Significant premiums are being paid by some butchers, restaurant chains and retailers for regeneratively farmed beef. The sector remains in its infancy, and what exactly is involved in regenerative farming practices is still often a matter of opinion.

However, it is clear more opportunities are emerging for producers and good margins can be made. How systems are calculated and monitored also poses some questions and there has yet to be any form of industry standardisation around accreditation.

However, some pilot schemes such as A Greener World are now being implemented. The premiums paid to producers for regeneratively farmed beef vary between outlets, and is commercially very sensitive. But at the top end it can be 30% more than the AHDB average deadweight price.

Regenerative farming

Currently, the GB all-prime average beef price is about 440p/kg. A 30% uplift would put top prices paid for regenerative beef in excess of 570p/kg. Based on a 350kg carcass this would equate to an increase of £455 a head.

Farmers considering joining one of these schemes will typically be required create a plan showing how their farm will follow regenerative farming practices. These are usually done on a case-by-case basis and could include factors such as carbon auditing and building up organic matter in the soil.

National Beef Association chief executive Neil Shand says regenerative farming is probably going to be the way ahead in some geographical areas. But he is concerned that the industry doesn’t have reliable calculators for carbon sequestration and even basic carbon auditing on farm, as well as for improved animal and staff welfare.

Mr Shand says: “I would love to see Westminster and all the devolved assemblies putting as much money as possible into creating reliable carbon calculators that will give us a foundation for the industry to measure accurately where it is.

“I think we all want to see the industry produce sustainable food and we need the environment and agriculture to work together,” he says.

It is right that retailers both recognise and support producers for doing the good things well, says Mr Shand, and reward farmers for good practice and environmental gain.

The marketplace for regenerative farming

GrassRoots Farming was established by three farmers to act as a link between livestock producers and those in the supply chain looking to source regeneratively farmed meat. It is presently offering long-term contracts at a fixed premium price to producers.

The firm is working with brands including The Ethical Butcher, Turner and George butchers, Select catering butchery, Temper restaurants, and restaurant chain Honest Burger.

Farmer Alastair Trickett is one of the founders of GrassRoots Farming and is working on a Nuffield scholarship looking at how supply chains can collaborate with farmers to create market incentives that will then scale regenerative agriculture.

Mr Trickett says: “We need to get more money to the farmers at a grassroots level. The way to do this is to work with supply chains and brands that genuinely want to work in a different and more collaborative way, which ends up with more money in farmers’ pockets. Rather than a supply chain that says ‘if you don’t do these things, we will no longer take supply from you’, it should be ‘we want supply from you, so let’s help you do these things and pay you more money to do it’.”

Accreditation for regenerative farming

While the sector lacks clarity on standardisation for tools used to monitor both regenerative practices and carbon levels on farm, some tools are using GWP (Global Warming Potential) 100 basic calculations – others are using different variation such as the GWP star (GWP*) calculation.

“On one hand, we have got the risk of greenwashing and on the other hand we have got the risk of setting barriers so high that no-one can achieve it,” says Mr Trickett.

“I think it’s awash with difficulties and I think what we have got to do as an industry is tread the line between having something that is workable, so we can move at pace to bring farmers on board with market incentives, while treading the line between that and diluting the potential of what regenerative agriculture can be in order that more brands can access it,” says Mr Trickett.

GrassRoots Farming has introduced a set of farming standards in line with some of the key regenerative principles such as use of cover crops, no- or min-till systems, encouraging biodiversity, and incorporating livestock into arable rotations.

However, it also takes a context-specific view, and the primary objectives will vary significantly between farms.

Some will focus on carbon sequestration and organic matter, while others may focus more on issues such as on reducing run off into rivers or increasing biodiversity.

Retailer premiums

While most retailers are yet to offer specific premiums for regenerative farming, Morrisons has recently started to look at paying more to producers for environmental gain.

The supermarket chain announced a 10p/kg premium for dairy-bred beef that is slaughtered under 18 months, to encourage sustainable production.

It is likely that regenerative farming labels and other similar initiatives will be developed by other retailers, with an increased focus on sustainability and the environment, during the next few years.

Global market

There is an increased positioning of low-emission and climate-neutral beef products on shelves around the world, according to Rabobank’s quarterly global beef update.

The analyst did however recognise that it is hard to turn sustainability and emission commitments into action in the current climate.

Angus Gidley-Baird, senior analyst in animal protein at Rabobank, says: “In our view, the full cost of production (sustainability initiatives aside) is not at present being passed onto consumers.

“Consumers’ willingness and ability to pay is likely to be tested in 2022 as inflation levels climb around the world.”