Soil Farmer of the Year announced

Clive Bailye, an arable farmer from Staffordshire has won the UK Soil Farmer of the Year, organised by Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit (FCCT) and Innovation for Agriculture (IfA).

The inaugural competition aimed to find farmers and growers who were engaged with, and passionate about managing their soils in a way which supported productive agriculture, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and built soil organic matter and carbon.

Clive fought off stiff competition from a talented field of farmers and growers to take the top prize.  The panel of judges which included scientists, industry experts, farmers and the project team were incredibly impressed not only by the standard of entries and the diversity of practices being trialled, but the resounding commitment of all entrants to soil management and continuous learning.

Clive Bailye runs a large scale arable combinable crops operation in Staffordshire, and has spent the last six years transforming the way that he farms to focus entirely on soil improvement.  He has changed his cultivation strategy and his rotation which has resulted in the development of productive soils that are far less dependent on artificial inputs.  This has also achieved financial savings for the business, making it more resilient against future risk and volatility.

David Gardener, IfA CEO explains, “Clive is a very worthy winner in a competition that included some of the country’s leading farmers.  His comprehensive approach to managing soils susceptible to drought was most impressive and included a mix of cover crops, direct drilling, spring cropping and the re-introduction of livestock.”