A FIRST-of-its kind low carbon concept farm in Lincolnshire has successfully grown its first crop of potatoes that have just landed in UK stores, thanks to a partnership between retailer Tesco and industry leader Branston.
Established last year in a bid to help growers and suppliers reach net zero targets with innovative solutions, the low carbon concept farm is yielding successful results, with 500 tonnes of customer favourite variety, Georgina, entering Tesco stores from February 23rd in its Finest British All-Rounder and Baking Potato packs.
The potatoes have been grown using a combination of low carbon growing techniques such as circular economy fertilisers like CCm, which locks in CO2 as part of the process. Other techniques used include minimum cultivations without impacting yield or quality and transitioning the machinery’s fuel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, which has an up to 90% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional fossil diesel.
The result is the same taste and texture customers expect from traditionally-grown potatoes, but at more than 50% lower carbon emissions.
Branston’s Field Technical Manager Andy Blair, who is overseeing the operation at the concept farm, said: “It’s a huge milestone to have achieved a lower average carbon footprint in the production of this crop of Georgina potatoes, compared to conventional production averages. The findings from this process will support the wider industry in edging forward towards national sustainability targets, which is exactly the outcome we’d hoped for.
“The ambition of the low carbon concept farm is not only to see how close we can get to a net zero potato, but to understand the interactions between crops as you move from one to the next. We’ve got several crops in rotation, so now we’ve made significant progress with the potatoes, we’re looking at the carbon impact, soil health and biological impact of the process.”
The team is already looking at next steps for future crops of Georgina and other varieties, including a focus on cover crops to help with soil structure and retaining nutrition, investing in R-Leaf fertiliser and trialing a biomethane tractor.
Andy said: “The low carbon concept farm will act as a test bed to roll out the practices more widely with the plan that all aspects are transferable to other farms and growers across the country. We’ve made huge progress but to get to net zero we’re eager to work with others to see what technology and innovations can be used to take us even further.”
Tesco’s Head of Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries Natalie Smith said: “Tesco Finest Georgina potatoes are a customer favourite, and we think they taste just as good as the potatoes grown using traditional methods.
“One of the aims of the farm is to test and learn from a variety of low carbon approaches, which in turn can de-risk the process for other farms in our supply chain and further afield. Increasing funding for innovation in UK agriculture is one of the key recommendations in our Greenprint for UK Farming report, and it’s vital farmers have the ability to invest in new technology and approaches, if we’re to tackle the challenges caused by climate change and nature loss.”
Anyone in the sector keen to trial new practices or improve the processes the concept farm has already put in place is urged to contact the team.
