Louise Penn, 24, Denton Northamptonshire Castle Ashby estate听
Agronomist and Farming Consultant听
I grew up surrounded by farming on our 263-hectare mixed farm in Northamptonshire. I was always involved on the farm but never really saw a career in it, until I started to learn more about the science behind growing crops 聳 then I really took an interest. I knew, even before I went to university, that I wanted to be an agronomist.听
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Upon leaving university, I started working for Hutchinsons, where I trained doing my BASIS and FACTS qualifications. In my second year as an agronomist, I began to take an interest in soil health and regenerative agriculture.
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It is difficult to听pinpoint what sparked this interest, but I think a lot of it was purely through observations, such as when a direct drilled field walked better than a ploughed one, or when trash disappeared quicker on farms that were prioritising soil health.听
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From here, I started reading around the subject, visiting farms and talking to other farmers who were using regenerative farming practices.
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Books such as听Dirt to Soil听and听For the Love of Soil听very quickly filled my bookshelf. It was at this point that I began to feel a bit disillusioned with my听job; I was recommending chemical inputs but all the while learning more about the soil.听听
I was very lucky to be offered a听job by Ceres Rural, where I am now working with progressive farmers to develop more sustainable farming systems. I am very aware that we need some chemical inputs to produce the volume of food needed for our growing population.
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However, I believe that we can develop new regenerative farming systems that are less reliant on these inputs and put a greater emphasis on improving soil health, while also creating sustainable and resilient farming businesses.听
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Farmers implementing these practices have seen the evidence of this. The biggest challenge is getting consumers on board; it is already a big enough task to get people to buy British, but we need consumers to understand where their food is coming from and place a bigger value on it.
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Farmers are not in business to subsidise cheap food. We should be getting the right value for locally, sustainably produced food that is supporting the environment.听
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This is why I started posting on my Instagram (@louisepennagronomy_) showing my day-to-day life as an agronomist. I explain to the public where their food comes from and how it is grown, as well as sharing knowledge and observations on farm between farmers.听
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This really is such an exciting time for British agriculture, with new ideas and farming systems just waiting to be embraced.听
