Transition
Securing a sustainable future for your farm business

Johann Tasker
Editor, Transition
Welcome to Transition – the Farmers Weekly initiative to secure a sustainable future for your farm business.
That means a farm business which is profitable and environmentally responsible – as well as being a great place to work.
First and foremost, growers and livestock producers are food producers. But these days, farmers do much more than produce food.
Many are working to improve biodiversity, soil health, air and water quality – and storing carbon to help mitigate the impact of climate change.
By pooling all our knowledge, the Farmers Weekly Transition hub aims to show how this can be achieved – and the pitfalls that should be avoided.
We are grateful to our Transition Farmers and to our Transition Partners who have agreed to share their experiences, expertise and advice.
Transition supplements
- Change Maker – Transition Issue 12 (Spring 2024)
Benefits that make a difference on your farm
- Climate of change – Transition Issue 11 (Winter 2023/2024)
Strategies to help cope with extreme weather - Lean and Green – Transition Issue 10 (Autumn 2023)
How a Durham farmer is optimising inputs to meet SFI goals - Boom Time – Transition Issue 9 (Summer 2023)
How a new-entrant farmer built an 1,100ha business - Net Heroes – Transition Issue 8 (Spring 2023)
Meet the farmers taking steps to slash emissions - Water Works – Transition Issue 7 (Winter 2022/2023)
Why collaboration is key to a fair supply for farmers - The Carbon Conundrum – Transition Issue 6 (Autumn 2022)
How to choose the best calculator and scheme - Robust and resilient – Transition Issue 5 (Summer 2022)
Advice for maintaining farm profitability in uncertain times - Putting a Price on Nature – Transition Issue 4 (Spring 2022)
How natural capital can generate farm income - Pathway to Productivity – Transition Issue 3 (Winter 2021/2022)
How a balanced approach can optimise farm output - Road to Net Zero – Transition Issue 2 (Autumn 2021)
Profitable carbon farming to combat climate change - Right Side of the Tracks – Transition Issue 1 (Summer 2021)
Navigating your way through changes in farm support
Our Transition Partner Network
The Farmers Weekly Transition Partner Network is a UK-wide community of farmers, industry stakeholders and influencers working together to secure a sustainable future for your farm business.
Our Transition Farmers - follow them on their journey
James MacCartney Rutland
Farm size: 162ha
Enterprises
Beef and sheep
Transition goals
- Reducing disease in sheep
- Being better than net zero
- Establishing herbal leys
Vaughan Hodgson Cumbria
Farm Size: 244ha
Enterprises
Cereals (142ha), grassland (100ha), 120,000 broilers
Transition goals
- Supporting the next generation
- Replacing lost BPS income
- Adapting to uncertain weather
Alan Steven Fife
Farm size: 138ha
Enterprises
Potatoes, brussels sprouts, parsnips, malting barley
Transition goals
- Reducing cultivations
- Improving soil health
- More resilient rotations
Rachel & Richard Risdon Devon
Farm size: 151ha
Enterprises
Grass-fed dairy (300 cows on 151ha)
Transition goals
- Securing adequate labour
- Better understanding ELM
- Reducing carbon footprint
Andy Bason Hampshire
Farm size: 800ha
Enterprises
Winter wheat, spring barley, spring beans, oats, linseed and OSR
Transition goals
- 30% cut in carbon emissions
- Establish 10ha of agroforestry
- Establish 10ha of woodland
Eddie Andrew Sheffield
Farm size: 73ha
Enterprises
Dairy, milk delivery service, ice cream parlour and farm shop
Transition goals
- Co-operating to reduce costs
- Establishing a new dairy
- Reducing carbon footprint
Kit Speakman Essex
Farm size: 275ha
Enterprises
Mixed arable, beef and sheep
Transition goals
- Bridging income gap
- Fully diversified business
- Widening the rotation
Duncan Blyth Norfolk
Farm size: 2,650ha
Enterprises
Cereals, OSR, sugar beet, pulses, feedstock and woodlands
Transition goals
- Improve soil heath
- Develop natural capital revenues
- Achieve carbon net zero by 2030
Ed Shuldham Wiltshire
Farm size: 1,800ha
Enterprises
Cereals, forage and grain maize, renewables and diversifications
Transition goals
- Help shape SFI through pilot
- Make more use of data
- Take natural capital opportunities
Kate and Vicky Morgan East Yorkshire
1,700 breeding sows
Enterprises
Weaning and finishing 1,000 pigs a week with local B&B deals
Transition goals
- Facilitate change in supply chain
- Gain more control of future
- Diversify
Fergal Watson County Down
Farm size: 285ha
Enterprises
170-cow suckler herd (Herefords and Stabilisers); beans, wheat, spring barley, oats
Transition goals
- Recruiting and retaining farm staff
- Restructuring suckler herd
- Improving business resilience
Andrew McFadzean Ayrshire
Farm size: 285ha
Enterprises
Rearing and finishing 350 beef cattle; wheat, beans, barley and fodder beet
Transition goals
- Increase cattle numbers and slash finishing time
- Reduce dependence on inputs
- Improve grassland and access
Irwel Jones Carmarthenshire
Farm size: 375ha
Enterprises
Sheep – 950 ewes on owned land, 550 on rented area; suckler cows and followers; root crops
Transition goals
- Extend and manage natural woodland
- Plant hedgerows for biodiversity
- Rely less on volatile inputs
Karen Halton Cheshire
Farm size: 240ha
Enterprises
530 three-way ProCross cows, all-year-round calving, three-times-a- day milking, 11,000 litres a cow
Transition goals
- Recruit and retain the right staff
- Maintain animal health and welfare
- Increase direct sales
Philip Vickers County Durham
Farm size: 1,250ha
Enterprises
Winter wheat, OSR, spring barley, spring beans, lupins, rotational grass; share farming sheep
Transition goals
- Maintain margins
- Improve soil health and resilience
- Enhance the natural environment
Matthew Williams Shropshire
Farm size: 1,100ha
Enterprises
Cereals, oilseed rape, winter beans
Transition goals
- Improve profitability and margins
- Continue to improve soil health
- Control and optimising input use