers were spent helping out on the farm. After studying Biological Science at university, I worked in office-based roles in fruit and vegetable companies, but I soon found my way back to physical farming. In 2007, my father and I started our organic farming operation, and later I came to work with Burgess Farms and RBOrganic. I now have 17 years’ experience of organic farming, and even more in farming in general. I’ve farmed 27 different crops, mainly vegetables but also cereals.
Together with our Organic Grower Groups, we’ve learnt a lot! We regularly meet and share knowledge and ideas, and ultimately, improve together. We also work closely with the Soil Association who are incredibly helpful with their knowledge and ideas. The main learning for me has been understanding organic farming is all about detail. You have to know which varieties are most resilient at different times of the year. You also have to be out in each field almost daily to see what is happening, and then decide how best to respond. Does the soil have the right nutrients? Are moisture levels right? Do we need to weed certain areas? We use the best of science, but a big part of success is our people observing and reacting in real-time.
- It’s taken time but as we’ve honed our approach, we’ve achieved yields broadly similar to conventional farming, at least for the majority of the year.
It’s important to grow roots in rotation with other crops. At Houghton, there is a seven-year rotation in place and the farm is looking to increase this to a ten-year rotation. So, for example, carrots might be the crop in year one but may not be grown again until year eight. This is a requirement in organic farming but good practice on any farm. Of course, one way to improve soil health is to not use any artificial pesticides or fertilisers which is an absolute must for organic farming.
Yes absolutely – our philosophy and ultimate goal is to apply all of our learning from organics over to improving conventional farming in the UK. One example is that by sharing knowledge from our organic farming operation, we’ve been able to reduce the amount of artificial pesticides and fertilisers used on conventional produce.
It's a good thing that there is so much attention on the way that we farm in the UK. Organic farming is the most proven method of regenerative farming but there is an opportunity to improve all farming methods. We're trying to play a part in that, by working with other farmers and stakeholders, and sharing what we’ve learnt.
