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Farmer Stories

James & Emma Loder-Symonds – How an arable farming system in Kent is balancing nature and financial viability

Under the stewardship of award-winning farmers James and Emma Loder-Symonds, Nonington Farms exemplifies how farming can embrace nature-friendly practices while maintaining profitability and producing high-quality crops. Their multi-generational farm serves as a vibrant showcase, welcoming everyone from school groups to farm clusters.

In 2013, James and Emma Loder-Symonds made the decision to transition their conventional, multi-generational family farm in Kent to a fully nature-friendly operation. While the farm had traditionally focused on maximising food production to navigate the challenges of volatile global markets, James and Emma were determined to pursue a more sustainable path. Their vision prioritised nature, enhanced the environment, and strengthened the local economy.

The result was Nonington Farms, nestled in the rural countryside between Canterbury and Dover. Initially spanning 160 hectares, James and Emma expanded their operation by establishing a contract farming business, adding an additional 1,000 hectares. This predominantly arable enterprise involved working on a diverse range of soils, from brick-earth to chalk.

About three years into their journey, James and Emma made the decision to enrol Nonington Farms in the Higher Tier of the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme. By around 2017, they began implementing fundamental changes to their farming system. Previously, the business had been driven by the pursuit of high yields, but the significant inputs required often led to sharp fluctuations in costs, exacerbated by volatile market prices.

“When we were fully reliant on high-input farming, we had no guaranteed income and were completely at the mercy of the global market,” James explains. “Some areas of the farm were a constant struggle, requiring significant inputs just to break even.”

The first major change was eliminating artificial phosphorus and potash, which immediately saved around £70 per hectare. Next, the farm's nitrogen inputs came under scrutiny. At the time, their Group 1 milling wheat received about 300 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare, but with yields plateauing, a detailed analysis of nitrogen use and soil health revealed opportunities for a more precise and efficient approach. By adopting variable rate technology, nitrogen application was reduced from 25-30 kilos per tonne of wheat to a much leaner 14-17 kilos.

This shift not only curbed input costs but also stabilised profitability, as James notes: “With prices fluctuating wildly, this strategy has made our business far more consistent.”

When we were fully reliant on high-input farming, we had no guaranteed income and were completely at the mercy of the global market. Some areas of the farm were a constant struggle, requiring significant inputs just to break even.

James Loder-Symonds

The CS scheme, which provides payments to farmers for implementing a range of nature-friendly practices, has been instrumental in gaining the support of landowners contracting James and Emma to farm their land. According to James, what resonates most with people about the nature-friendly approach is how it enhances the financial resilience of farm businesses. “They were receiving a guaranteed income through the CS scheme for taking relatively unproductive land out of arable rotations,” James explains. “It was a win for them and a win for nature.”

At Nonington Farms, one-fifth of the land is now dedicated to stewardship. This decision was guided by a detailed analysis of yield maps, which highlighted areas where production simply wasn’t justifying the input costs. By removing these less productive sections, the farm has also optimised the use of machinery.

The crop selection at Nonington Farms has also evolved to align with the nature-friendly approach. While wheat remains the primary crop, some varieties with low disease resistance - and thus a higher fungicide requirement - have been removed from the rotation. The farm now cultivates a diverse range of crops, including spring barley, spring oats, oilseed rape, and winter beans, alongside the establishment of herbal leys.

Between 30% and 40% of the grain commands a premium price by being marketed under sustainable schemes. The farm balances contracts with major players like national bakeries and smaller initiatives, such as growing heritage wheat - a venture they hope to expand in the future.

Nonington Farms employs a long crop rotation cycle of six to seven years, interspersed with cover crops between cash crops. Where soil health is poor or fertility needs improvement, James uses annual cover crops or establishes herbal leys to allow the land to rest and regenerate.

Cover cropping at Nonington Farms began with catch crops planted between wheat and winter beans. Maintaining living roots in the soil year-round improved its health, enhanced water filtration, and contributed to overall sustainability. A key benefit of this practice is the guaranteed payment available under the CS and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) schemes for both herbal leys and cover cropping, providing crucial financial stability in an often unpredictable agricultural market. Additionally, the farm receives support from Southern Water through a nitrogen minimisation and reduction scheme.

Livestock owned by new entrants grazing on two of James and Emma’s farms play an integral role in this system. They feed on overwintered cover crops and herbal leys, naturally fertilising the soil without relying on artificial inputs. While monocropping persists in some areas of Nonington, the expansion of herbal leys is being encouraged to increase biodiversity, introducing a wider variety of plants, grasses, and wildflowers.

James highlights the tangible benefits of this approach, noting that the combination of livestock grazing and cover cropping has boosted yields on their winter wheat, further demonstrating the value of this nature-friendly strategy.

James and Emma are also enhancing the landscape at Nonington, planting around a kilometre of hedges and adding approximately 400 trees each year. These hedges, along with beetle banks, play a vital role in their integrated pest management (IPM) strategy, which relies on beneficial insects to control pests and diseases instead of using synthetic pesticides or chemicals. As a result, Nonington has not applied insecticide for four years, a significant achievement in their commitment to sustainability.

