Harry Davies, 25, has started work as the new tenant of Monkhall Farm in Herefordshire, the first holding let under the Duchy of Cornwall's new 25-year regenerative farm business tenancy, known as an rFBT. His landlord, Prince William, the Duke of Cornwall, visited on his first day.
Monkhall is a 364ha, mainly Grade 2 arable farm. It became vacant when the previous tenant retired after 20 years, and Mr Davies was picked from a large field of applicants. One of his first jobs was to direct drill some stubbles, keeping soil disturbance to a minimum; he finished it on Thursday 1 October with the prince beside him in the cab.
Matthew Morris, the Duchy's executive director for rural, said Mr Davies stood out on a shortlist of six for his "massive enthusiasm" for regenerative farming, his way of working with his team and his high standards of health and safety.
The farm has been run conventionally for many years and is entirely arable, but the regenerative plan brings livestock back onto it. The aim is to finish beef on about a third of the farm, in rotation with multi-species herbal leys. Mr Davies's own background is mainly dairy and beef, as a partner in his family's mixed holding near Ross-on-Wye.
He will be advised by the Duchy's Farming and Nature team and by Regenified, a certification body founded by the American regenerative farmer Gabe Brown that helps farmers benchmark, monitor and verify their progress. The Duchy wants all its equipped farms to follow regenerative principles by 2035. The tenancy has break clauses for both sides; Mr Morris said the only reason he could see the Duchy using one is if regenerative farming was not being delivered.
Mr Davies said the 25-year term lets him invest in regenerative practices with confidence. "The dry summer has been a reminder of the pressures farmers are under, so support to adapt and plan for the long term makes a real difference," he said. He also won a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI26) agreement the week before.
Reported for Farmers Weekly by Philip Clarke.
Photo: Jonathan Billinger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: Farmers Weekly
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