Meet the Team: Chief Scientific Officer Matt Jordon
Our Chief Scientific Officer Dr Matt Jordon grew up on his family’s beef and sheep farm in north Northumberland and has a PhD in soil carbon and regenerative agriculture from Oxford University.
He splits his time between running the 170ha farm alongside his father Michael and working with Regenerate Outcomes’ members to baseline their soil carbon stocks and generate carbon credits with a leading international verification standard.
Matt and his dad farm 600 breeding sheep and 100 suckler cows with followers.
All stock is finished on farm and sold through Acklington Mart, with terminal sires used over more maternal genetics to balance flock and herd efficiency with high value finished stock.
Chief Scientific Officer Matt Jordon
Although only at the start of their own regenerative journey, over the last couple of years steps have been taken to increase pasture diversity, reduce tillage and fertiliser disturbances, improve grazing management and reduce reliance on purchased inputs.
In his work with Regenerate Outcomes, Matt leads on arranging the soil carbon baselining of farms in the programme and enabling farmers to qualify for the Verified Carbon Standard.
He also introduces farmers and landowners both locally and nationally to how Regenerate Outcomes can support their farming business and meet their objectives.
Rewarding farmers for the good they do
As a farmer myself, I appreciate how often farmers feel attacked for contributing to environmental harm.
This is especially frustrating when there are so many farming practices delivering substantial environmental benefits which go unrewarded or ignored.
This was something which really hit home when I went to university and stepped outside of my farming community. I heard a lot of negative opinions from people who perceived livestock farming as being both environmentally harmful and dependent on government subsidies.
The argument would typically go that if you took away the subsidies, most British livestock farming would disappear and that would be a win-win for the taxpayer and for the environment.
Frankly, it was an argument that made me really cross, because there are clear environmental and wider cultural benefits that come from farming livestock in the landscape which would be lost if this happened.
“It motivated me to make the case and collect evidence to help farmers be recognised and rewarded for the good that they do. Ultimately, that’s what led me to join Regenerate Outcomes. ”
It motivated me to make the case and collect evidence to help farmers be recognised and rewarded for the good that they do. Ultimately, that’s what led me to join Regenerate Outcomes.
Soil mentoring to achieve your aims
Regenerate Outcomes operates a soil health programme for UK farmers that is split into two key parts. All of the services are delivered at no upfront cost.
First there is the mentoring aspect, where we partner with Understanding Ag, led by Gabe Brown and Allen Williams, to work with farmers to support them to use regenerative practices to improve soil health.
Regenerate Outcomes’ Soil Academy in Northumberland
The mentoring sits alongside farmers' current sources of farm advice, to build on their understanding of how soil functions, how management affects the soil and how we can use it to benefit farm productivity.
The mentoring is delivered on the farm in person and is always tailored to that farm's context. What we really want to do is help each farmer in the programme succeed in meeting their own objectives.
It's not about coming in and telling you what to do, but rather giving you the tools in the toolbox to make decisions to get the soil working for you.
The benefits of healthy soil
There's a lot of very good farmers in the industry and often they have a focus on a particular aspect of farm performance, for example on breeding of stock, grazing performance or growing really good grass.
Farmers often use bought-in inputs to help achieve some of these goals. However, there is a growing realisation that these inputs are often treating the symptoms of a particular problem rather than the cause. It is also making our businesses reliant on inputs year after year with all the price volatility that can bring.
“It is possible to use sunlight, water, and nutrients in the ground to produce food.”
Consequently, there is an increasing interest in learning more about tackling the root causes.
Not only is soil health the starting point for achieving this, it also offers a way to do it free of charge with a number of other co-benefits.
It is possible to use sunlight, water, and nutrients in the ground to produce food, rather than chasing very high outputs in a high input system. It isn't about sacrificing productivity but rather trying to get nature to do the heavy lifting for us as farmers.
Soil carbon = Healthy soil
Healthy soil delivers a number of associated benefits, including improved water quality and reduced flood hazards, improved air quality and biodiversity. But probably the easiest to quantify is taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it as soil organic matter.
Very simply, the more organic matter you have in your soil the more carbon it contains and the healthier it is.
Regenerate Outcomes provides a rigorous soil baselining and monitoring service for farmers, which enables them to both track the improvements in soil health but also generate carbon credits.
We take baseline soil samples from farms when they join the programme and then repeat the process every five years. That data is then passed through the Verified Carbon Standard to give the farmer the opportunity to generate verified carbon credits.
Agricarbon carrying soil carbon testing
Our members can then keep the carbon credits or sell them for additional income.
Like all industries, there is an increasing amount of focus on the net amount of carbon farms produce and there is a real value in getting a baseline in place sooner rather than later so you can demonstrate the environmental benefits you are delivering.
If you’re already doing great work to improve your soil health then you are wasting the opportunity to be recognised for this if you do not get a baseline in place.
“It’s about trying to get the carbon wins while still producing food.”
However, a baseline itself is also of limited value without an enhancement plan to drive the increases in soil health so you have something to show for it when you measure again in five years.
The focus for us is always about mentoring to drive soil health, which enables you to reduce inputs while producing quality food and also brings the added benefit of generating carbon credits.
This isn't about replacing farming or food producing activities to increase carbon. It's about trying to get the carbon wins while still producing food.
Reducing risk for farmers
An essential part of the programme is delivering our mentoring and monitoring services for no up-front cost to reduce risk for farmers. Farmers are also free to leave at any time.
This risk of changing your farming practices is reduced through the guidance of our mentors, who are on hand to support you through the process.
Regenerate Outcomes at work with consultant Liz Genever and farmer David Cross
It also removes the financial cost and time commitment of baselining and monitoring your own carbon. Ultimately, you are also able to leave if that is the right decision for you.
We cover all of the associated administrative burden and scientific processes that support the mentoring and verification.
When the carbon credits are sold we split the proceeds, with our members receiving 67 per cent. Regenerate Outcomes uses the remainder to cover the cost of the services delivered to our members.
Producing food by farming your way
Regenerate Outcomes has been designed by farmers for farmers.
We understand this is a time where farmers are facing huge uncertainty and pressure to change, whether that is driven by subsidies, consumers and the supply chain, the weather or the volatility of inputs.
However, we also know that farmers’ priority remains producing quality food and livestock while running a profitable business.
I joined Regenerate Outcomes because I believe it is the right programme at the right time to help farmers overcome the challenges while continuing to meet their core goals.
If you have any questions about the programme then please get in touch by emailing matthew.jordon@regenerateoutcomes.co.uk