The diversity of production on the farm has also increased. Award-winning young nature-friendly farmer Jack Scott began his journey at Nonington, where he grows vegetables for local restaurants and markets. This move toward diversified, sustainable farming practices reflects the broader shift toward nature-friendly agriculture on the farm.

And it’s not just new entrants to farming that James and Emma are eager to engage with at Nonington. Co-sharing the farm with other small-scale food producers is one of the ways they aim to bring the local community closer to the farm’s work. Educating the public about the importance of nature-friendly farming and where their food comes from is central to their mission. Emma, a qualified teacher, oversees the educational side of the business. Each year, more than 1,500 visitors come to Nonington for educational tours, a part of their work supported under the CS scheme.

“There’s a real disconnect between food production, the environment, and the consumer,” Emma says. “Our visits cover everything from stewardship options like cover cropping and wildflowers to discussing the importance of buying locally produced, nutritious food. Being based in east Kent, we often welcome schools with children from deprived backgrounds, giving them a rare opportunity to experience open space. We also have a flour mill on site, so we take them there to make bread and show them how real, unprocessed food is made.”

James believes that if farming has an image problem, it is largely one of its own making, and he and Emma are determined to help repair the damage and bridge the divide. “If we’re honest, the general perception of farmers is that they don’t want people on their land,” James reflects. “The public has picked up on this, so it’s now up to us to break down that barrier. We hold open evenings on most of the areas we farm at least once a year, and we also organise farm welcomes, inviting the local community to visit us.”

He acknowledges there are challenges, such as when people stray off footpaths and damage crops, but emphasises the importance of communication. “We need to explain our farming system and what we’re doing,” James says. “We make it clear why we prefer people to keep their dogs on leads near nature habitats and pregnant livestock. We also explain that when the sprayer is out, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re applying pesticides. It’s about having good signage that helps people understand what we’re doing.”

There's a real disconnect between food production, the environment and the consumer. Our location in east Kent means we get schools with children from deprived backgrounds visiting, and it gives them a rare opportunity to enjoy open space.

Emma Loder-Symonds

Biodiversity at Nonington is flourishing, with James and Emma particularly proud of the habitats they've created for turtle doves - once common on agricultural land but whose numbers have sharply declined due to decades of intensive farming practices. Ground-nesting birds like skylarks are abundant, while one of the farms hosts small blue butterflies, and the entire farm is home to grey partridges. The diverse habitat of hedges, grass margins, and wildflowers is also a haven for yellowhammers. Experts regularly visit Nonington Farms to monitor and ring bird populations and to survey wildflowers, bees, and butterflies.

For James, seeing nature thrive on the farm is a key part of their vision. “Having records of the wildlife we’re supporting gives us a real boost, showing that our system is benefiting nature,” he says. “At some point, we hope to receive greater financial recognition for these efforts too.”

James also credits the work of Natural England for driving the biodiversity protection efforts at Nonington and other farms in the area. “They have been instrumental in developing our wildlife areas. By working one-on-one with farmers and encouraging them to join stewardship schemes, they are helping to transform the landscape around us through cluster groups,” James explains. “It’s about creating continuity from one farm to another. Even a 12-metre strip can become a nature corridor. The key is adopting a collective approach rather than focusing solely on individual farm efforts.”

James highlights that the East Kent Cluster Group, which Nonington Farms is part of, has been running for 25 years, and the positive impact across the landscape is becoming increasingly evident.

Ultimately, all this work stems from James and Emma’s vision of sustainable farming, encapsulated by the image of a three-legged stool. The three pillars of Nonington Farms are Grow, Learn, and Protect. 'Grow' refers to the economic and business sustainability of keeping the farm profitable, 'Learn' represents the educational and social sustainability efforts, and 'Protect' focuses on the environmental approach to farming in harmony with nature.

James and Emma’s efforts have been recognised, with them receiving the Environmental Champion Award from leading trade publication Farmers Weekly in 2023. “We were really thrilled to receive that recognition for the value we’re adding through what we’re doing,” James says. “For us, awards are a way of demonstrating that the system we’ve adopted really works.”

James and Emma have ambitious plans for the future. They have used two carbon toolkits to analyse their farms, and both have concluded that the farm is carbon-negative, sparking James’ growing interest in pursuing certification and credits for carbon sequestration. Their work with new entrants to farming and the local community has laid the foundation for what they hope will eventually become a more extensive local food network in Kent. Their efforts also aim to futureproof the farm, ensuring it remains a viable and vibrant place for generations to come, continuing the family tradition of involvement in agriculture.

“For us, the future is about adding more value, both in terms of the price of sustainable products and nutritionally rich food,” James explains. “We need a premium for what we’re doing, which enhances the environment while producing food. This approach has to be profitable. If we’re not economically viable, we won’t be here in a year or three years’ time. If our children want to take it on, we want to hand them something we can be proud of.”