Innovative Farmers 2025 – 2028 Investment: £2.5 million (£520,000/year) Goal: To empower farmers to research and adopt agroecological practices with the confidence that they’ll deliver for nature and their business.
The need
Intensive farming methods can damage the soil, reducing the future productivity of farmland, and are the biggest driver of biodiversity loss on land. With farmland making up 70% of the UK, a significant shift in farming practices is urgently needed. We know that farmers learn best from other farmers. However, farmer voices are under-represented within both public and industry-funded agricultural research. This results in a lack of support needed to meet the practical challenges and risks they face when implementing changes to their established practices. Innovative Farmers (IF) is a key element of the Soil Association’s strategy to help farmers confidently transition to nature-friendly farming.
By bridging the gap between academic research and on-farm application, we support a just transition in rural communities, enabling knowledge sharing, reducing risk for early adopters, and promoting long-term environmental and economic sustainability. This builds climate resilience and food security from the ground up. With farmers facing increased pressure to deliver cheap food alongside public goods, the next phase of IF will be critical for achieving a widespread, just transition towards agroecology.
Why we’re best placed
80% of triallists have said that IF inspired then to do something new or differently on farm
In the past 12 years, we have supported over 150 field labs with 750 triallists and 40 research institutions. Knowledge and experience gained is freely available to other farmers in the UK and beyond, accelerating the widespread adoption of naturefriendly farming. Every year over 2,500 people take part in learning events (including farm walks, conference sessions and online workshops). Findings are also shared with the wider farming community through the press, social media, the IF website and newsletter with 5000+ subscribers and other Soil Association and farming networks. In a recent survey, 80% of triallists said that IF inspired them to do something new or differently on-farm. 7