UK supermarket chain Waitrose has announced its orchard and vineyards at the Leckford Estate in Hampshire have gained certification from Regenified – a regenerative agriculture verification organisation.
The recognition means the farm has been acknowledged for its commitment to grow produce – in this case grapes, apples and pears – in a way that is more nature friendly.
Waitrose said the Regenified certification is a step towards having a permanent ‘Centre of Excellence’ at its Leckford farm, which the John Lewis Partnership wants to put in place to provide practical tools, workshops, online resources and mentoring to help farmers to make the shift to regenerative agriculture.
The Leckford Estate in Hampshire is already proving to be a testbed for experimenting with a variety of nature-friendly farming practices, as Green Retail World discovered on visiting the site to see how cow manure is used to fuel tractors.
In May, Waitrose committed to support more than 2,000 of its British farmers to move to nature-friendly farming practices, saying it wanted to build the financial resilience of farms in the long-term and combat the effects of climate change.
Waitrose is working towards a strategy that entails sourcing meat, milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables from UK farms which use regenerative farming practices by 2035.
Andrew Hoad, head of the Leckford Estate, said: “We are incredibly proud to be the first vineyard and orchard in the UK to achieve Regenified’s certification.
“Our commitment to regenerative farming reflects our belief that producing high-quality products and caring for the environment go hand in hand. This builds on our regenerative farming journey and we hope to see more farmers embrace similar practices which could lead to certification.”
To achieve certification, Leckford needed to meet Regenified’s rigorous ‘6-3-4’ Verification Standard – based on six principles, three rules, and four processes. Regenified’s certification process will also help the Leckford Estate track its progress in advancing regenerative principles.
Read about the 6-3-4 Verification Standard here
Salar Shemirani, co-founder & CEO at Regenified, added: “The widespread adoption of true regenerative agriculture is vital for the future of all of us, and I congratulate Waitrose on their brave adoption of a better way of farming for nature.”
Among the actions Waitrose has taken at Leckford are the use of florally diverse species in the alleys between the rows of apple trees and vines and replacing herbicides with the use of mechanical weed trimmers. The vineyard and orchard aim to not only produce good products but also contribute to the overall health of the environment by increasing plant diversity and minimising soil disturbance.
Products using fruit from this harvest onwards, such as the Leckford Estate Brut, will have the ‘Certified Regenified’ seal, so consumers get to understand the farming practices involved in producing the item.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
