Yorkshire

Yorkshire is one of the UK’s fledgling LENs regions. Now in its second year, this project convenes three of LENs’ core strategic partners on the demand side – Nestlé Purina, Diageo and PepsiCo – to support a range of regenerative agriculture practices. The companies seek to work with supply chain partners to build production resilience and on-farm sustainability, as well delivering for biodiversity and water quality. Openfield Group and Frontier Agriculture are involved as supply aggregators, engaging their farmer customer networks and developing measure proposals in collaboration with farmers looking to secure funding through LENs.

The first trade in Yorkshire took place in 2023, with Nestlé Purina and Diageo supporting growers in their supply chains. Funded measures such as reduced cultivation systems, use of nitrogen fixing crops and integrating organic manure aim to deliver multiple benefits including on-farm emissions reductions and increased soil fertility. Simultaneously, the LENs team have developed a locally situated organisational framework to manage LENs trades in Yorkshire into the future. With the community interest company (CIC) incorporated, the CIC aims to hire a local employee through this mechanism in 2024 to support 3Keel with trade facilitation.

Yorkshire represents an exciting opportunity in the development of LENs to demonstrate how impactful landscape outcomes can be delivered with the assistance of an engaged network of local experts and stakeholders. Yorkshire Water is supportive of the program, while the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, is also helping to loop in local initiatives and organisations to increase the scope and impact of LENs activities.