SFI – Sustainable Farming Initiative

My family has been farming this and adjacent land for more than 7 generations, I would hope that that means we have an established reputation for being sustainable.  My Great Great Grandfather even traded with Mr Ryder (of Ryder Cup fame) and our land has been productive since well before then too.

I therefore find it a bit galling to align to any initiative entitled “sustainable” as if it were a new thing as we really have been doing it for a while…

However…  Behind this initiative, other than the hoop jumping to facilitate the subsidiaries that exist to allow us to compete globally and fulfill our food standards requirements, is actually some great thinking.  As part of our commitment we are planting (yesterday) some “legume fallow” this is there to improve soil health, help manage biodiversity, discourage some of the invasive grass species and “fix” some nitrogen in the soil.  It’s a multi year commitment and I’m really hoping that it becomes a valuable part of our crop rotation and ultimately drives productivity while potentially reducing our expensive need for artificially produced nitrogen.