THE CAFRE farms have just passed the milestone of being LEAF accredited for 15 years. LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) is a farm assurance scheme that shows food has been grown sustainably with care for the environment.
This is strongly aligned with CAFRE’s commitment to sustainability.
The LEAF Marque assurance scheme sets rigorous standards for environmental sustainability which requires whole farm business compliance.
The LEAF Marque assessment, conducted by an independent assessor, reviewed activities on all of the CAFRE farms for compliance with the LEAF Marque Standard.
The CAFRE LEAF co-ordinator Ruth Ruddell said: “CAFRE is delighted to have received LEAF Marque status for the 15th year. This demonstrates CAFRE’s commitment to the principles of Integrated Farm Management (IFM) throughout our farming practices.
“Sustainability is a key aspect of our farming practice and the LEAF Marque status continually drives us to improve each of the nine IFM elements across the CAFRE farms. These elements are organisation and planning, soil management and fertility, crop health and protection, pollution control and by-product management, animal husbandry, energy efficiency, water management, landscape and nature conservation and community engagement.”
Examples of the implementation of IFM at CAFRE include measuring soil health and soil carbon levels, carbon footprinting, pollinator margins, monitoring water usage, rainwater harvesting, recycling farm plastics and engaging with partners in the monitoring of habitats and species such as breeding waders at the CAFRE Hill Farm.
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