Tackling the carbon costs of cropping
YEN Zero aims to create a net-zero farming community. Administered by crop scientists and sustainability experts at ADAS, YEN Zero brings key players from across the arable industry together to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve net zero emissions by 2040.
YEN Zero creates a space where growers can:
- Calculate and benchmark their crop carbon footprints against their peers
- Share knowledge around key net-zero topics
- Agree on metrics for calculating crop carbon footprints to create consensus across the industry
- Test mitigation strategies to determine which has the best potential to reduce emissions.
Benchmarking crop GHG emissions provides a fair comparison of emissions between farms, fields, and crops. Growers can see where their emission hotspots lie and determine which mitigation strategies have the most potential to reduce the environmental impact of their crop management systems.
YEN Zero also hosts discussion workshops on key topics around net-zero. These discussion workshops provide an open forum for YEN Zero members to gain and share knowledge regarding key net-zero issues, such as soil carbon sequestration.
Testimonials from current members
"Participating in YEN Zero has been a valuable experience for the Allerton Project in helping to demonstrate – on our own holding and on a crop-by-crop basis – where our largest outlays of carbon can be found, how that compares to other farms in similar systems, and what we can do to reduce the emissions from our cropping system. This data, put into context by ADAS, gives us a fascinating insight into one element of the sustainability puzzle and reminds us that yield isn’t necessarily the be all and end all." - Joe Stanley, The Allerton Project
“For anyone remotely interested in lowering their own carbon footprint YEN Zero is a must! Not only can you find an individual figure for a certain crop but also find detailed mitigation strategies to further improve your footprint. Measure to manage! Getting your footprint down is easy once you know what to alter, but getting to net zero takes a lot of nuanced work, and some buyers are asking for that information now, the YEN Zero report generated can lead you in that direction.” - Colin Chappell, Chappell Farms
Get involved
Apply for a sponsored entry
A number of our corporate sponsors are offering to fund growers who wish to join the network. Email yenzero@adas.co.uk or let us know through the form below if you would like to be matched with a sponsor.
Apply independently
Alternatively, entries can be made by individual growers at a cost of £375 +VAT. If you are interested in joining as an independent entry, then please contact yenzero@adas.co.uk or leave your details below and we'll get back to you.
What do YEN Zero members get?
Each YEN Zero member can submit six crops for carbon footprint analysis. In return, entrants will receive two reports - a carbon footprint report and a benchmark report.
The carbon footprint report
The carbon footprint report details the emissions of the crops entered. This is presented as a total carbon footprint on a per-hectare and per-tonne of yield basis. Your footprint will be separated into emissions from different agronomic practices.
The carbon footprint report will also include tailored proposals on suitable mitigation strategies. It also includes an assessment of your soil's potential to build soil organic matter/soil carbon.
The benchmark report
The benchmark report compares your footprint against other growers in the network.
After analysing everyone's data, we can create a valuable dataset to help us understand the factors driving variation in greenhouse gas emissions.
Other activities
YEN Zero members can also take part in:
- an end-of-year results meeting to discuss our main findings and highlight successful practices in action.
- discussion workshops hosted throughout the year to discuss and share knowledge on key net-zero topics.
Outside of YEN Zero workshops, we send member newsletters to share the current net-zero activities, research, and related policy.
For previous discussion workshops and to get involved in any ongoing discussions, visit the YEN Zero page on FarmPEP - https://farmpep.net/YENZero
Become a YEN Zero sponsor
YEN Zero is supported by several organisations from across the agricultural industry who act as YEN Zero sponsors who contribute to and steer the development of this network. They can also support grower entries. As part of their corporate sponsorship, sponsors can enter 10 farmers into YEN Zero for free.
Corporate sponsorship is £6,500 + VAT. Contact yenzero@adas.co.uk for more information.
