Meet the farmer: Liz Genever farms beef, sheep and arable in Lincolnshire
Liz Genever farms the 130 hectare Croft Farm, at Uffington, near Stamford, alongside her two sisters Susan and Kate and parents Paul and Yvonne.
Croft Farm is a mixed farm with beef, sheep and arable, including wheat, barley and oilseed rape.
Liz is well known for her work as a farm consultant, using her own hands-on experience to help others who want to adapt their sheep and beef systems, particularly by reintroducing livestock back onto arable farms.
She is also one of the founders of Carbon Calling conference, an annual farmer-led event designed to help those who want to use regenerative practices to improve soil health and develop their systems to ensure they are profitable and environmentally aware.
Liz Genever: ‘What I’m hoping is that working with Regenerate Outcomes leads to a better way of working within the family.’
"We've been involved in environmental schemes at Croft Farm for about 30 years, ever since they came out. We have four to five kilometres of hedges and six per cent of the farm is woods, so we’ve always had a focus on the environment,” says Liz.
"I used to work for the AHDB and I developed an interest in grass and forage systems and I realised that we could make a system where we reduce feed and fertiliser and other inputs.
“Slowly, my focus has shifted from thinking we’re doing enough on our own farm to thinking that we could do more. Our soils definitely aren’t broken but they could be better.
“On any family farm, one of the biggest challenges to making change can be around communicating with everyone else. In the last few years I’ve really tried to change my thinking, but more importantly engage with my family to bring them along as well.
“What I’m hoping is that working with Regenerate Outcomes leads to a better way of working within the family. It is a chance for us all to have much more focus on what we want to achieve.
“Regenerate Outcomes can help with that because you are working with outside consultants and it gives the transition some structure. It is also a project which already involves a lot of farmers I know and respect.
“You can’t really have a problem with making changes to your farming system which help you make a bit more money, where you’re happier and alongside that you’ve got a bit more wildlife as well. No-one can really stand up and say, ‘Well, that’s a rubbish idea’.”
“I used to be quite dismissive of carbon credits and carbon trading but I realised that to understand it I actually have to get amongst it. I also know that now is the best time to baseline my carbon to get the maximum benefit. Working with Regenerate Outcomes is a good way to do this and it also comes at no upfront cost, which I think is a really good incentive.
“More carbon in the soil is an outcome of a ‘happy’ farming system. You’re only going to get carbon build up if your system is functioning well. Alongside that you will see more wildlife. You don’t have to be obsessed with wildlife but the fact it’s there is a sign that you’re doing something right.
"As a farmer it’s important to think about what you want to achieve. It's that ability to just take a step back and ask ‘What is this we're doing and why?’ The question you then move onto is ‘What do I want to change and what do we do about it?’
“The mentoring Regenerate Outcomes are offering can be really helpful with that. It isn’t about being told what to do, it’s about deciding what you want to achieve and then deciding what to do to get there.
“You can’t really have a problem with making changes to your farming system which help you make a bit more money, where you’re happier and alongside that you’ve got a bit more wildlife as well. No-one can really stand up and say, ‘Well, that’s a rubbish idea’.”
You can book your tickets for Carbon Calling, which takes place in Cumbria from August 2 to August 4 now.
Interested in joining Regenerate Outcomes?
At Regenerate Outcomes we provide bespoke, expert mentoring to support you to improve soil health and grow farm profits.
We also work with you to baseline and measure soil carbon and other environmental outcomes to generate additional farm income.
All of our services are provided at no-upfront cost.
Get in touch to find out more.