What do Scottish farmers think about regenerative agriculture?

Written by James Robinson , this article was originally published in The Niche.

The Scottish Government envisions Scotland as a ‘global leader’ in regenerative agriculture but its adoption among farmers and crofters is currently somewhat niche. . .

James Robinson recently completed his BES policy fellowship with The Scottish Government and shares his experience in helping policymakers understand what support farmers need to transition to regenerative practices.

Regenerative agriculture (regen ag for those in a rush) is defined differently depending on who you speak to but broadly involves adherence to a set of principles or practices such as minimising bare soil, reducing soil disturbance and increasing plant diversity. Desired outcomes include improved soil health and biodiversity alongside reductions in fuel and synthetic chemical inputs.

Support for regenerative practice in Scottish agriculture

The transition towards regenerative agriculture in Scotland will require a lot of support for farmers and crofters. The aim of my fellowship was to help policymakers better understand these support needs in an arable context (think cereals and vegetables rather than livestock). To do this, I interviewed farmers with a range of experiences with regenerative practice to investigate the steps involved in the transition, the potential challenges, as well as the financial costs and benefits.

Less ploughing and less bare soil

My interviews focused on two measures that are central to regenerative arable agriculture and may be eligible for future support payments: reduced tillage and over-winter cover. In commercial agriculture, reducing tillage, thereby minimising soil disturbance, means moving away from the plough – used by farmers for thousands of years – towards seed ‘drills’ that establish crops without turning the soil. Providing over-winter cover reduces bare soil by leaving crop ‘stubbles’ in the fields after harvest and allows wild plants to establish. ?Farmers may additionally plant ‘cover crops’, which stay in the ground over-winter to provide different benefits depending on the species.

What did farmers say?

The headline finding from my interviews is that the transition to regenerative agriculture is highly knowledge intensive. Knowledge exchange involving trusted sources – ideally other farmers sharing experiences – will be key to a successful transition. Farmers also cited geographic and climate related challenges such as short growing seasons and wetter weather as significant barriers to establishing cover crops and reducing plough use. Some mentioned opportunities to overcome these hurdles but felt scientific evidence is lagging behind the experiments farmers are conducting themselves. Farmers also highlighted the dependence of regenerative agriculture on herbicides, particularly glyphosate, and expressed concern about potential future bans. There is a need for clarity and transparency regarding potential trade-offs throughout the transition.

Outputs and reflections

The main output of my project was a report, which was circulated to the relevant teams in Scottish Government, and has been published on BES’s Applied Ecology Resources platform.

I also presented my findings to relevant policymakers and a very well attended online RESAS seminar. I’m looking forward to sharing the report with the interviewees and hope they feel it represents their perspectives.

I had high hopes for the fellowship and it exceeded my expectations. I particularly enjoyed the applied research aspect – learning about the needs of policymakers and working out how to deliver a project that would hopefully help them whilst engaging with a new topic and developing my skills. I learnt a great deal in a short space of time about the science-policy interface and it gave me valuable experience of gathering and presenting evidence.

It was fantastic to work with so many new people and get an understanding of different science-related roles within Government.

The fellowship was a good conversation starter and excuse to speak to others outside Government including researchers from the James Hutton Institute and Scotland’s Rural College. One conversation at the AgriScot conference led to an invite to an Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) knowledge exchange event, where I chatted to lots of helpful farmers and agronomists.

Somewhat ironically, even after completing this fellowship, the actual policymakers (‘policy colleagues’ as they are referred to within Government) retain almost mythical status to me. With the exception of a couple of meetings at the beginning and end of the fellowship, I was rarely in contact with them. They are busy people – their time spent in back-to-back meetings, working on multiple parallel projects. This is particularly true at the moment with the impending roll out of the new agricultural support regime in 2025.

However, this did not detract from the fellowship, as I was so well supported by RESAS, their science advisers and other Government colleagues such as statisticians and economists. I felt well integrated, attending regular online meetings, occasional office visits and was even welcomed to team away days and their Christmas party. It was fantastic to work with so many new people and get an understanding of different science-related roles within Government.

Regular catch-ups with the other BES fellows were helpful to share experiences and support each other. It’s been great to get more involved with the BES. I’ve contributed to their upcoming report on regenerative agriculture and have been invited to meetings of the Scottish Policy Group. I also helped to man their stall at a reception at Parliament about the new Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill, where I had the unexpected opportunity to discuss my project with an MSP.

It’s an incredibly important moment for Scottish agriculture and it was a fascinating time to be involved in the process.

About the author

James is a final year PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. His research explores the social and ecological impacts of community forest management in southern Tanzania.

You can read James's report here:

Apply for a BES policy fellowship

Feeling inspired by James's experience? We regularly host policy fellowship opportunities across UK government departments, bodies and agencies such as Defra, DAERA, NatureScot and NRW.

Our current policy fellowship for early career researchers is with Natural England to work on improving the national Nature Recovery Network.

The fellow will receive up to ￡20,000 to undertake this work and will likely start in early 2025.

Visit our website for more information of criteria and how to apply.