Our Impact
Winner of 2021 Sustainable Food and Farming Award
FAI and McDonald’s UK and Ireland are proud to have won Compassion in World Farming’s Sustainable Food and Farming Award for our pioneering regenerative beef project.
The award celebrates businesses that have taken significant steps to produce meat, dairy and eggs sustainably and in ways that protect, improve, and restore wildlife. Based on FAI’s farm in Oxford this project aims to demonstrate the benefits to farmers and the environment of Adaptative Multipaddock (AMP) grazing. AMP grazing looks to mimic nature and the role ruminants play in healthy ecosystems.
“We are incredibly proud to have won this award for our work on this ground-breaking project, alongside our brilliant partners FAI”
Harriet Wilson
Agriculture and Sustainable Sourcing Manager
McDonald’s UK & Ireland
Regenerative agriculture offers a unique opportunity to tackle the twin crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. A regenerative food system has the potential to draw down more carbon than it emits while also restoring soil quality, increasing biodiversity, and improving farmer margins and resilience. AMP grazing is a regenerative grazing technique that requires beef farms to create a bespoke grazing plan that applies a series of ecological principles to achieve the best regenerative outcomes. Principles and outcomes of AMP grazing include ensuring there is no bare soil, maximising root depth by leaving grass to grow longer, and usingmob grazing followed by long periods of rest to optimise animal impact and regrowth on the land.
The AMP grazing project aims to document the ethical, environmental and economic impact of AMP grazing on a UK beef farm while using the learnings to provide a platform for training and support for beef producers in the McDonald’s supply chain, initiating supply-scale awareness and understanding of AMP Grazing.
“McDonald’s had the foresight to work with us to demonstrate the benefits of regenerative grazing. It’s fantastic to see that our work has now been recognised by Compassion in World Farming with this award.”
Clare Hill
Regenerative Agriculture Director
FAI
Harriet Wilson, Agriculture and Sustainable Sourcing Manager, McDonald’s UK & Ireland:
“This project presents a real opportunity to explore the ways in which we can futureproof the industry and drive more resilient production, to ensure our future beef supply contributes to a sustainable food system where people, local communities, animals and the planet can thrive. We can’t wait to see the impact this project could have on the UK beef industry.”
A year and a half into the four year project, we are already seeing exciting changes on the FAI farm
“What is most exciting is how quickly our grazing has recovered and how much biomass we are able to grow. The grass is going to seed at above head height rather than at ankle height as we had previously observed. The cattle are also grazing differently and selecting different parts of the plants – at the moment they are particularly grazing the dock seeds. This increased variation in diet will be providing greater nutritional diversity contributing to a healthier, more content herd”
Clare Hill
Regenerative Agriculture Director
FAI
The transition of the FAI farm can be followed through a series of videos. In the second video update, we demonstrate what AMP grazing means in practice while also taking a closer look the root cause of problems on the farm by spotting ‘Red Flags’ such as weeds and cases of New Forest Eye. Atraining platform for farmers is in development with launch expected in the autumn and a pilot round of chain training for supply chain actors has already commenced.
All the vidoes from the project can be found here. You can also follow the changes we’re making on Instagram @FAI_regen
eLearning: Foundations of Regenerative Agriculture
It starts with you
This course is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to learn more about one of the most promising potential solutions to biodiversity loss and global warming. Through an interactive online learning you will better understand the challenges and opportunities of regenerative agriculture.
We explain how leveraging ecological principles and processes can move us towards food production practices that build resilience while at the same time producing the highest quality, nutrient-dense and delicious foods.
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