By Matt Davies

Copyright walesonline

Adam Henson has confessed to finding it tough going with a particular “journey” on his farm, revealing that he and his team simply “couldn’t afford it.” The Countryfile presenter’s revelations emerged during a podcast centred on regenerative farming – an agricultural approach that enables the land, soil and broader ecosystem to restore themselves. As an advocate of regenerative farming, Adam , who resides at the 650-hectare Cotswolds Farm Park alongside his wife, Charlie, has been attempting to introduce methods to enhance his soil quality and cut his carbon emissions. However, he indicated that this undertaking hasn’t been straightforward , as the television farmer acknowledged they’d encountered distinct “challenges” with three specific crops: beans, peas, and oilseed rape. He said: “We’ve been on a journey looking at how we can improve our soils, look after the environment, manage our carbon footprint for many years now, particularly with the challenges around our grey crops, with beans not making any money, peas impossible to grow here, oilseed rape with struggles around flea beetle.” Adam clarified that they’d been presented with a chance to use it as a “brake block”, noting that he’d now removed “poorer areas out of production” and transformed them into wildflower and seed margins. He went on: “So, that payment has been incredibly useful to take us quicker on the regenerative journey because, having done pieces on Countryfile and talking to David Wilson on our neighbouring farm – you know, they were organic but also very regenerative – we were struggling to go on that journey because we couldn’t afford it.” This isn’t the first occasion that Adam has discussed regenerative farming in public. In 2022, Adam and his neighbour appeared together on a Countryfile episode to explore how he might modify his farming practices whilst still managing to cover his costs amid the worldwide drive towards environmental sustainability. Adam revealed how he was applying more than 200 tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser for crop production, whilst David, who practises regenerative farming, responded that he was simply “not using anything at all”. Adam subsequently commented: “I have been intrigued by a new way of doing things and it’s called regenerative farming. I am wondering whether it would work on farms like mine. “So, I’ve been peering over the hedges wondering what my neighbour David is up to.” Prior to investigating his neighbour’s operation, he sought guidance on this farming approach, as it’s “quite different” to his current methods. David explained that the principles involve reducing “soil disturbance” and cultivating a “diverse range of plants”. He also issued a cautionary note to Adam, stating that if he wished to adopt this approach, he would need to reduce his use of chemicals. He pointed out that these chemicals are “very expensive” and do not imrpove their carbon footprint. Nonetheless, he emphasised that it wouldn’t be necessary for him to “go organic” should he decide to undertake this venture. You can next catch Adam on Countryfile on BBC One on Sunday, September 21, from 6.15pm to 7.15pm.